nissan fb 15

Is Tesla’s latest battery decision a gamechanger where they use lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for all standard-range Models 3 and Y and not nickel cobalt aluminum (NCA) batteries?

For the past 45 years and counting the wife and I make around 35 trips to the lake and, or grandma’s house around 200–250 miles. I have a few band gigs and these can be 200–250 miles a few times and some are even longer. Once you get out on two lane highways you often will have to drive 15–20 miles out of the way to a charger station and then sit there for and hour. Now if you had to drive 20 miles you just lost 40 miles of driving capacity to charge the battery. The Lithium Iron batteries have 20% or more less distance. Our trips occur in winter, hot summer, and manytimes involve an additional 30–45 minutes of sitting in traffic hardly moving. With a 220 mile standard range that means charging before going home and then charging at home. The recommended range is 80% charge and 30% minimum charge so basically 40–50% less than the rated distance. Rural areas have few charging stations and the electric grid does not have capacity to charge all cars if they are electric. Here is the juice after 18 years Tesla only has two viable model cars to sell and they cost twice the price of gas engine cars. 80% of the electricity in Minnesota comes from burning fuel so this is not game changing in any regard other than moving wealth from one group of rich people to another. There was a recent video on FB of a test in England with five new electric cars, Tesla, Nissan, Audi, Mercedes, and Jaguar. all cars were charged 100% the evening before the road test. At the start of the test all car batteries had lost 4–6% of their charge just sitting. The outside temperature was around 40 degress. The car were all driven on the highway on behind another at a speed around 60 miles an hour. There was little to no need for heat or AC. All five cars were driven to depletion of the battery. Under the best driving conditions these cars all failed to deliver the amount of miles advertised and there was little stop and go at signal lights. The Tesla did get close to the advertised miles. However, if AC or heat is required the miles distance will reduce. In Saint Paul/Minneapolis cars get 50% less fuel economy due to lower speed limits 20–25 miles an hour, and the thousands of new traffic lights, stop signs that have been installed in our two cities. In cold Minnesota Winters the cars need to be plugged in nearly constant to keep the batteries heated and warm. If you attempt to drive and electric car let say at zero degree F day and it is not plugged in lots of luck with range. There is no free lunch.