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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 BIMMERPOST Universal Forums General BMW News and Cars Discussion BMW Core Development Team of i3 & i8 go to Chinese Startup Future Mobility Corp?
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      04-27-2016, 06:00 AM   #133
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Quote:
Originally Posted by miamiten View Post
There is something to your interpretation that is more in-line with what Elon envisioned from the beginning. It's also part of why they're actually struggling internally and appear to be successful externally. As much as some want to question the why and the significance of BMW i losing these particular individuals, Tesla has had and continues to have a much greater loss rate when it comes to core component/division leaders and engineers.

Tesla as a whole was envisioned to be foremost a component supplier. The "car company" was intended as a way display the capabilities these components provide and create a new consumer segment to displace the expenses. Carbon credit sales were to be a method of incentivizing the component supply sales and partnership agreements rather than a direct revenue source. The concept, while ingenious in its intent, doesn't translate well to results. It is this point where Tesla's car venture has been forced to adapt at significant expense, the incursion of component development on its own, while disguising the risk. Simultaneously, it's forcing them to hedge these short term methods on extremely risky long term programs, with a product renewal plan focused on updates to the systems while leaving the wrapper mostly untouched, with the hope the component supply aspect will eventually be realized. This doesn't work for any other well established automakers though. Tesla has a market; a growing one at that. But it's too soon to call it successful because it relies far too much on the existing engrained consumer habits and expectations. Unlike most other consumer goods, automobiles are still very much in their first generation.

This latest round of adaptations by Tesla comes with the highest risk. It's at a price point to grab the attention of wealthier early adopters and their offspring, while opening up the product to a demographic that tends to be reliant on subsidies to follow through on financial commitments. This latter subset is also more attracted by the wow factor and less cautious with finances. Any car company who offered a non-commitment reservation offer, to secure another reservation position for a new product would have even greater results.

The WTO, while truly being more of a nuisance rather than an effective regulatory entity, is a big white elephant. They have the potential to inflict significant damage to complete alternative vehicle powertrain implementation. So far, there has only been one infrastructure investigation simply because it was the only one that exists. Tesla has taken on the risk that it can beat out independent exposure to WTO member agreements and how the public/privatization mechanism becomes regulated.
I'll admit I don't know much about the battery design that will be produced at the Gigafactory, but I do know the current Tesla battery is a simple C-cell design that is a common EV battery component. Tesla and other manufacturers design the cell array and cooling configurations to best suit the vehicle battery form factor and charging/discharging capability. GM on the other hand with design of the Volt's battery, working with battery partner LG, has implemented a "prism" cell design what allows for excellent charge/discharge (current flow) along with cooling efficiency and battery compactness. The GM/LG cell design seems more advanced than the current Tesla design, but again I don't know all the details. The point is that I don't think Tesla "owns" the engineering of EV design as much as everyone thinks.

What I've not heard of lately is Tesla's statements that it will not enforce its patent rights and basically threw its patents to "open source" status. This move was in line to what you said above, which was to enhance Tesla as a component manufacturer basis. Tesla has stated that the Gigafactory is mainly to supply the EV and solar industries with batteries. To me the open source business model didn't make much sense.

Then there is the issue that lithium is a conflict mineral...
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      04-27-2016, 07:42 PM   #134
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Lithium batteries are way worse for the environment than greenhouse gasses. Everyone who buys these for saving the environment keeps forgetting this. It's like treating a hang nail while you have a gunshot wound.
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      04-28-2016, 12:01 PM   #135
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The i lineup needs to be expanded. It was a great start but is gone nowhere since the launch and the cameo in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol which came out in 2011. There are a lot of Teslas here on the East End of Long Island. The Teslas I see are all of the four-door sedan variety it looks cool and it is what people need. The average consumer does not need a two door sports car or a ugly econobox. The BMW i team needs to re-think there strategy, all they need to do was put the technology into the 3, 4 and 5 Series and then it will sell like hotcakes. But that has not been done yet and it needs to be. Here on Long Island they are even offering free charging stations to charge your EV cars up.

By the way Long Island, New York is the home of the Nikola Tesla's Tesla Coil. If you're ever in Shorham Wading River you'll see Nikola Tesla's headquarters, the Tesla Motor Company has donated funds to restore it and possibly make it a museum. And right next to that is a 911 Memorial with a girder of the Twin Towers. And directly across the street used to be a sod farm, and as of 2015 is been turned into a solar farm, how cool - about time! This is located in the same town where they built a nuclear power plant in the 80s but the locals voted against activating it so it sits there crumbling and good riddance to it.

Go green or go home!
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      04-28-2016, 01:49 PM   #136
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I grew up on Long Island and do get back occasionally. I've always wanted to see what became of Tesla's lab...

My wife and I both love our EV! We have a Chevy Volt which we basically run on battery only (<35 miles/day) with a nightly top off. I am expecting to trade this in for a Tesla Model X P90DL which arrives in about 2 weeks.

I really don't understand why pure electric vehicles don't get more traction with the public (no pun intended). I do believe, however, that there is public prejudice towards anything not gasoline powered. Its not that I'm a conspiracist (as some might be), but its interesting how a large portion of the population seems to cast EV's in a dark light. Maybe they find them threatening, maybe its some sort of jealousy, or perhaps just plain ignorance. I don't mean to cast this in a condescending way (honestly), but I expect it must have been that way when the majority of our vehicles consumed hay and the new kid on the block was burning gasoline...

The EV is here to stay for my family. Its cheap, quiet, efficient, and a much easier vehicle to maintain. Quite frankly, I can't see our garage without one. Yes - I would still maintain one ICE vehicle for longer road trips, but as the range of EV's become longer, those requirements start to diminish. Tesla has been building vehicles with 200+ miles range for very many years. Even the original GM EV1 had a 70-100 mile range on lead-acid batteries. How is it that BMW couldn't do any better than about 70 miles with current battery technology?

Overnight charging is all we do. The 40 or so miles we get with the Volt suit my wife and I very well (we work together). I understand that those numbers might not work for other people. But that's the model which really works. Just plug it in when you get home. Or maybe even also when you get to work. The 70 miles or so that the i3 gets is better yet but its nothing outstanding in the current crop of EV's. Once again, the i3 should have been what Tesla's upcoming 200+ mile, $35K Model 3 will be.

Anybody who's driven a decent EV will easily understand the value. 200+ mile range EV's are going to make it much easier for multi-car families to keep at least one in the garage as a daily driver. The EV is here, and although there is still public prejudice (and I really don't understand why), market penetration is only going to increase. Regardless of where you get your home electricity from (Solar, Wind, Hydro, Nuclear, Geothermal, Coal, Oil), your EV can run on it...

$0.02 (Sorry for the commercial)
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      05-12-2016, 12:58 PM   #137
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SCOTT26 View Post
I think your i3 looks great.
I have one in Ionic Silver which I keep at my residence in Munich and use about town as intended as it is a Mega city vehicle,
It is not a Tesla rival. Its simply a way of getting from A-B its a vehicle conceived to be used in the city and when it does it does its job amicably.

Have you seen the Tesla Chinese rival?
It was launched in Beijing and it certainly looks interesting.
Thanks! I love the car, the Tesla Model S is a boat, I prefer small toss'able cars myself. I did see that upcoming car from China, I hope they do very well, well need more EV companies to come to market and get products out to consumers. I love me some BMW, been driving BMW since 2006 but I do have a deposit on a Model 3. I might switch to a protonic blue 2017 i3 Tera BEV while waiting, with sunroof in the US of course! Is the i3s still alive? If it is I sure hope it is available by next April.
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      05-12-2016, 02:53 PM   #138
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Yes there will be an i3S and i8S.
There will also be other i3 models also in terms of special models.
From what I have seen the S models receive a red badge surround.
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