2021 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus 4dr Sedan on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Sun and wind could power Tesla Gigafactory for EV batteries in Nevada

Next week is Tesla Gigafactory week. The California automaker has a major announcement planned, and it's all about its intention to build a battery factory so large, the company is pulling out the giga prefix. At some point in the next seven days, we expect to hear where Tesla will build the plant, who it will partner with, how it will pay for it and lots of other details. The production volume is expected to be at least 30 gigawatt-hours-worth per year. The Gigafactory will take in the raw materials for lithium batteries and put out finished packs, not only for the electric vehicles made by Tesla and its automotive customers, but also for massive amounts of renewable energy storage – that's a niche the company plans to begin to occupy sometime early next year with residential-sized products. The production volume is expected to be at least 30 gigawatt-hours-worth per year. That's more storage than all the lithium battery factories in the world combined produce now. Color us impressed. Now, you might be thinking, "Is it really necessary to go that big at this point in time?" In a word: yes. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said its upcoming, more-affordable vehicle – widely expected to be called the Model E – will wear a $35,000 price tag and boast a battery big enough to take it 200 miles on a charge. To achieve this, the cost of the cells needs to come down dramatically, and so it's no coincidence that the time frame for the new facility will parallel that of this car. According to Musk, the benefits from the economies of scale will see a cost drop between 30 and 40 percent. Of course, historically high prices are one of the main reasons why battery storage has not been widely used in the renewable energy sector, so this development could help drive more demand for cleaner, affordable energy, which, in turn, will drive demand for more storage. That's the kind of vicious cycle we like to see. Musk said the Gigafactory will be "heavily powered" by wind and solar energy. Speaking of renewables, that is where the Gigafactory will get much of its needed energy. During the call with financial analysts that accompanied the release of its 2013 fourth quarter earnings report, Musk mentioned that the new plant will be "heavily powered" by wind and solar energy, and will also use older Tesla packs for storage. These will help deflect the traditional arguments against wind and solar, that the sun doesn't shine at night and the wind doesn't always blow.

Recharge Wrap-up: Shell stops AK ocean drilling, Lego Tesla Model S

Shell says it will halt exploratory drilling near Alaska's coast. While the oil giant has found some oil and gas below the waters, the amount it is finding is not worth the high costs of drilling. Shell also cites "the challenging and unpredictable federal regulatory environment in offshore Alaska" as part of its decision to move on from drilling in the Chukchi Sea, but it is possible public protests had an impact, too. Read more at Treehugger, and in the press release from Shell below. The University of Central Florida's Electric Vehicle Transportation Center will host the EV Transportation and Technology Summit from October 20 to 22 in Cocoa, Florida. The summit is geared toward businesses and organizations with the goals of increasing EV awareness, reviewing current and near future technology, and pointing out deployment achievements and challenges. While its coverage will be more general, the event will focus especially on planning and infrastructure requirements. Learn more at Hybrid Cars, or at the event website. The Tesla Model S still looks good when scaled down for a Lego minifig. A man named Cole Edmonson created a tiny brick version of the iconic EV, and managed to retain the car's distinguishing good looks. Edmonson provides a write-up detailing the process of creating the small, plastic Tesla copy. It's considerably more complicated than one would think. Check out the whole process at Brick Replicas, and read more from The Brothers Brick. Renault and Donfeng will build an electric car in China based on the Fluence ZE. The joint venture between the two automakers - called Dongfeng Renault Automotive Company (DRAC) - will produce the car in its Wuhan plant in 2017. The car will be sold solely in the Chinese market under a local Dongfeng brand. "This EV agreement illustrates Renault's engagement as partner of COP 21," says DRAC CEO Jacques Daniel. Read more at Green Car Congress, or in the press release below. Dongfeng and Renault agree to produce electric vehicles in China On the occasion of the visit of ZHU Yangfeng, Chairman of Dongfeng Group, at the Renault R&D center, Dongfeng Renault Automotive Company (DRAC) announces the production of its first electric vehicle in China. As part of the Joint Venture between Dongfeng and Renault, DRAC will produce an electric vehicle that is based on the Fluence Z.E.

Tesla talking about first European factory, but it won't happen soon

Tesla Motors is, as always, thinking big. The company already has a factory in California with a lot of empty space. But with Model S deliveries happening in Europe and a right-hand drive version just launched in the UK, CEO Elon Musk is already talking about building EVs in Europe. We did some math and let's just say we think any such facility is likely a long way off. The California-based company plans on eventually building a factory in Europe, Automotive News Europe says, citing an interview with Musk. But Musk says Tesla would have to sell 160,000 vehicles a year in Europe to justify such a factory. Musk sees that many sales as a given, eventually, and is planning on building an R&D center in the UK within the next two years while expanding its assembly factory in the Netherlands. "It will take Tesla a bit longer to ramp up in Western Europe than in the US" – Ed Kim But just how long might it take to get to that 160,000 figure across the Pond? Well, through the first four months of the year, Tesla sold 3,467 units of its Model S electric sedans in Europe, Automotive News says, citing research firm JATO Dynamics. Extrapolating from Tesla's first-quarter 2014 delivery numbers (the company doesn't publish monthly sales totals), Tesla sold about 8,600 Model S sedans worldwide through April. Even if Tesla speeds things up in Europe this year and approaches, say, 15,000 units, that's still less than 10 percent of Musk's goal. Even with new models, 15,000 is a long way from 160,000, and it appears that Tesla will grow slower in Europe than it has in the US. "It will take Tesla a bit longer to ramp up in Western Europe than in the US," Ed Kim, vice president of industry analysis at AutoPacific, told AutoblogGreen. "This is partially due to infrastructure issues. In the US, most potential Tesla customers live in detached single family homes, making installation of a personal charging infrastructure at home a snap. In Western Europe, many potential customers – even affluent ones – live in communal living situations like condos and apartments. And even having assigned parking does not guarantee that they would be able to install chargers there." Earlier this year, Tesla dropped the prices of its Model S in Europe because of the strengthening of the Euro. The company initially priced the Model S in the UK at almost $20,000 above the US base price.