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That's really cool! Seems like a lot of work to hoist that thing out every time you need to charge up though. If you live in a windy area where you can put up a small turbine or two you could probably charge from those. At least you could get something out of them, but it may not be worth the cost.

Cool? Yes. Practical? No.

8kWh battery could power Model S about 30 miles.

I'd prefer 10mx10m blanket of thin-film solar cells to that. Even with just 100W/m^2 you would get 10kWh in a hour from that.

In the Netherlands there are several private initiatives to put up large wind turbines.

I've calculated (with a little help) that when I invest € 5000,= (about $ 6750) in a 2MW wind turbine, my little part will be responsible for all the kms/mi I drive on a yearly basis (30000km /19000mi). They pay about 5-6% on the investment as well.

Large wind turbines are much more efficient than the smaller ones.

And also much more noisier. If you invest to such windmill be prepared to wanting to move far away from it.

Yeah. Google "WTS Wind Turbine Syndrome". Infrasound (subsonics) makes people sick, sour, and short of sleep.

These wind turbines usually are not near populated areas but near industrial areas or along water ways where is wind and no people living. There is also a collective of farmers that has some 30 odd wind turbines on their land lined up.

It's not that I use the energy created by the wind turbine, but at least I'm responsible for the energy I use.

There is a movement in politics for a self delivery, so on paper I will get the energy from the wind turbine. These are only plans so far.... but would mean I could reduce the energy bill of my company considerably.

After there is a windmill there area would not be populated for long. I have a friend living nearby two wind turbines about 400m away, and that noise they make is borderline to be annoying. That's about as close you want to be to one of those, not any closer, and those are not very powerful ones, just about 1300MWh/year average each.

It's not just the audible sound, Timo. Subsonic vibration has physiological and neurological effects.

I'm sure that there is a very logical reason that my following "idea" won't work, but just thinking 'out of the box'.
If Tesla added a small fan blade inside the front 'scoop', and the wind motion of driving was turning the fan, which was turning a small elect gererator ....could it generate more energy, than the added drag on the car??

Nope. Tbe increased drag will aways exceed any energy gained from the generation. That a basic law of physics. (2nd law of thermodynamics (which is not limited to just thermodynamics).

Also, you can't stand on a sailboat and blow on the sails to make it go. ;p

Actually the Mythbusters proved that u can blow on the sail from the sail boat and make it go, since the sail will turn some of the wind around and send it backwards. However, it's much more effective to take down the sail and blow the other way directly.
This doesn't prove that there would be any point in a fanblade and generator in the front scoop.

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