Guest essay by Eric Worrall
First I want to make it clear that I think Tesla responded to Hurricane Irma with exemplary good faith, sacrificing their future profits to send drivers of cheaper Tesla models a free range upgrade, to help them escape Hurricane Irma. But the urgent Florida hurricane evacuation may have inadvertently highlighted an unexpected and potentially catastrophic risk associated with government policies which seek to switch drivers to electric vehicles.
How did Tesla make some of its cars travel further during Hurricane Irma?
The electric-car giant gave customers a lifeline by remotely boosting their vehicles’ battery capacity. But this act of kindness also highlighted that it had been selling identical cars at different prices
Tesla drivers who fled Hurricane Irma last weekend received an unexpected lesson in modern consumer economics along the way. As they sat on choked highways, some of the electric-car giant’s more keenly priced models suddenly gained an extra 30 or so miles in range thanks to a silent free upgrade.
The move, confirmed by Tesla, followed the request of one Florida driver for a limit on his car’s battery to be lifted. Tesla’s cheaper models, introduced last year, have the same 75KwH battery as its more costly cars, but software limits it to 80% of range. Owners can otherwise buy an upgrade for several thousands of dollars. And because Teslas software updates are online, the company can make the changes with the flick of a virtual switch.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/shortcuts/2017/sep/11/tesla-hurricane-irma-battery-capacity
Why do I think owning an electric car is a risk?
The distance between Miami and Valdosta, just over the border in Georgia, is 439 miles.
According to Wikipedia, the maximum range of a Tesla Model S car is just over 300 miles, though many electric cars have a much lower range, 100 – 150 miles being common.
This 300 miles maximum represents the range of a top electric car in perfect driving conditions. I suspect in the stop / start traffic jam conditions of the Florida Hurricane Irma evacuation, the range of even the best electric cars would be substantially reduced.
I don’t know how many car drivers heeded the call to evacuate. But at the height of the Hurricane Irma crisis, according to CNBC twelve million Florida residents were ordered to leave.
A gasoline car typically has 300 – 400 miles range. Unlike an electric car, a gasoline car can be fully refuelled in minutes. Refuelling lots of gasoline cars does not place a massive strain on the electric grid. If fuel stations are too busy, a well prepared gasoline car driver can carry their own refill in the trunk – a few cans of gasoline would almost double that 400 mile range, for the price of a quick 5 minute stop by the side of the road.
Imagine if the government banned gasoline cars, so all privately owned cars were electric. Imagine if every one of those evacuees had an electric car. Imagine the chaos if millions of electric cars pulled up at the same roadside charging stations at the same time, each expecting their half hour “fast” recharge, each driver utterly desperate to bring their families to safety before the hurricane struck.
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The problem I see with what Tesla is doing is that the buyers of the more limited range cars must pay to carry around the part of the battery they can’t use. It would be like buying a gasoline fueled car with a 20 gal. tank with only 16 gal. of gas useable. You pay to haul around gas you can’t use.
They are downgrading the batteries now that the emergency is over according to the Register: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/09/11/tesla_boosts_battery_capacity_for_irma/
The battery software upgrade price has dropped to $2,000 according to the linked article, that might cut into hackers’ potential profits. EM may have worked that out already.
How do they do the downgrade?
The obvious solution is for Tesla to offer a 50kW diesel generator mounted on a sleekly proportioned trailer with gull wing doors.
One of these perhaps
https://brace-automotive.com/en/blog/bringing-extended-range-to-evs-by-adding-a-trailer/
OMG I thought I was being sarcastic. Who knew that someone would actually make such a device?
By the way, I wonder if you could use off road diesel to power such a generator?
Must be easy to park with. After the third or fourth parking lot mishap, the 400V DC connection is going to short.
So I bought a new, gas powered car from a start up company with a 20 gallon gas tank. That company got A WHOLE BUNCH of money from the Government to start the company.
The cars are expensive but I can get a $7,000 tax rebate for buying the car.
But the software will cut off the engine when it still has 5 gallons in the gas tank. If I pay $9,000 extra, I can use the that 5 gallons my gas tank already holds.
Company “X” magnanimous gives me (temporary) access to that 5 gallons I already paid for at the pump to escape “Climate Change”.
Sounds like a “Big Oil”, “Koch Brothers” scheme to me!
(I think the 20% left on my battery fried my “sarc tag”.)
I mentioned the “K-Bros” so I’m in moderation.
Mods, sorry about that.
You are evforgetting something. When we are all driving zero emission Teslas there won’t be any more climate carastrophies like hurricanes. That’s what Al Gore told me and he’s very smart.
I was thinking of this when people were evacuating from Ft. MacMurray Alberta in 2016 as the ‘Beast of a fire’ was encroaching.
Some were on the highway for (8-10 or more) hours amidst the smoke and flames.
The RCMP and others were going up and down the line with gasoline to top up or give enough fuel that people could get to safety.
There are no electrical recharge facilities (mobile or stationary) for any electric vehicle, if you ran ‘dry’, then you would be forced to leave you vehicle on the side of the road.
How many people who have to get out in a mass evacuation with little warning have a full tank of fuel of any kind let alone a full charge on their battery pack.
Half the power still out in Florida according to this morning’s papers.
I’ll consider an electric car when they are fueled using a solid oxide fuel cell. When I can use normal (5-minute) fueling process (hydrocarbons), generate electricity cleanly through the fuel cell and drive across the country before having to refuel.
Do Electric Vehicles Reduce Emissions?
“Charge Challenge,” (Winchester Star, September 1, 2017) presented about 70 column-inches on the challenges faced by owners of electric vehicles (EVs). The article quoted an individual as saying the EVs “are innovative,” “protective of the environment” and “cutting down on emissions.” I am having a hard time understanding how an EV that gets all of its energy from “the grid” bears no responsibility for the energy sources supplying the grid.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data show 65 percent of the total (utility-scale) electrical energy supplied to the grid comes from combustion of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, petroleum and other gases). Nuclear sources provide about 20 percent; hydropower about 6.5 percent; wind about 5.6 percent; and solar about 0.9 percent.
When an EV sidles up to a charging station, the grid provides the EV a mixed drink of electrical energy from many sources. About 65 percent of that drink comes from combustion of fossil fuels. Every EV replacing a gasoline-powered vehicle reduces the use of petroleum, but increases the use of the fossil fuels feeding the grid.
Historical note: EVs were manufactured and sold by the hundreds more than a century ago. I first saw an EV about 90 years ago – a “Baker Coupe” built about 1910. Thomas Alva Edison’s first car was a Baker EV.
David C. Greene
David, You are to be congratulated for your fine memory. Men of your age are often victims of CRS (Can’t Remember Stuff**) Myself, I used to worry about Alzheimer’s, but I can’t remember why. I do remember that I will never buy an EV, because fleecing taxpayers is evil.
“A gasoline car typically has 300 – 400 miles range. Unlike an electric car, a gasoline car can be fully refuelled in minutes.” A gasoline car can carry several gas cans in the trunk for extended range. For Tesla, you either carry a hilarious, heavy and large battery or… gas cans and a generator, also hilarious.
I doubt that a Tesla is the only car in a well-to-do Fla. family. Those who can afford buying a Model T can also afford the usual 2-3 cars per family, the T being a showcar only. So there are certainly other means of evac transport available. Leave the well-insured auntie Tesla in an Irma-proof garage behind. Run for your life instead. And mind the gap, please.
Tesla car a.k.a. crematory on wheels
Re fiery Tesla: In South Africa, we have Ford Kugas catching on fire by themselves. Bad PR by Ford SA has left the company with a bad case of sales!
Fake news! It’s in colour. /sarc
As a humble Limey, I think I must be missing something here….
Tesla stuck in evacuation traffic. A/c on full blast due to being in the ‘Sunshine State’ (been many times – love it…)
Battery indicator rapidly going south..
After much panic – find a charging station.
Er – the hurricane’s knocked the power out…..
Hmm…interesting thought.
Buying EV’s to prevent “Climate Change” might cause more deaths because those trying to escape a “caGW” weather event won’t have the power, fossil-fueled or not, to escape said event.
(I’m sure somebody has a computer model that shows EVs will increase caGW deaths?)
The thing to do with a Tesla is to have a Ford F150 drive behind you in case you need to ditch the battery powered vehicle for one with fossil fuel.
It is a proven technology. After all that is what they do with wind turbines that connect to the national electric grid.