Do I want an electric car. Absolutely. Would I like a Tesla. Yes yes yes. Magnificent cars. Do I want one of the existing Teslas. Well, not exactly. The Tesla I want won't be for everyone but I believe there is a very large market out there for a variation on the basic Tesla theme.
I suppose what I should have titled this blog is "My Electric Car". Other companies are coming up with electric cars and trying to challenge Tesla at the top of the market. Tesla started at the very top and is working it's way down. The only chance other manufacturers have is to start at the bottom end and work their way up. You have to find an unfilled gap in the market if you want to succeed.
So what would my electric car have (and not have).
Body
I'd be thoroughly chuffed if it was made of stainless steel like the cyber truck. Of course it would have distinctive styling. The nature of stainless steel makes this necessary as it is a more difficult material to form. This distinctive styling would be a very positive feature. To become iconic like the VW beatle and combi, the Mini, the Ciroen 2CV and others iconic cars, distinctive styling is a great help in marketing. Not that Teslas need any help with it's marketing. None of these 'people's cars' were things of beauty but all became iconic.
If I understand correctly, when using stainless steel, the shell is the frame. To date, cars have had a frame on to which the outside panels are attached. In the cyber truck, I understand that the shell is the frame; basically an exoskeleton. I suspect that the total cost of the body with this more expensive material but simpler construction would not be more expensive than the frame plus panels on today's cars. Whatever the case, stainless steel* is going to last so-so-so much longer.
Incidentally, I understand that the Rivian is made of a composite that needs no painting. If so, this is another great innovation. Painting costs money and no painting will help bring down the cost. When Electric Cars are comparable in price with ICE cars. the writing is on the wall. ICE cars are toast.
* Some experience I have had with Stainless steel in a wet, salty environment showed that when part of the material is exposed to the air and part not, the two parts acted as if they were different metals and localized corrosion occurred. I have no idea if this would be a problem with a car exoskeleton.
Features it will have.
1/ The new, so called, million mile battery, of course and the ability to upgrade the battery if new innovations come out.
2/ V2G* , VPP* and Autobidder, enabled, allowing me to be taking-from and supplying-to the grid (and earning a bit of money in the process). Great innovation.
*Vehicle to Grid and Virtual Power Plant. Autobidder is the program that allows an electric car owner to participate in the grid and have the charge needed in the morning to do what the car owner wants.
3/ A tow bar. I have a small holding and need to be able to tow a trailer full of wood, fence posts, manure and so forth. And think about the psychology of a tow bar. Think of all the people living in the city who drive a pick up truck or SUV even though they don't need one. A tow bar signals the sort of image that they have of themselves. Good marketing.
4/ A quality, manual wind up window on the drivers side. I have a horror of going into a lake and not being able to open a window or door that has shorted out. The rest can be electric. (OK, this may be going to far but perhaps make it optional and see what the uptake is).
5/ A 220 Volt (110V in America) AC plug so I can run a welder, electric chain saw or whatever, wherever I want. You have it in the Cyber Truck. Make it optional if you like. If it is an optional extra, make the car so that if someone wants to retrofit the AC plug, it is a 15 minute job at the most. I think you will find that when this feature is in the car, a lot of people who didn't know they needed one will find uses for it.
6/ If you want to put in a bit of 'fancy' then when it becomes technically and economically feasible, cover the car with solar cells. No one expects to be able to drive on solar alone but it would be a nice little bonus and might get you out of a tight spot. This could also be an optional extra.
7/ The usual glove compartments, cup holders, radio and so forth that all cars have and as much usable space as possible inside.
8/ As many fittings as possible from other Teslas. Door latches, wheel rims, tires, radio, steering wheel, head lights and so forth. Use as much as possible off the shelf from your own facility. And don't change these feature or the styling from year to year. Parts from this year's car should fit a car made in 10 years and vice versa. Innovating those simple parts for this car and changing the styling each year simply increases the price of the car. Besides, you don't want to change the styling of an iconic car. Make it right in the first place and keep it that way.
9/ Another bit of fancy, that would be a useful option, is to be able to raise the clearance of the car when needed. Not a game changer though. Best to keep it as simple as possible.
Repairability
As much as possible should be repairable by a half way capable home mechanic. And make anything I have to take to the professional mechanic, easy access. A mechanic will still be charging $100/hr and he shouldn't have to spend time accessing what he is repairing or replacing. Modern ICE cars are ridiculous. You often have to disassemble half the car to get at the water pump and even at the spark plugs.
Features it won't have
1/ No connection to the internet. None, zippo, zilch. Have you ever seen a program come out, even from Microsoft, that didn't need patches. Have you ever seen a program that couldn't be hacked. For heaven sake, the UK health system was just recently hacked and banks, the military and other high profile facilities are being hacked all the time*. You would expect them to be bullet proof. They aren't. If I want an upgrade, first I will let the early adopters test it out. Then if I really want it, I will go to my computer, plug in a flash drive, download the program and take the flash drive to the car to download the new innovation. Teslas are great as they are. I would need some serious convincing to do an upgrade.
*As of July 2020, Elon Musk and other prominent people were hacked. If anyone would be expected to have a secure system it would be these people. I rest my case.
Besides, have you being paying attention to the revelations by Snowdon and Manning. Do I really want the thousands of spooks in the dozens of secret services in America and other countries to have access my car. Do I want some autistic genius 14 year old in his mom's basement bringing a whole city to a grinding halt just for the fun of it. When this happens in the future, I want my Tesla to still be mobile.
2/ No touch screens. If it is dangerous to use your cell phone which you can hold up so you hardly have to take your eyes off of the road, how much more dangerous is it to be going through a 5 step app on your touch screen while driving. Make all controls tactile so I can do them by touch without taking my eyes off the road.
3/ No self driving. I don't care if it is safer than me driving. I like driving and I even feel nervous when I use cruise control in my present ICE car. Besides, I don't want my daughter snogging in the back seat with her boyfriend on the way to a movie in the next town.
4/ No navigation facility. It just costs more money and everyone today has a smart phone. If I want navigation (and I do) I will velcro my smart phone to the dash board or mount it magnetically on to one of those windscreen mounted pedicils.
One of the main aim's of Tesla is to manufacture cars that not only make a profit but that a much wider segment of the population can afford. Take out some of the bling and make the car simpler, use the same parts where possible that are in other Teslas and keep the same styling year after year and it will be easier to build an affordable car.
I have been in research much of my life and I know the temptation of a new gadget; a new innovation. A lot of people these days would rather open a can with a wall mounted electric can opener rather than using one of those wee hand can openers that you find in K rations. I am the opposite. I want simplicity, utility, a low impact on the environment and self sufficiency and I suspect that I am not alone. And for heaven sake, stop this race for a zero to 60 faster time (at least for this car). I'm not some frustrated teenager who has doubts that his winki is large enough.
I suppose what I should have titled this blog is "My Electric Car". Other companies are coming up with electric cars and trying to challenge Tesla at the top of the market. Tesla started at the very top and is working it's way down. The only chance other manufacturers have is to start at the bottom end and work their way up. You have to find an unfilled gap in the market if you want to succeed.
So what would my electric car have (and not have).
Body
I'd be thoroughly chuffed if it was made of stainless steel like the cyber truck. Of course it would have distinctive styling. The nature of stainless steel makes this necessary as it is a more difficult material to form. This distinctive styling would be a very positive feature. To become iconic like the VW beatle and combi, the Mini, the Ciroen 2CV and others iconic cars, distinctive styling is a great help in marketing. Not that Teslas need any help with it's marketing. None of these 'people's cars' were things of beauty but all became iconic.
If I understand correctly, when using stainless steel, the shell is the frame. To date, cars have had a frame on to which the outside panels are attached. In the cyber truck, I understand that the shell is the frame; basically an exoskeleton. I suspect that the total cost of the body with this more expensive material but simpler construction would not be more expensive than the frame plus panels on today's cars. Whatever the case, stainless steel* is going to last so-so-so much longer.
Incidentally, I understand that the Rivian is made of a composite that needs no painting. If so, this is another great innovation. Painting costs money and no painting will help bring down the cost. When Electric Cars are comparable in price with ICE cars. the writing is on the wall. ICE cars are toast.
* Some experience I have had with Stainless steel in a wet, salty environment showed that when part of the material is exposed to the air and part not, the two parts acted as if they were different metals and localized corrosion occurred. I have no idea if this would be a problem with a car exoskeleton.
Features it will have.
1/ The new, so called, million mile battery, of course and the ability to upgrade the battery if new innovations come out.
2/ V2G* , VPP* and Autobidder, enabled, allowing me to be taking-from and supplying-to the grid (and earning a bit of money in the process). Great innovation.
*Vehicle to Grid and Virtual Power Plant. Autobidder is the program that allows an electric car owner to participate in the grid and have the charge needed in the morning to do what the car owner wants.
3/ A tow bar. I have a small holding and need to be able to tow a trailer full of wood, fence posts, manure and so forth. And think about the psychology of a tow bar. Think of all the people living in the city who drive a pick up truck or SUV even though they don't need one. A tow bar signals the sort of image that they have of themselves. Good marketing.
4/ A quality, manual wind up window on the drivers side. I have a horror of going into a lake and not being able to open a window or door that has shorted out. The rest can be electric. (OK, this may be going to far but perhaps make it optional and see what the uptake is).
5/ A 220 Volt (110V in America) AC plug so I can run a welder, electric chain saw or whatever, wherever I want. You have it in the Cyber Truck. Make it optional if you like. If it is an optional extra, make the car so that if someone wants to retrofit the AC plug, it is a 15 minute job at the most. I think you will find that when this feature is in the car, a lot of people who didn't know they needed one will find uses for it.
6/ If you want to put in a bit of 'fancy' then when it becomes technically and economically feasible, cover the car with solar cells. No one expects to be able to drive on solar alone but it would be a nice little bonus and might get you out of a tight spot. This could also be an optional extra.
7/ The usual glove compartments, cup holders, radio and so forth that all cars have and as much usable space as possible inside.
8/ As many fittings as possible from other Teslas. Door latches, wheel rims, tires, radio, steering wheel, head lights and so forth. Use as much as possible off the shelf from your own facility. And don't change these feature or the styling from year to year. Parts from this year's car should fit a car made in 10 years and vice versa. Innovating those simple parts for this car and changing the styling each year simply increases the price of the car. Besides, you don't want to change the styling of an iconic car. Make it right in the first place and keep it that way.
9/ Another bit of fancy, that would be a useful option, is to be able to raise the clearance of the car when needed. Not a game changer though. Best to keep it as simple as possible.
Repairability
As much as possible should be repairable by a half way capable home mechanic. And make anything I have to take to the professional mechanic, easy access. A mechanic will still be charging $100/hr and he shouldn't have to spend time accessing what he is repairing or replacing. Modern ICE cars are ridiculous. You often have to disassemble half the car to get at the water pump and even at the spark plugs.
Features it won't have
1/ No connection to the internet. None, zippo, zilch. Have you ever seen a program come out, even from Microsoft, that didn't need patches. Have you ever seen a program that couldn't be hacked. For heaven sake, the UK health system was just recently hacked and banks, the military and other high profile facilities are being hacked all the time*. You would expect them to be bullet proof. They aren't. If I want an upgrade, first I will let the early adopters test it out. Then if I really want it, I will go to my computer, plug in a flash drive, download the program and take the flash drive to the car to download the new innovation. Teslas are great as they are. I would need some serious convincing to do an upgrade.
*As of July 2020, Elon Musk and other prominent people were hacked. If anyone would be expected to have a secure system it would be these people. I rest my case.
Besides, have you being paying attention to the revelations by Snowdon and Manning. Do I really want the thousands of spooks in the dozens of secret services in America and other countries to have access my car. Do I want some autistic genius 14 year old in his mom's basement bringing a whole city to a grinding halt just for the fun of it. When this happens in the future, I want my Tesla to still be mobile.
2/ No touch screens. If it is dangerous to use your cell phone which you can hold up so you hardly have to take your eyes off of the road, how much more dangerous is it to be going through a 5 step app on your touch screen while driving. Make all controls tactile so I can do them by touch without taking my eyes off the road.
3/ No self driving. I don't care if it is safer than me driving. I like driving and I even feel nervous when I use cruise control in my present ICE car. Besides, I don't want my daughter snogging in the back seat with her boyfriend on the way to a movie in the next town.
4/ No navigation facility. It just costs more money and everyone today has a smart phone. If I want navigation (and I do) I will velcro my smart phone to the dash board or mount it magnetically on to one of those windscreen mounted pedicils.
One of the main aim's of Tesla is to manufacture cars that not only make a profit but that a much wider segment of the population can afford. Take out some of the bling and make the car simpler, use the same parts where possible that are in other Teslas and keep the same styling year after year and it will be easier to build an affordable car.
I have been in research much of my life and I know the temptation of a new gadget; a new innovation. A lot of people these days would rather open a can with a wall mounted electric can opener rather than using one of those wee hand can openers that you find in K rations. I am the opposite. I want simplicity, utility, a low impact on the environment and self sufficiency and I suspect that I am not alone. And for heaven sake, stop this race for a zero to 60 faster time (at least for this car). I'm not some frustrated teenager who has doubts that his winki is large enough.
