Real world blogs place it around 22 miles pure electric - and 57-60mpg with the engine running in long range eco-mode. This is pretty amazing considering how fast the car is. The 135mph is combined, which as I remember is kind of a sham for all hybrid plug-in cars.

The i3 lawsuit is for it's power saving limp mode. Some whiny ass people who don't understand how their car works think it is unsafe. I have seen at least 5 i3s in the last week. They are ugly, in an interesting kind of way.




The i8 isn't in the same class as the Model S - except in price. The uppity models of the Model S are in the range of the i8 price tag. Different cars for different purpose. I tend to lean on the small sporty side of the spectrum so the i8 appeals to me.

The other side of the equation is it is BMW is already a proven and long lasting manufacturer. Already profitable with a support and service network.

Tesla on the other hand - if the Model 3 fails I don't forsee them making it. You can't be a mainstream manufacturer without a "affordable" for-the-people model when it comes to "normal" vehicles. They need something that is cheaper to manufacturer in volume if they want to survive. They better hope that a major manufacturer doesn't out-tech them too - or they will be done. The secret to their success so far is innovation.

In related news, I seen a silver Model S the other day that was busted. Some little chick driving it, had rear ended someone, had a cracked windscreen and glass roof. Was dogleggin' quite badly going down the street. Lol.

Yea I've seen the packs for the model s, their in the belly's.

If Tesla's business model really worked, the big names would just copy them. Tesla has been helped tremendously with subsidies and tax breaks. Just look at everything Nevada did to get them to build their battery factory there.

The Volt is a pretty amazing car and I'm surprised is it hasn't caught on more than it has. The Leaf is just too damn ugly - Nissan needs to fix that.

Amazballs!

What's so great about the volt? It's ugly and the a electric mode only gets about 36 miles to a charge.. seems more like an "oh shit I'm out of gas and need to get to the station to refill than a good electric car


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Not really the business model. As far as I've seen, they got loans and where repaid back earlier than expected. Even the volt gets tax breaks. I'll look up the nevada thing. The volt only gets 420 miles to the tank. 8.9 gallon tank=47 mpg. And only 53 miles from the battery, I honestly don't see whats special about it. The insight was getting close to 70mpg? The leaf is ugly and only has. A range of 100 ish miles, no super charger network so I guess its good to commute to work and around town? I'd rather get a versa.

If someone was really, really smart they would invent a way to upscale the efficiency/capability of inductive charging using standardized mains capable equipment- and install the pads under asphalt @ stop lights and parking spots........

Until Electric cars ditch the plugs and the specialized chargers they will be hampered by their charging. This is where gasoline cars excel - you can get fuel anywhere.

And to be honest I would rather have a gasoline powered car that gets ~50-60MPG than an electric/hybrid that gets a little better but has to deal with managing two different "fuel" types.

This is why cars like the Prius are a sham. My wife's new little 2.0 liter Mazda 3 Hatch averages 30-35 mpg around town. It averages 40-45mpg on trips. When we had a prius loner a few years back - we averaged 46mpg or so on the freeway. The Mazda is way cheaper, lighter, more comfortable, and more fun to drive. Her 2008 Corolla she had before the 3 - only averaged mid 20s in town and low 30s on the freeway.

This.... my semi built gs-R got 34 mpg dd. I don't know shit about solar but wouldn't solar hood, roof and hatch/gate/trunk be efficient for AZ charging while at work or at least assist in ac/radio/nav/ display use to make the battery life longer? Probably not a ridiculous amount but would help imo...

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Out of 240 mile range heater will use 30-40 miles and the ac will use like 20ish miles of range. Like I said, kinsler did it.not sure why Tesla isn't using it. Maybe the solar panels just aren't making enough energy, but it would still look cool. Induction charging would be awesome, park it and walk away.

I got 58 MPG in my Civic CX going to Globe from Tucson. That involved 3rd gear hill climbs because of the lack of power. It would have been 60 if I hadn't pushed a little more gas into the tank when I filled up. Hybrid is cool and all, but I can get the same, if not better mileage out of a 20+ year old car. That says something.

As for solar cells on the electrics to do some trickle charging as you drive, that should be definitely be considered. I work in IT at a hospital and I see ambulances come and go that have solar cells on top of them to help keep batteries charged and all that to take a bit of the load off the alternator(s). It just makes sense.

Musk really walks the line between brilliant and just plain fucking nuts.





Something about this dude makes me think HE is the alien. But, it may just be a subconscious reaction due to the fact if you scramble the letters of his name you can spell "Lone Skum".

It's purely a gut instinct and not based on anything factual whatsoever; Tesla just feels like one big punk on everyone to me. I guess we'll see....

I find new internal combustion engine technology to be more interesting. Oppositional piston engines (Achates) and compression ignition engines that run on gasoline instead of diesel may just be the future rather than electric cars.

As for the first gen. Insight, I have one and I can tell you that the hybrid drive train is only one small piece of that puzzle. The lightweight construction, aerodynamics, tall gearing, and highly efficient small displacement engine play a bigger role. You can literally switch off the hybrid half of the drive train on an Insight and the difference is fairly insignificant. In fact, in non-hybrid mode it gets better mileage on the freeway due to the fact the hybrid battery pack doesn't have to siphon energy from the engine to keep itself charged up. The main problem with a "non-hybrid" Insight is that it is extra slow through the first couple gears without the IMA assist.

Sounds like swapped insights are the perfect mpg chasers

Bwahahahahahahahahahah reminds me of the dude that tried to sue Toyota after it his prius allegedly sped out of his control, and the breaks wouldn't work, he dropped the suit real quick. Lol

Lone Skum's buddy New York Governor Cuomo gave him $750 mil. for his Solar City factory and only charges him a buck a year in rent. Hard not to succeed under those terms.

2013 alone, SolarCity received $127.4 million in federal grants. The following year, in which it received only $342,000 from the same stimulus package, total revenue was just $176 million and the company posted a net loss of $375 million

Wow

I want to hear from employees

Fake news bruh! Lol

My wife loves Tesla's! I don't get it.

My comment from two years ago. I feel more convinced every day that Musk is an unstable conman.