Yes, his point is simple, to those of us already familiar with the technology. For the vast majority of the general public, his incoherent stammering, stuttering, and conflubbering, did little to enlighten them. I could envision a large fellow coming on set, grabbing him by the collar, open palm slapping him back and fourth a few times, while yelling “spit it out already, jackass”.
So let’s see:
GM: “Buy the Volt. For most trips you will not burn any gas at all. For those longer trips, the backup generator will kick in and you can drive as far as you like while still getting 50MPG.”
Tesla: “Um, yes, well, first, you you you need to to to consider that, umn, that that the power density of of of….”
This is the second time I’ve seen Mr. Musk directly or indirectly misinform the public about the Chevrolet Volt (See his appearance on David Letterman, he fails to correct David on several points about the Volt, i.e. Mr. Letterman’s insinuation that the Volt can only go 40 miles. The link to it is actually just below this video).
What I’m referring to is when he asserts that the small gas engine that accompanies the electric motor in the Volt will not have adequate power. However, the gas engine is a generator for the battery. It NEVER provides power to the wheels but simply recharges the battery.
Either he really doesn’t understand the concept of the Volt (which I find extremely hard to believe), or he’s intentionally providing misinformation (which is more probable and very sad).
While I firmly believe in the idea of Tesla, Mr. Musk is proving himself to be a manipulative and unethical businessman, which really has me questioning the quality and future of Tesla itself. If the Tesla product is so good, why is he swinging at a company that is already tumbling towards bankruptcy?
Being biased towards your own product is one thing, trying to misinform the public is something altogether different. Truly shameful.
Kurtis,
I agree Mr. Musk is being unreasonable in his view of the Volt in both this interview, and others, like the Letterman interview. It is after all his competitor. He should tone it down a bit though, it’s not professional. I am a huge Volt fan myself, and will pay anything to buy the first one that comes to my city. That said, I also hope Tesla succeeds in their own market. They are a great example of good American technology and progress. Leading the way. Competition is always needed!
I did want to politely correct your post though. Since neither of us want the public to be misinformed. The Volt’s electronic control circuits will be a bit more complicated then you have envisioned. It is true the gasoline engine is not connected to the wheels, it’s only a generator of electricity. However, the power created from the generator while driving the car can go directly to the electric motor driving the wheels, by-passing the battery. If more electricity is created by the generator then needed to move the car, this energy will be stored in the battery, charging it. However, the battery will only charge up to a certain percent from the engine, about 35%. (This is the same percent charge that the generator comes on at too.) When you think about it, this is very logical. This maximizes the amount of driving done on electric alone. You wouldn’t want to arrive back at home with a full battery charged up by gasoline right?
The generator in the Volt will not be capable of generating enough power for fast acceleration, or a steep hill climb. At these times, the 35% battery charge would be “dipped into” momentarily. Then, later in the drive when a surplus of electricity was available from the generator ( perhaps going back down the steep hill. ) This energy would charge the battery back up to 35%.
( The battery also only charges to a maximum of about 85% when plugged in. Using only this 50% “center range” is what gives it the projected 10 year life. )
GM finally went bankrupt, only they didn’t go away!!! : (
Even wars can’t wipe out big corporations, they’re essentially immortal: Think Mitsubishi, Krups, and the like. Not that I’m equating GM to an Axis company, its just an example of corporate durability.
(I’m going off topic for a couple of paragraphs now, but I promise I’ll come back to the Volt — moderator please don’t grab my message by the collar and throw it out of the pub!)
After WWII, those axis company names should have been wiped from existence. In many ways, they were responsible for starting the war. Instead, they were just “reorganized”.
Sound familiar? While the recent disasterous mismanagement of the financial sector could’t compare to a war, there was certainly “blood in the streets”. I see no reason why the banks or car companies should have been bailed out, especially not from the top down.
If gov money is to be involved, and that’s a big IF, it should go to individual citizens, so they can pay off their mortgages or cars, or open their small R&D firms (pick me! pick me!). That would automatically stabilize the big boys, as well as avoiding or at least delaying fragmentation of Main Street, and at best, give birth to new and futuristic companies (like mine!).
Makes a good case for a “corporate death penalty” — in case of major malfesance causing injury, death, or huge financial loss via fraud, don’t just arrest the CEOs — yank the corporate charter and wipe the company name from the books.
But I digress. My point is, for a company like GM, bankruptcy is little more than a speed bump.
Perhaps the Volt will be their redemption. I went through the whole EV1 debacle for years, then swore never to buy another GM product unless or until they sold something of the caliber of the EV1. Maybe the Volt is it. Or will be it. After 20 years of design work, and billions spent.
I only hope its not too late for GM! Oh, wait, it is too late. Well, I only hope its not too late for GM 2.0!
Too bad my GM 1.0 stock automatically converted to “ACME Holding Co.” stock at 11 cents per share. None too excited about investing in the “new and improved” version…
Stock tip — I bought into GM and Ford @ $1 to $2 after The Fall of ‘08. GM tanked, of course, but Ford is up 570%!!!
Easiest $350 bucks I ever made. Celebrated by buying a tank of extra premium racing gas for my Mazda Miata.
Just a crying shame GM had that EV1 bird in the hand, super heavy duty R&D bought and paid for, light years ahead of the #1 hit Prius, and they didn’t simply open their hand and let it go, they closed their fist and crushed it.
For more on the EV1, check out my movie: “FutureCrusH”, on video Google. Its free. Though if someone can tell me how to charge money for it, or even collect donations, I will.
Gas 2.0 digs into the viscous world of biofuels and the fast-paced transit arena, exploring the technologies and substances that are the future of transportation.
Yes, his point is simple, to those of us already familiar with the technology. For the vast majority of the general public, his incoherent stammering, stuttering, and conflubbering, did little to enlighten them. I could envision a large fellow coming on set, grabbing him by the collar, open palm slapping him back and fourth a few times, while yelling “spit it out already, jackass”.
So let’s see:
GM: “Buy the Volt. For most trips you will not burn any gas at all. For those longer trips, the backup generator will kick in and you can drive as far as you like while still getting 50MPG.”
Tesla: “Um, yes, well, first, you you you need to to to consider that, umn, that that the power density of of of….”
:-/
This is the second time I’ve seen Mr. Musk directly or indirectly misinform the public about the Chevrolet Volt (See his appearance on David Letterman, he fails to correct David on several points about the Volt, i.e. Mr. Letterman’s insinuation that the Volt can only go 40 miles. The link to it is actually just below this video).
What I’m referring to is when he asserts that the small gas engine that accompanies the electric motor in the Volt will not have adequate power. However, the gas engine is a generator for the battery. It NEVER provides power to the wheels but simply recharges the battery.
Either he really doesn’t understand the concept of the Volt (which I find extremely hard to believe), or he’s intentionally providing misinformation (which is more probable and very sad).
While I firmly believe in the idea of Tesla, Mr. Musk is proving himself to be a manipulative and unethical businessman, which really has me questioning the quality and future of Tesla itself. If the Tesla product is so good, why is he swinging at a company that is already tumbling towards bankruptcy?
Being biased towards your own product is one thing, trying to misinform the public is something altogether different. Truly shameful.
Kurtis,
I agree Mr. Musk is being unreasonable in his view of the Volt in both this interview, and others, like the Letterman interview. It is after all his competitor. He should tone it down a bit though, it’s not professional. I am a huge Volt fan myself, and will pay anything to buy the first one that comes to my city. That said, I also hope Tesla succeeds in their own market. They are a great example of good American technology and progress. Leading the way. Competition is always needed!
I did want to politely correct your post though. Since neither of us want the public to be misinformed. The Volt’s electronic control circuits will be a bit more complicated then you have envisioned. It is true the gasoline engine is not connected to the wheels, it’s only a generator of electricity. However, the power created from the generator while driving the car can go directly to the electric motor driving the wheels, by-passing the battery. If more electricity is created by the generator then needed to move the car, this energy will be stored in the battery, charging it. However, the battery will only charge up to a certain percent from the engine, about 35%. (This is the same percent charge that the generator comes on at too.) When you think about it, this is very logical. This maximizes the amount of driving done on electric alone. You wouldn’t want to arrive back at home with a full battery charged up by gasoline right?
The generator in the Volt will not be capable of generating enough power for fast acceleration, or a steep hill climb. At these times, the 35% battery charge would be “dipped into” momentarily. Then, later in the drive when a surplus of electricity was available from the generator ( perhaps going back down the steep hill. ) This energy would charge the battery back up to 35%.
( The battery also only charges to a maximum of about 85% when plugged in. Using only this 50% “center range” is what gives it the projected 10 year life. )
Glen, you got half of your wish…
GM finally went bankrupt, only they didn’t go away!!! : (
Even wars can’t wipe out big corporations, they’re essentially immortal: Think Mitsubishi, Krups, and the like. Not that I’m equating GM to an Axis company, its just an example of corporate durability.
(I’m going off topic for a couple of paragraphs now, but I promise I’ll come back to the Volt — moderator please don’t grab my message by the collar and throw it out of the pub!)
After WWII, those axis company names should have been wiped from existence. In many ways, they were responsible for starting the war. Instead, they were just “reorganized”.
Sound familiar? While the recent disasterous mismanagement of the financial sector could’t compare to a war, there was certainly “blood in the streets”. I see no reason why the banks or car companies should have been bailed out, especially not from the top down.
If gov money is to be involved, and that’s a big IF, it should go to individual citizens, so they can pay off their mortgages or cars, or open their small R&D firms (pick me! pick me!). That would automatically stabilize the big boys, as well as avoiding or at least delaying fragmentation of Main Street, and at best, give birth to new and futuristic companies (like mine!).
Makes a good case for a “corporate death penalty” — in case of major malfesance causing injury, death, or huge financial loss via fraud, don’t just arrest the CEOs — yank the corporate charter and wipe the company name from the books.
But I digress. My point is, for a company like GM, bankruptcy is little more than a speed bump.
Perhaps the Volt will be their redemption. I went through the whole EV1 debacle for years, then swore never to buy another GM product unless or until they sold something of the caliber of the EV1. Maybe the Volt is it. Or will be it. After 20 years of design work, and billions spent.
I only hope its not too late for GM! Oh, wait, it is too late. Well, I only hope its not too late for GM 2.0!
Too bad my GM 1.0 stock automatically converted to “ACME Holding Co.” stock at 11 cents per share. None too excited about investing in the “new and improved” version…
Stock tip — I bought into GM and Ford @ $1 to $2 after The Fall of ‘08. GM tanked, of course, but Ford is up 570%!!!
Easiest $350 bucks I ever made. Celebrated by buying a tank of extra premium racing gas for my Mazda Miata.
Just a crying shame GM had that EV1 bird in the hand, super heavy duty R&D bought and paid for, light years ahead of the #1 hit Prius, and they didn’t simply open their hand and let it go, they closed their fist and crushed it.
For more on the EV1, check out my movie: “FutureCrusH”, on video Google. Its free. Though if someone can tell me how to charge money for it, or even collect donations, I will.
Mike