Disqus - Latest Comments for GeekLad

Re: NVIDIA Launches CMP 30HX, 40HX, 50HX and 90HX GPUs For Mining, Cripples Hash Rate Of RTX 3060

GeekLad — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 13:39:53 -0000

I would take a risk on them if the price is right. They HAVE to be cheaper than video cards, if they expect miners to buy them. Given the shitty specs, one would hope that they're using a cheap/fast manufacturing process and can pump these out to help satisfy mining demand.

I'm really curious to see what the pricing is going to be like on these things, as well as the availability.

Re: NVIDIA Launches CMP 30HX, 40HX, 50HX and 90HX GPUs For Mining, Cripples Hash Rate Of RTX 3060

GeekLad — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 11:14:53 -0000

The efficiency of those devices is inferior compared to GPUs. This is going to solve nothing unless the devices are cheap and readily available. Otherwise, it's just another paper launch that's going to piss off gamers.

Re: Elon Musk warns of Tesla Self-Driving price increase as they sit on half a billion in unrecognized revenue

GeekLad — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 15:41:13 -0000

I'm surprised that we haven't yet seen a class action suit regarding FSD. There are customers that paid for it three years ago, and still have little to show for it. At some point, people will be coming off leases or will be selling vehicles with features they paid for but never received. I think a class action is likely to happen before FSD comes to fruition.

Re: Cost Of Charging A Tesla Model S Around The World

GeekLad — Fri, 24 May 2019 13:24:55 -0000

It would be interesting to compare the cost of fully refueling a competitor in each of those countries as well. Fuel also tends to be priced higher in those countries. Relatively speaking, it's probably still cheaper to fill up a Model S with electrons in those countries than it would be to fill an S Class or Panamera with hydrocarbons.

Re: Considering Depreciation — Tesla Model 3 vs. Used BMW i3 vs. Used Nissan LEAF

GeekLad — Mon, 30 Apr 2018 11:40:13 -0000

I guess what it really boils down to is how long you intend to keep the car. If you change cars frequently and do not intend to keep the car long, if wait times are still high, the secondhand market may see high valuations.

However, if you plan on keeping the car for a long time and/or driving it a lot, the car will lose significant value. My 2012 P85 has nearly 90K miles (145K km), had an original configuration price of nearly $100K, and I estimate it's probably worth 1/3 of that now.

Re: Considering Depreciation — Tesla Model 3 vs. Used BMW i3 vs. Used Nissan LEAF

GeekLad — Mon, 30 Apr 2018 07:39:54 -0000

Zach,

I'm a Model S owner that lives in Florida (Ft. Lauderdale area). If you won't be commuting far, a Leaf or i3 should suit you just fine. Being a new car, the depreciation on the Model 3 is going to most certainly be much higher than a used i3 or Leaf (even accounting for the tax credit). You'll have a higher purchase price and will be right at the start of the depreciation curve, so you'll have much more to lose.

I think that due to high demand, the Model 3 won't depreciate as rapidly as other new comparables (BMW 3 series, Audi A4, Mercedes C class), but the depreciation will still outpace a used i3 or Leaf.

Another thing to take into consideration is the Tesla Supercharger network. Florida has excellent coverage, and if you enjoy taking road trips (or will drive in the state for work), a Tesla is really the only choice. Public charging options are sparse, and you could have challenges finding unoccupied/working stations. If you purchase an i3 or Leaf, you'll need a second ICE vehicle or rent a vehicle to take road trips/business trips.

Re: Thief hijacked a Chevy Bolt EV failed to get away because ‘he didn’t know how to drive it’, police says

GeekLad — Thu, 01 Mar 2018 07:31:12 -0000

When the driver exited the vehicle, I would imagine the fob exited with him. The thief probably wasn't able to drive the car because the fob wasn't present in the car.

Re: A look at Tesla Gigafactory 1 from space over the last year

GeekLad — Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:17:43 -0000

Fred, you may want to update the story photo up at the top. The labels at the top of the photo are cut off, which really threw me as I stared at it before reading the article. After scrolling down, I better realized what I was looking at.

Re: Top Misconceptions of Non-EV Drivers (CleanTechnica EV Report)

GeekLad — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 12:47:26 -0000

I think another top misconception is that isn't sufficient infrastructure for charging. With an EV, there's no need for using public infrastructure to charge unless you are on a road trip. The infrastructure for charging is in the millions of garages around the globe.

Re: How Does The Chevy Bolt Compare To The Tesla Model 3?

GeekLad — Mon, 12 Jun 2017 07:36:45 -0000

I would caveat availability of the Bolt, since it is only available in select markets. For over half of the US, neither will be available until July.

Re: New Tesla Model 3 prototype pictures with rare shot of the interior [Gallery]

GeekLad — Fri, 24 Jun 2016 07:14:32 -0000

Very odd that the controls screen appears to have images of a Model S instead of a Model 3

Re: Tesla’s new 60kWh pricing option is a software revolution, here are the exclusive details

GeekLad — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 13:38:38 -0000

Hey Seth, I'm curious... Did your "40 kWh" have Supercharging before the unlock, or did you have to pay for both the 60 kWh upgrade and Supercharging?

Re: The VP of American States Water Company (NYSE: AWR) is Selling Shares

GeekLad — Tue, 17 May 2016 13:40:26 -0000

P/E is a ratio, not percent

Re: Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) And Other Tech Giants Scramble For Lithium As Prices Double

GeekLad — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 10:25:12 -0000

Tesla will be consuming even more cobalt by volume, as it's a bigger component in Li-ion cells than Lithium.

Re: The Dirty Little Secret about All-Electric Vehicles

GeekLad — Tue, 08 Mar 2016 07:34:57 -0000

Just as the electricity used in electric vehicles needs to be sourced, the gasoline in ICE vehicles needs to be sourced as well. Gas tank to wheels, an ICE may be 14% efficient, but the gas doesn't get into the tank without additional losses.

If you account for drilling the oil, transporting the crude, refining the oil, transporting the oil to gas stations, and the (dirty) electricity that powers the pump that gets the gas into the tank, an ICE is going to be less efficient than 14%. It's very likely it would be less than 13.7% efficient.

Comparing the efficiency of an electric vehicle taking into account losses from the source and not doing the same with an ICE is comparing apples and oranges.

Re: The Solar Powered Electric Car From Back In 1960 (Video)

GeekLad — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 13:22:03 -0000

As much as I'd love to see solar on a Model S, as your numbers demonstrate, it's just not worth it. Solar cells need to see a dramatic increase in efficiency if we're ever going to see solar fully powering conventional vehicles. I think they would need to produce/store on the order of 10-15 kWh, which needs they need to increase efficiency 5x - 7x.

Re: Japan's Olympic Hydrogen Push Faces Challenges, Questions

GeekLad — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 15:50:25 -0000

If they plan to use fuel cells to power buildings, why wouldn't they construct hydrogen production plants that are powered by fuel cells?

Re: Life With Tesla Model S: Does Supercharging Cut Battery Capacity?

GeekLad — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 08:06:19 -0000

David,

After reading your article, I decided to re-balance my own battery and see what the results looked like. I ran the battery down to 4%, and did a long recharge overnight. The recharge added 74kWh, which would indicate full capacity to be around 77kWh. Instead of looking at consumption and battery percentage, have you tried to look at the recharge energy amount and battery percentage?

When I performed the full battery charge, it seemed like the battery was still taking charge. For a while when it was at 100%, the car said 5 minutes remaining, and then after more or less 5 minutes passed it said "calculating time remaining" but never output a value. I had to get to work, so I unplugged it. I'm not sure how much longer it would have continued taking charge even though it indicated 100%.

I also did the flip-side, and measured consumption as well. One thing I did was to set a destination (my 40 mile commute), and see what the energy consumption chart looks like. For about 1.5kWh of consumption (3 mi.), the percentage didn't drop at all and stayed at a completely flat 100%. I wonder if I had waited until the car was fully charged (i.e. continued charging longer even though it indicated 100%), how long it would have remained flat at 100%. Here's a photo of the consumption chart:

https://drive.google.com/fi...

I watched the chart carefully, and right when it it 85% I noted the consumption value, which was 12.2 kWh. That calculation would put the capacity at 81.3kWh. I think that this may be a bit overstated, because of the "flatlining" phenomenon I experienced at the beginning of the drive. I think the other calculation using the energy added back to the battery is probably more accurate, but the consumption one is interesting nonetheless.

Based on my experience today, I'd recommend trying the same the next time you rebalance and see what your results are like:

* Note your remaining battery percentage before you start the full charge to 100%
* Note the kWh added back to the battery when you get to the full 100%. Calculating the capacity using the kWh added back to the battery and the % added back may possibly give a more accurate measure than trying to use consumption.
* As soon as the battery hits 100%, set a destination in the nav and drive the car immediately to avoid vampire losses messing with the calculation
* Watch the trip energy consumption chart, and see if you also see the same phenomenon I experienced, with the flatline at 100% for a short period
* Drive until you hit one of the horizontal grid lines on the consumption chart, so you know that you've hit exactly the percentage of battery remaining and note the consumption at that point in time
* Calculate the capacity based on the consumed energy and percentage

You may have already done some of these things to try to get to more accurate calculations, and perhaps didn't detail them in the article. Let me know if you get a chance to try any of this, and what sort of results you get from it.

Re: Used Electric Cars: Which Hold Their Value Best? Which Is Worst?

GeekLad — Fri, 12 Jun 2015 08:10:31 -0000

Good info Ian. I think one major piece that's lacking is that the comparison really should go against average sales transaction price, not MSRP. Transaction prices are most definitely below MSRP, with dealer discounting and manufacturer incentives. The only exception would be Tesla, since they do not negotiate or offer incentives.

If the depreciatoin were calculated against average transaction prices instead of MSRP, it would paint a very different picture. Unfortunately, that information may not be readily available, but if you can manage to find it I think the data would be that much more helpful.

Re: Used Electric Cars: Which Hold Their Value Best? Which Is Worst?

GeekLad — Fri, 12 Jun 2015 08:03:12 -0000

As others have stated, the exclusion of tax incentives are definitely going to taint the picture. Exclusion of manufacturer and dealer incentives are also going to play a big role in tainting the picture. Since Tesla doesn't negotiate on price, the sticker price on average is going to be very close to the actual price paid.

For other manufacturers, dealers will sell below sticker more often than not. If all incentives (government, manufacturer, and dealer) were accounted for, the differences in depreciation wouldn't be so dramatic.

Re: Life With Tesla Model S: Local Supercharger Joys & Frustrations

GeekLad — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 15:37:08 -0000

Even if you're charging from a Supercharger, you're still consuming from Central Hudson grid. In fact, by Supercharging you're consuming more energy. Supercharging has slightly more overhead than standard charging, due to the additional overhead for the rapid cooling required.

If your end goal is to give less revenue to Central Hudson, commercial rates are probably low enough to overcome the additional energy consumption required by Supercharging. If your goal is to consume less power from Central Hudson's grid, it would be better to just charge at home.

There is one more factor that throws a wrench into everything. Central Hudson is reselling your excess hydropower production at higher margins than what they make on their own production. It would likely more than offset the revenue you're denying them by Supercharging at commercial rates.

If your goal is to give Central Hudson the finger all around, it might be best to just charge at home. You'll be consuming less power in total, and you'll be giving them less excess power for pennies on the dollar on which they're going to make a bigger profit. It's a little more money out of your pocket, but ultimately puts less in Central Hudson's vault.

P.S.: That hydropower setup you got there is very cool!

Re: 2016 Toyota Mirai: First Drive Of Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Sedan

GeekLad — Thu, 05 Mar 2015 15:53:53 -0000

I agree 100%. I still don't understand why Toyota is betting the farm on hydrogen, and why they don't advance further with plug-in hybrids. I think the plug-in Prius would do well if they sold it as part of the full line, and not just a compliance car. I was really disappointed when I went to the Miami auto show and they didn't have a plug-in Prius, because no dealerships in Florida carry it. I believe the rep told me the nearest one was in North Carolina. So sad...

Re: Good News For Tesla Motors Inc In Europe

GeekLad — Fri, 06 Feb 2015 07:35:55 -0000

On top of that, George Zack wrote both articles. I could understand if two authors have differing views, but this is ridiculous. Perhaps he suffers from multiple personality disorder.

Re: Tesla Motors Inc P85D Beaten By Porsche 911 Turbo S In Close Race

GeekLad — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 07:25:33 -0000

Len, from what I've heard, the front motor is geared differently than the rear, so technically it has more than one gear. With the software shifting power between them as needed, it essentially has even more than two gears. I believe the front motor was tuned more for efficiency at highway cruising, rather than additional torque at high speed. If they configured the gear ratio for the front motor differently, I would imagine they could better tune it to have better torque further in the 1/4 mile. It would be interesting to see what Saleen could do with it, if they modified the gear ratios to further improve the car's torque at higher speeds.

Re: Tesla Motors Inc P85D Beaten By Porsche 911 Turbo S In Close Race

GeekLad — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 07:17:15 -0000

Launch control problems don't really exist with an electric car. There's no combustion to cause overheating, no transmission, no clutch, nor gearbox (there's only one gear). There's little reason for an electric car not to have launch control.