Tesla Touts Cross-Country Trip, Aims For World Record 357
smaxp writes "A cross-country trip by two Model S sedans 'recorded the lowest charge time for an electric vehicle traveling across the country – a feat that is now being assessed for recognition as a Guinness World Records achievement,' according to a Tesla blog post. 'The 3464.5-mile jaunt is yet another attempt to ease range anxiety among many consumers who worry about being stranded in a car with a depleted battery pack and nowhere near a charging station. While Tesla’s Model S is too expensive for average consumers, the company plans to roll out cheaper models at some point and needs to address the fear that has stopped many people from buying electric cars, even cheaper ones such as the Nissan Leaf...'"
charging standard does exist (Score:4, Informative)
actually they have.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAE_J1772
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VDE-AR-E_2623-2-2#VDE-AR-E_2623-2-2
Tesla's supercharger however is proprietary because it delivers far more power than the standard mechanism permits and it is intimately linked with the battery & its control system in the car.
Re:Exactly how much fossil fuel was burned... (Score:5, Informative)
Tesla addresses that issue on their site:
http://www.teslamotors.com/goe... [teslamotors.com]
44% of US power generation comes from coal, with 23% from natural gas and 20% from nuclear. They have a map that shows each state's breakdown. If you're charging in Washington, Idaho, or Oregon, for example, you're not using a lot of fossil fuel. If you're charging in Wyoming, Indiana, or Kentucky, on the other hand, then it's mostly coal. If you're charging in Vermont then you might as well be fellating a tree, but without the splinters.
Re:not exactly correct (Score:5, Informative)
According to the info I found the Leaf will lose an additional 10% of capacity(70% vs 80%) over the course of 10 years (not 3) if fast charging is used. Not great but not horrible. For an informed buyer, you are not seeming to be very informed.
There are plenty of challenges for Electric cars, no need to exaggerate them.
Re:charging standard does exist (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.teslamotors.com/charging#/basics
Public charging station adapter (J1772, 80 amp capable)
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/wiki/index.php?title=Charging_System
All LEAFs have a SAE-J1772 Level 1/Level 2 charging port.
http://cmaxchat.com/?tag=kilowatt-hour
The Ford C-Max Energi uses a J1772 compatible charge station