Tesla Thread

[tater]

14 minutes ago, Bill Phil said:

Fossil fuels are usually how electric demand is met - almost all renewable systems are too intermittent to provide baseload power. Only hydro and geothermal are capable of that.

Very specifically, most electric cars are recharged... at night.

Solar is not so great at night. My buddy has whatever the medium Tesla solar is on his roof, but I don't think he ponied up the 8 grand for the battery pack, so it will offset his AC in summer, and go back to the grid at like $0.005/kWhr (not a typo, think it's a half a cent).

[Bill Phil]

21 minutes ago, tater said:

Very specifically, most electric cars are recharged... at night.

Solar is not so great at night. My buddy has whatever the medium Tesla solar is on his roof, but I don't think he ponied up the 8 grand for the battery pack, so it will offset his AC in summer, and go back to the grid at like $0.005/kWhr (not a typo, think it's a half a cent).

That's another good point. The only solution to address this drawback of solar is grid storage - but that also makes fossil fuel plants more efficient, and more so at that.

[tater]

So I'm realistic about EVs—that said, I want a Cybertruck, lol. Deciding if I can wait, or if I should get some other tesla and sell it when Cybertruck is ready (they hold their value well, after all).

[dave1904]

5 hours ago, wumpus said:

EU data says that "transportation" creates 25% of the CO₂ in Europe (power generation 33%).  But "transportation" also produces 60+% of the smog.  Granted, as long as China (and Germany*?) burns coal for power that will likely be the main cause of all air pollution (although cars won't help).

Its very smart to believe the studies from the people that are creating the taxes. There are studies that prove diesel engines are reducing smog in cities because of the filters they have. As long as China and Germany go for renewable they will be forced to burn coal. Using the EU is a bad example anyway. The price of living is insane and unrealistic for the rest of the world. Its like using CA as an example in the states. They have way more sun and a far warmer climate than most other states. Even if they could make solar work does not mean it will work for new York. The targets are not being meet by nations that can afford it so its good to assume they are impossible to meet with nations that cannot. 

3 hours ago, Bill Phil said:

That's another good point. The only solution to address this drawback of solar is grid storage - but that also makes fossil fuel plants more efficient, and more so at that.

This is the main argument of nuclear imo. This alone should be enough to convince people. 

[kerbiloid]

45 minutes ago, dave1904 said:

There are studies that prove diesel engines are reducing smog in cities because of the filters they have.

Mwahaha...

Ikarus. The only diesel bus in Soviet times.

Spoiler

30 years passed, but on the photo looks same spicy.

Edited February 4, 2020 by kerbiloid

[dave1904]

49 minutes ago, kerbiloid said:

Mwahaha...

Ikarus. The only diesel bus in Soviet times.

  Reveal hidden contents

30 years passed, but on the photo looks same spicy.

I am not saying its true. I'm saying that you can find a study that supports anything you claim about environmental effects. We actually do not even know the effects. That doesn't mean they do not exist! 

[StrandedonEarth]

From https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-cybertruck-back-to-the-future-fan-video/.  Be sure to read about the Easter eggs in the app too....

[Wjolcz]

I honestly think every car should be mandated to have at least some sort of basic Tesla's autopilot. Recently, I was almost ran over on a crosswalk because some idiot was texting and driving.

[Xd the great]

33 minutes ago, Wjolcz said:

I honestly think every car should be mandated to have at least some sort of basic Tesla's autopilot. Recently, I was almost ran over on a crosswalk because some idiot was texting and driving.

Agreed. Humans are stupid.

Spoiler

Just like kerbals.

 

[tater]

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-sillion-battery-cell-startup-acquisition-rumors/

[wumpus]

On 2/14/2020 at 7:53 AM, Wjolcz said:

I honestly think every car should be mandated to have at least some sort of basic Tesla's autopilot. Recently, I was almost ran over on a crosswalk because some idiot was texting and driving.

My first winter with traction control (and anti-lock brakes) made me feel they were the "cheat mode" for driving in snow.  I'd love to have something like autopilot for trips over several hundred km.

[Silavite]

Apparently Tesla is looking to try and substitute Ni-Co-Al vehicle batteries with Li-Fe-P.

Tesla in talks to use CATL's cobalt-free batteries in China-made cars

[peewee69]

Really great story for you fans of autobrake;

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8012215/amp/Tesla-Model-X-automatic-brakes-stopped-two-families-crushed-tree-Storm-Dennis.html

[kerbiloid]

Spoiler

It detected an attacking ent.

 

[tater]

Drove a Model X yesterday. Pretty fun. Nice car.

[StrandedonEarth]

https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-model-x-cybertruck-police-cruiser-canada/

Not sure why the more expensive Model X was even considered, aside from the gull falcon-wing doors making prisoner passenger access easier.

But yeah, Cybertruck (and Cyberquads) would be ideal for the vast rural areas of northern Canada, although winter could get interesting without battery warmers. Some strategically-placed solar battery-charging stations would help (by which I mean, a battery farm charged up by solar panel  farms, for rapid charging of  vehicles as needed).

Edited February 21, 2020 by StrandedonEarth

[tater]

Prisoner room is a legit reason, those are the only people that ever ride in back. Self-driving is useful as cops are constantly looking at their screen in the car anyway.

We had autopilot on the other night on curvy, foothills roads, and it did just fine. That could allow a cop to use the computer and the car at least is being steered vs him kinda sorta steering while reading police stuff on his screens.

Seems to me that for a police cruiser Tesla could use the cameras, or add better cameras such that the car could literally read plates, and constantly poll the police computer for data on the cars.

[StrandedonEarth]

43 minutes ago, tater said:

Seems to me that for a police cruiser Tesla could use the cameras, or add better cameras such that the car could literally read plates, and constantly poll the police computer for data on the cars.

Automatic license plate readers have been a thing for years now, much to the disgust of ACLU-types

https://www.policeone.com/police-products/traffic-enforcement/license-plate-readers/

[tater]

8 minutes ago, StrandedonEarth said:

Automatic license plate readers have been a thing for years now, much to the disgust of ACLU-types

https://www.policeone.com/police-products/traffic-enforcement/license-plate-readers/

Odd, since no one has ever rationally claimed that operating a motor vehicle is a civil right, it's definitionally by permit.

Spoiler

One thing I found odd many years ago where there were turnpikes (limited access highways where you get a card with a time stamp before entry, and you pay the toll exiting a known distance (and time) from entry). Why do they have speeding tickets on turnpikes, when they know your average speed every single trip, and could ticket every single car that reaches a given exit in less time than it would take at the posted limit. As car tech improves, it seems like you could be automatically ticketed for every moment your car spend above the posted limit as well. Any new car with a nav system could report its speed this way. All "smart" cars capable of any sort of self-driving can certainly do this. I think if the government wants to punish people for violating posted speeds, they shjould make all cars going forward report speeding to them, or they should stop ticketing altogether. People will demand higher speed limits on highways if this was the case—traffic on our interstate out of town has a posted limit of 75 mph, traffic is always moving closer to 90.

ObTesla:

I did the S curves heading up to my house in the Model X going about 80 (no where near the posted limit, lol). The thing was stuck to the road like a magnet.

Edited February 21, 2020 by tater

[StrandedonEarth]

11 minutes ago, tater said:

Odd, since no one has ever rationally claimed that operating a motor vehicle is a civil right, it's definitionally by permit.

Well, to be fair, the objections are usually about indefinite storage of location information. Some states have enacted statutes limiting how long some information can be stored before requiring it to be purged, although three years seems a little long to me.

But Teslas already have plenty of cameras' police would just need to hook the camera feeds to the LPR software

[tater]

2 minutes ago, StrandedonEarth said:

Well, to be fair, the objections are usually about indefinite storage of location information. Some states have enacted statutes limiting how long some information can be stored before requiring it to be purged, although three years seems a little long to me.

But Teslas already have plenty of cameras' police would just need to hook the camera feeds to the LPR software

Oh, it's more about surveillance? Meaning the cop cars just driving around could end up with a set of data that limits where your car could be, and hence you could be suspected of criminal activity as a result (burglaries happen, and a set of cars is in the area in a similar timeframe, etc).

[mikegarrison]

NTSB release regarding the 2018 fatal crash in Mountain View, CA.

https://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/NR20200225.aspx

On 2/21/2020 at 10:12 AM, tater said:

We had autopilot on the other night on curvy, foothills roads, and it did just fine. That could allow a cop to use the computer and the car at least is being steered vs him kinda sorta steering while reading police stuff on his screens.

"Autopilot" is nowhere near ready for that, according to the NTSB.

Edited February 26, 2020 by mikegarrison

[tater]

4 minutes ago, mikegarrison said:

NTSB release regarding the 2018 fatal crash in Mountain View, CA.

https://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/NR20200225.aspx

"Autopilot" is nowhere near ready for that, according to the NTSB.

A few things.

One, I don't disagree that it's not ready for primetime on full self driving (FSD). Two, that crash was 2018, which is a huge amount of training data ago, and Tesla have not themselves released FSD as acceptable for unsupervised use, it's like cruise control, you are supposed to pay attention (I for one think they should use the interior camera to monitor driver attention to keep even autopilot on).

Three, and related to what I posted WRT police cars, I think that it IS ready for that given the current state of affairs with some modification for that specific task. I mean that autopilot and/or current FSD being on for a few seconds here and there is certainly better than NO self driving and NO driver attention, which is what happens when someone (a police officer in this case) is looking at a screen, and the vehicle is moving.

So I'm not saying we can have FSD police cars with no intervention by the driver (I think we agree here), but I am saying that the police are pretty much required to look at screens while driving more than the ZERO PERCENT OF THE TIME they should be looking at a screen (I NEVER take my phone out of my pocket while driving, and as far as I am concerned, touching a phone while driving should have your DL instantly revoked. The second time it happens, for life). So it would have to be a hybrid for of autopilot/FSD for police vehicles. Something where it turns on automatically if the driver glances at the computer, then turns off when his attention goes back to driving. My idea here is that during those moments of required inattention, the car has some driving being done, vs no driving being done, if that makes sense.

So cop needs to pull something up on the screen, and his Tesla patrol car sees his inattention (use existing selfie cam in car to see where driver gaze is), and the car maintains current route/lane keeping for him while he is paying attention to screen. Nothing more.

[StrandedonEarth]

54 minutes ago, mikegarrison said:

NTSB release regarding the 2018 fatal crash in Mountain View, CA.

https://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/NR20200225.aspx

"Autopilot" is nowhere near ready for that, according to the NTSB.

As with most serious accidents, it falls squarely into the "Swiss Cheese" accident model:

[magnemoe]

On 2/4/2020 at 8:23 AM, kerbiloid said:

Mwahaha...

Ikarus. The only diesel bus in Soviet times.

  Hide contents

30 years passed, but on the photo looks same spicy.

Modern cars run very clean compared to old ones, remember how the snow banks next to roads was black then I was an teen. Now they are just dirty at the lower part because of fragments of rubber and asphalt dust. 
CO2 emissions has not changed that much, yes car engines are way more efficient but cars are heavier and has much more powerful engines. 

Fun story, neighbor of my boss managed to spoil the petrol in his plug in hybrid as he only drove short distances and always charged so he did not use much fuel. If I was him I would switch to an electric car
Yes hybrids are the best of both worlds but more complex and expensive. One benefit is that you can optimize the engine for an narrow RPM range.