OT: New Tesla Roadster

[cachagua]

Just curious, has Musk stated a position on where he thinks electricity ought to come from?

[cribbit]

Originally Posted by cachagua

Just curious, has Musk stated a position on where he thinks electricity ought to come from?

He owns large portions of solar stuff. I would guess that's just the area where he sees the most room for innovation to breed profit. Most people into electrical stuff see a combination of solar, wind and nuclear (with hydro where possible) being the answer.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by cribbit

He owns large portions of solar stuff.

A buddy of mine at work told me a while ago that it takes more energy to make any given photo voltaic cell than you'll ever get from it in it's entire lifetime.

I don't know if that's true or not, but if it is, then PV cells are merely a means of shifting the environmental damage / cost of the energy produced from the end-user (say, US or Europe) to the location where they're made (say, China).

That's somewhat true regardless of the ratio of input to output, but for the earth's environment as a whole that would truly be galling.

Does anyone know if the "you'll never get out more than you put in" statement is true?

[NHAero]

In much of the US, it's under two years for the embodied energy of a PV system - it depends on available sunlight and the efficiency of the system.

https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/conten...ics-Report.pdf

Originally Posted by Louis

A buddy of mine at work told me a while ago that it takes more energy to make any given photo voltaic cell than you'll ever get from it in it's entire lifetime.

I don't know if that's true or not, but if it is, then PV cells are merely a means of shifting the environmental damage / cost of the energy produced from the end-user (say, US or Europe) to the location where they're made (say, China).

That's somewhat true regardless of the ratio of input to output, but for the earth's environment as a whole that would truly be galling.

Does anyone know if the "you'll never get out more than you put in" statement is true?

[54ny77]

call me cynical.....but the truck and roadster announcement all curiously coincide with being reportedly close to running outta cash.

gotta keep the equity markets enthused. or the gov't subsidies rolling in.

somewhat quietly, they've done some interesting structured financing on the solar side of the fence.

all that aside, the tech is amazing.

[binxnyrwarrsoul]

Originally Posted by 54ny77

call me cynical.....but the truck and roadster announcement all curiously coincide with being reportedly close to running outta cash.

gotta keep the equity markets enthused. or the gov't subsidies rolling in.

somewhat quietly, they've done some interesting structured financing on the solar side of the fence.

all that aside, the tech is amazing.

This. When the electric semi announcement came out, with JB Hunt and Walmart placing pre-orders, (which means jack diddly squat as no money will likely exchange hands until a hard deliver date is met and there'll be clauses/penalties if the semis being ready do not meet deadlines, which will be very likely), the share price jumped 4%, but reality must have set in as the share price closed up only .08%. Lawsuits on the Model3 delays don't help.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/31/tech...l-3/index.html

If and it's a gigantic IF the tech can be a reality, yes, it's amazing. As a professional truck driver, the thought of no diesel fumes is quite enticing. This as a reality in a realistic time frame, my bet is nope.

[Richard]

Originally Posted by Louis

A buddy of mine at work told me a while ago that it takes more energy to make any given photo voltaic cell than you'll ever get from it in it's entire lifetime.

I don't know if that's true or not, but if it is, then PV cells are merely a means of shifting the environmental damage / cost of the energy produced from the end-user (say, US or Europe) to the location where they're made (say, China).

That's somewhat true regardless of the ratio of input to output, but for the earth's environment as a whole that would truly be galling.

Does anyone know if the "you'll never get out more than you put in" statement is true?

The statement is categorically false. Studies have shown that, depending on the technology of the actual panel, it takes between 1 and 4 years to result in a net zero of energy to manufacture vs. energy produced. Given that the panels will continue to generate for another 20 to 25 years, there is no issue.

[ajhapps]

Originally Posted by cachagua

Just curious, has Musk stated a position on where he thinks electricity ought to come from?

From here: https://www.tesla.com/energy

[alancw3]

bob lutz interview about tesla:

http://www.businessinsider.com/bob-l...rprise-2017-11

of course wasn't bob lutz at the helm of gm when it needed a bailout form the federal government?