Comments by "Engineering the weird guy" (@engineeringtheweirdguy2103) on "7NEWS Australia" channel.

  1. Break even against what? I purchased a Tesla model 3 for 60k. I drive around 120/day for my work commute alone. At the rate I’m saving money at in fuel savings and regular servicing savings, after 5 years it would have cost me the same amount of money to buy, fuel/charge and service my Tesla model 3, as it would have to buy, fuel/charge and service an entry level Toyota Camry, except an entry level Toyota Camry doesn’t come with any of the features, comforts, safety, or performance at the Tesla. Break even point depends on where you set your bar.
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  2. On average a modern EV will last twice as long as a combustion car. With none of the regular maintainace and all the parts a fluids that go with it which all have their own footprint. EV’s will also do this for 10x less cost per km than combustion cars
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  3. You ok there bud? Nobody claims EV’s are perfect but they are by far better than combustion cars
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  4. You don’t understand much about how the energy grid and EV’s work do you?
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  5. The standard range Tesla model 3, the shortest range Tesla you can buy in Australia (which is shorter than the long range model 3 or performance model 3) has a 400km range. It would be fine, and exceptionally cheaper to use an EV than a combustion car.
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  6. The majority of Australia don’t regularly drive more than 400km per day. In relation to your question there are in the order of 150 or more service stations between Melbourne and Sydney once you’re outside the metropolitan area. In Germany fuel stations have begun adding charging stations. It is a relatively low cost investment but it was mandated by the government. If that occurred you would need only have 1-2 charging stations per stop to satisfy the current needs. But with the infrastructure as it is currently I would say if you do that trip regularly then EV’s aren’t for you. However they would be applicable and an appropriate choice for the other 98% of the country who don’t have niche anecdotal use case not shared by the average Australian.
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  7. Let’s talk about how good petrol and diesel are. They use exorbitant amounts of energy to drill from ocean floors (sometimes leaking killing millions of animals and destroying ecosystems but who cares right?) it’s the SHIPPED on cargo ships that use crude oil to fuel them as there are no environmental regulations in open waters, before its PIPED to fuel refineries where its refined using exorbitant amounts of grid electricity and by burning its own crude oil to heat up the rest of the crude oil, it also uses a lot of rare metals such as cobalt to remove sulphur from the fuel before it’s put in a TRUCK to go the fuel stations burning more fuel before it’s finally burnt in a combustion engine. And not only that, you need to continuously do that for every single km, you drive, unlike lithium which only has to go into a car once and will last 500,000 miles or so, before it’s finally RECYCLED into a new battery.
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  8.  @robboot2801  or try to find a new job.
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  9.  @robboot2801  people carry on about how the need 1,000km of range “minimum” claiming that’s their benchmark. If that’s the case that’s like 90% of the most popular cars in Australia off the table. But more to the point. When was the last time they drove 11 hours straight without so much as a pee break. My guess is never.
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  10. Why? Because they don’t make loud noises?
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  11. Still more emissions friendly than combustion engines even on a coal only grid (which Australia isnt). Especially when you think about the energy required to drill for oil, off platforms run by diesel generators, then to be shipped tho countries on ships run by burning crude oil. To then be transported by diesel or diesel pump to refineries. To then use copious amounts of grid energy as well as straight up burning crude oil into the atmosphere to refine the fuel, before its pumped into diesel trucks to be delivered to a fuel station where its pumped into a car where it is ultimately burnt into the atmosphere. But you’re right. close call
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  12. They’re really not though. And even when considering where the energy comes from. They are still vastly lower emission than combustion cars. Especially when you consider the energy and emissions used to refine and then transport the fuel in the first place. Infact EV’s are so efficient that’s it’s more fuel efficient to charge your EV off a small portable generator than it is to use that same fuel in a modern efficient combustion engine.
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  13. The Tesla model 3 and BMW M3 have similar price points and similar features. And are similar sizes in the same market niche. The model 3 however has more features which are native to having a large battery, as well as better performance, handling, safety and operating costs.
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  14.  @phalanx3803  actually according to all known statistics as well as multiple vehicle safety Authorities around the world EV’s are actually 11 times less likely to spontaneously combust and 5 times more likely to combust in an accident. The only reason people think they are flammable is due to media bias in report vehicle fires. Vehicle fires happen all the time every day, it’s never reported unless someone famous dies… or it’s an EV.
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  15.  @phalanx3803  for example I bet you didn’t know a handful of Kia models have been recalled this year for catching fire spontaneously. Or BMW and Mercedes last year, or Alpha Romeo the year before that.
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  16. Why would you need charging stations every 5km? What storage and charging issues?
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  17.  @thomasdavie4813  it’s not 13 hours normal charge at home. It’s 4 hours. From from flat to full. Which you’d likely never need to do since you only have to charge up your daily drive. I drive 120/day in my model 3 and it takes 1 hour to charge. The shortest range Tesla on the market in Australia has a 400km range. Next shortest is 500km. The longest range is 700km. Charging stations are not 400km apart, for example take the Euroa super charger. It’s niebouring super chargers are yea (70km), Myrtleford (120km) and wodonga (150km). Or take the Bendigo super chargers which is more disadvantaged. It’s nearest are Ballarat (120km), yea (130km), moonee ponds (145km) and Horsham (215km). All well within the 400 minimum range. Not to mention that they are only Tesla super chargers. The cars can also use the charge fox, chadmino and RACV super charging networks ontop of that. Then there are the slower destination chargers. The ones that do 120km in one our. If you even need it.
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  18.  @thomasdavie4813  and terrible product? Tesla is already the highest value auto maker in the world at the moment. The model 3 has one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings of any car. It’s the highest selling luxury car in the US in ANY category and out sells it’s next two competitors combined Doesn’t sound like a terrible product to me
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  19.  @thomasdavie4813  you just repeated your initial comment twice
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  20.  @thomasdavie4813  no. I just pointed at that you will rarely if ever need a super charging station more than once or twice a year, and that you just charge from home when you're asleep. I also pointed at that because you charge from home there is no issue with charge time. There is no issue with storage either. so now you're repeating the same concerns which have already been adressed. its like going to a doctor and saying cut off my foot because it has cancer. the the doctor pointing out that you only just have a splinter in your foot and all the you respond with is "my foot has cancer cut it off"
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  21.  @thomasdavie4813  the lack of coherent logic behind it
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  22. And my do. Current EV ranges are more than satisfactory for most urban, sub urban and inner rural commutes. And charging infrastructure in Australia, whilst still in its infancy, is still adequate to travel interstate without adding more than an hour or two of stops, which is only 0.5-1.5 hours of downtime after the biologically necessities of travelling those distances (toilet, food, rest stops)
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  23. Someone’s salty
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  24. Actually various studies have shown EV’s to have remarkably low depreciation with the model 3 in the USA Having the lowest depreciation over the first 5 years of any car in history, in addition there are still 2012 model S’s with 300,000-400,000 miles (400,000-650,000 km) on the oddo still selling for over 70K USD.
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  25. @john abruzzi like all the ones in the US where they’ve been popular since 2012 and the 2012 model S’s are still going with 400,000-500,000 miles on the clock (600,000-800,000km) and still going?
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  26. @john abruzzi ...... and your point is? You’re claiming that in 10 years we will see heaps in junkyards. From what we see in the US, that’s categorically false. What does import costs have to do with that statement? You think that because you have to pay more money for them They suddenly don’t last as long or are somehow less recyclable?
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  27. @UCF3WfvuxRwxmXkboc_S-Iig and let me guess. You’ve had to rebuild the engine at least once? Either that or replace some major parts of either the engine or drive train? You’ve also had to regularly service the car every 10,000km to keep it running, replacing oil, filters and spark plugs? And do a major service every 100,000km (or less) where you have to replace everything else including timing belts and pumps? And you’ve probably broken down a whole number of times because of failing parts over the years as well. There are model S’s on the road today which have last 1 million miles without having the need for any major services or regular replacements of parts or fluids other than tires and brakes. That’s because a an EV has a couple of hundred moving parts. Nothing else wears. A combustion car as a couple hundred thousand moving parts. Most of them wear and some of them wear quite a lot. So much so you need to constantly replace parts and fluids to keep the thing going.
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  28. @john abruzzi most parts that aren’t regularly replaced in servicing (as as the distributor for example or fuel/brake lines which weather away) don’t go slowly. They go suddenly. Which is a break down.
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  29. @john abruzzi they don’t float. They sink. Why would you think they float!
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  30. No it’s not. The government still gets tax on electricity. But even before excise electricity is drastically cheaper than fuel. Coupled with the fact that EV’s are so much more efficient that it’s literally more efficient to charge an EV with a small portable generator than it is to use that same fuel in a modern combustion engine.
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  31.  @nampam3945  well that’s a lie, I just looked up the specs of a Honda 2.2kW generator. It runs for 3.2 hours at full load on just under 1 gallon of fuel which is around 3.8L of fuel. So 0.84L of fuel for one hours operation at 2.2 kW’s Which gives 2.2 kWh. So how far will 2.2 kWh get you on a Tesla model 3 for example. Well a Tesla model 3 will get 130Wh/km. Or 0.13kWh/km. So 2.2/0.13 is 17km for only 0.84L. So that 20km/L of fuel. Or a fuel consumption of 5L/100km. If you do similar calculations with a diesel generator it goes as low as 3L/100km.
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  32.  @nampam3945  I’m a Mechanical Engineer. This is sorta what I do. I wouldn’t try to bullshit me.
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  33.  @nampam3945  I can link you to the Honda website which show the specs if you’d like. 5L/100km is a lot better than it’s direct competitor the BMW M3 at 11.6L/100km
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  34.  @lordsamich755  probably worth adding to that, that if you only need to use a super charger on unusually long distance trips that the average person might take once per year or less. Every other day of the year they charge their vehicles either at home or at work when they're not using it. This means that statistically speaking the average person would save 16-17 hours per year from running around getting fuel each week. So perhaps counter intuitively, EV's charging actually saves you time. Not wastes it.
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  35. Do you really think it isn’t real?
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  36. Except Melbourne didn’t get sympathetic news coverage. Just 24/7 dictator Dan comments. Funny that there aren’t any dictator Gladys articles in the news though?
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  37. Not quite how that works bud. With any new technology, initial costs are high. Very high. Unlike existing technologies which have massive infrastructure to mass produce units extremely cheaply with capital equipment which has already been paid off. New technologies simply don’t have that massive supply/demand infrastructure, manufacturing infrastructure which has already been long paid off. In addition EV’s are fighting quite a bit of misinformation being spread by oil companies. Here are a few quick examples 1.) EV’s are a fire hazard: false, they are universal recognised as being 11 times less likely to spontaneously combust and 5 times less likely to combust in an accident compared to combustion cars. 2.) EV batteries don’t last long: false, EV batteries in current cars are set to last well over 500,000 miles (around 800,000km). (Compared to average combustion engine lifetime of 250,000-300,000 km) In addition previous generation batteries are already showing their ability to well surpass 500,000 miles of driving. 3.) EV’s cost more in servicing: false, EV’s don’t have transmissions, spark plugs, oil replacements, fuel pumps, timing belts, oil filters, etc etc etc. they require zero regular maintenance. They are for the most part, service free. 4.) EV’s can’t drive far enough: false, most EV’s these days can drive up to or well over 400km to a charge. Much more than your daily commutes. Most people only travel further than those distances once or twice a year. 5.) You’ll be waiting hours to charge your EV: False, whilst it takes hours to charge from a home charger (1-4 depending on battery level). You won’t be waiting for it. EV’s are typically plugged in at home when you’re not using it. You get home, plug it in, continue with your evening, dinner, family time, sleeping, morning rituals, before coming back to the car. The car has on average between 10-14 hours in which it can take its 1-4 hours to charge while you’re not using it. Meaning without any effort at all you get up each morning with a full tank of gas. Instead of driving to a fuel station every week to get fuel. This last point is praying on people’s ignorance in automatically accepting that EV’s aren’t dissimilar to other vehicles in that they need to go to a station to charge. They don’t, they do it at home. Some people in these comments have said if we had EV adoption, there would be ques at charging stations a mile long of people waiting hours to charge. Simply not the case. You’d only need to do that if you were on a long distance trip which most people don’t take very often. You’d also be using the super charging network which will charge your car anywhere between 5-40 minutes with the medium time being around 20 minutes. That network is expanding rapidly every year in Australia yet alone the rest of the world.
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  38. Download the PlugShare app. Have a look at every charging opportunity from Melbourne to mt Gambia. Alternative go and google “a better route planner” and select what ever model EV you want and put in your start and end destination and it will work out how to get there and how long it will take
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  39. After a quick check it says you can get there in 4 hours and 45 minutes, inclusive of 28 minutes charging at Ballarat. As for when you get there, there are free public chargers at a pub, at a McDonald’s and 2 hotels/resorts in the the town centre alone. Free to use 24/7.
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  40. Won’t quite work like that. Sorry.
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  41. @john abruzzi because you can charge your EV anywhere there is electricity. Namely at home or at work. Most EV owners charge their cars at home when they’re asleep and otherwise not using it. Full range the next morning. Unlike combustion cars, EV’s don’t have to que at a dedicated fuel station to get fuel each week. The only time EV’s typically need to use a public charging station is when you’re doing a long road trip (over 400-500+km). A trip most people only take once or twice a year. Even in Australia.
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  42. well the Cheapest Tesla being the model 3 is the direct competitor of the BMW M3, They are both similar is cost. The model 3 has more features, better performace and better handling. The model 3 also doesnt require any servicing and is more than 10x cheaper to run per km and has a higher safety rating that the BMW. Infact I am a lower middle income earner, just starting out my career in Engineering, so im only just trailing off graduate wages and I purchase my Tesla Model 3 on graduate wages. (it was a big financial stretch). I deemed the cost justified though. here is why; The model 3 is a very cheap car to run. Infact its so cheap without servicing or fuel that I worked out that with the amount that I drive, after 5 years it would have cost me the same if I had purchased, charged, and serviced my Tesla Model 3 than if I had purchased, fuelled and serviced an entry level Toyota Camry, but after the 5 years I still have something that has better performance and features that a BMW, Audi or entry level Mercedes. I also justified it because of the massive jump in safety, the model 3 being the second highest scoring car on the AANCAP safety board the year I purchased it. The Tesla Model X being number 1 and the Tesla Model X being 4th. with the Mercedes CLA in third. They are incredibly cheap to run. more than a year since my purchase and i'm already looking at beating that benchmark with the Toyota Camry before 5 years is up. These cars are also designed (yes, battery and all, dont buy into the blatant lies spread about EV's) to last more than 20-30 years worth of driving. How much do you think I would have saved after 2 decades with my model 3 compared to if I had purchased a toyota Camry or a BMW M3?
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  43.  @JulAlxAU  like it or not the BMW M3 is the main competitor for the model 3. As it stands the average Austrlian doesnt own a new car. They own second hand cars. There are no second hand cars if other people dont buy them new in the first place. There is a huge media bias against EV's in this country. Which makes it all the more worse. I agree we need more insentive. Its new technology, people are always hesitant about new and it doesnt help with all the misinformation out there, even from our own prime minister. The way the become affordable is if interest is shown to incentivise the import of cheaper models and if there is a second hand market for them. Even on a coal based grid EV's are vastly better for the environment over combustion and even dramatically better for public health. I don't see the need to swap with green energy just yet, but to slowly add to it with green energy as required.
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  44. Oil company political donations
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  45. Actually the technology is already there. We are already seeing older generation EV’s outlast their combustion counterparts with no mandatory servicing outside of tires. And newer model EV’s are designed to last well over 500,000 miles, batteries included. So construction quality is good, so is their lifetime Tesla’s finish quality when initially ramping up to mass production was poor, with paint issues and panel gaps, hardly major mechanical issues, and something every automaker on the planet went through when stepping into those kind of production numbers for the first time. Super charging times are down to 5-15 minutes, hardly slow, and most people charge their EV’s at home when they’re not using the car. Statistically speaking that saves the average commuter 17 hours a year not having to find and get fuel. Further to that Tesla’s shortest range vehicle has a 400km range, very few if anyone at all has a daily commute more than that distance. EV’s also have better performance and safety than combustion cars, they also cost 10x less to run per km, and features native to having a large battery make the cars far more convenient and practical. For example forgot where you parked? You can see your car on a map in live time, honk the horn or flash the lights from anywhere in the world. Forgot to wind up your windows, they’ll send you a notification telling you and it’s as simple as a button on your phone from anywhere in the world to wind them up. Went away for a trip and left it on the driveway blocking in your wife’s car? From anywhere in the world you can unlock the car and give remote access to drive it. Parking next to a dodgey car or in a dodgey area? High definition cameras record around the car constantly as a huge deterrent to vandalism and also means, unlike any other car in the market, you can chase up people responsible for door dings on your car and go through their insurance without raising your premiums or playing an excess. If you want to leave your dog in the car you can leave the aircon on indefinitely or turn it on or off to heat up or cool down the car before you even get in it. Seat heaters included. The technology is already there. Don’t be fooled.
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  46.  @gazg1546  as for the cost. really. you think EV's are more expensive than fuel... REALLY?! laughable idea but no. Average price of Electricity in Melbourne is around 25c/kWh. The model 3 uses 0.13 kWh/km, that means it costs 3c per km of travel. The average fuel price in Melbourne is $1.42/L, for a car that does a conservative 7L/100km, it costs 10c per km. which is to say, a fair bit more expensive than eletricity. but it gets worse, that's not apples to apples. The models 3's closest competitor in price, features and performance is the BMW M3, which has a combined fuel consumption of 11.5L/100km. Which puts fuel at 16c per km. but wait theres more there is nothing to service on EV's. No oil filter, no engine oil or transmission oil, no fuel pumps or spark plugs and no timing belts. that means that you're saving on average around 4c per km. which means that your 16c per km, inclusive of regular maintenance is 20c per km. so no. not more expensive. They last longer than a standard combustion cars starting at a lifetime (to 70% of original capacity) of nearly 500,000 miles (800,000km). They also perform better having a drastically lower centre of gravity, and better acceleration and response without sacrificing practicality and they are also safer than combustion cars.
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  47. So. So very wrong. Firstly modern EV batteries last well over 500,000 km. Which is 30-40 years of driving for the average person. Secondly modern renewables last 30-40 years also. Third, even if EV’s are run from a pure coal grid they still pollute significantly less over their lifetime than combustion cars (yes, that’s including manufacturing and end of life). And lastly, LPG is not clean, like oil and gas they are hydro carbons. Meaning they still emit. Additionally while the emissions aren’t as concentrated as say coal, they are far more toxic to people and wildlife.
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  48. Long comment but I thought laying out all the details might help.
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  49. And you base that on what exactly?
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  50. Driving Melbourne to Sydney in my standard range model 3 takes me an extra 1.5 hours. Not really worth complaining about seeing as I am saving on average around 17 hours a year on refuelling a combustion car.
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