The systematic improvement of components and their manufacturing technologies has already allowed Tesla that electric vehicles of this brand are able to travel a greater distance on a single charge than their predecessors from previous batches could. With the same traction battery capacity, the Tesla Model X and Tesla Model S are now able to travel 10% more and charge 50% faster. However, at a recent analyst event, Elon Musk spoke about more important changes that will affect the traction batteries of all electric vehicles of the brand from next year.
Next year, the company intends to launch a new generation of battery cells that can withstand an increased number of charge and discharge cycles. In fact, such cells have already been tested by the company in the framework of energy projects. It remains only to put on stream their production for use in electric vehicles. The difference lies in the fact that if the current Tesla electric vehicle traction batteries can last up to 500-800 thousand mileage, then the new generation batteries can last up to 1 km.
Around the world forty times
Musk explained why this is necessary. Described the other day to launch a robotic taxi service implies a long and intensive operation of electric vehicles. The head of the company generally stated that owners of private cars use them no more than 20% of the time, and the car could work for the owner, bringing him profit in the taxi or car sharing service, even if we are not talking about automatic movement. The intensity of the operation of taxis is many times higher, and in anticipation of the launch of its own network of “robotic taxis”, Tesla is ready to guarantee that its cars will be able to travel up to 1,6 million km. In fact, all other units of Tesla electric vehicles are already ready for such runs, and it remains only to tighten the traction batteries to this resource, which will be done next year.
On the scale of American realities, running one kilometer in a robotic taxi will cost about seven rubles in terms of the current exchange rate, and this is several times cheaper than traveling in a private car, not to mention car sharing services. Musk claims that one electric car operated by an automatic taxi service can generate up to $30 in profit per year. The service life of one copy will reach eleven years. At the same time, it costs about $000, and for its own fleet of taxis, Tesla is even going to use used leased cars bought from customers, whose residual value will not exceed $38.
Musk considers not only the idea of buying any other non-Tesla car to be insane, but also the organization of robotic taxi services on cars with an internal combustion engine. Only electric vehicles, in his opinion, combine durability and efficiency, allowing you to turn an automatic taxi fleet into a profitable enterprise. A conditional “robo-car” of a competitor in terms of current prices cannot cost less than $200, according to Musk, and Tesla is available at a price of less than $000. At the same time, all electric vehicles of the brand released since October 50 already have all the equipment necessary for automatic control. If NVIDIA components were previously used, then this year the improved on-board computer, while maintaining full compatibility, uses its own Tesla FSD processor in the amount of two pieces.
To a bright future - without a steering wheel and pedals
Having shown at the event a sketch of the interior of a Tesla electric car without a steering wheel and pedals, Musk explained that the company could start producing such modifications in a couple of years, but the transition period will drag on for years. Naturally, the current legislation will be a significant deterrent here, which will require vehicles to have controls that can be influenced by a person for a long time to come.
A couple of times, Elon Musk dared to say that in the future, society will get so used to the idea of automated transport that it will demand a legal ban on driving using traditional methods. Already, automation is twice as safe as a live driver, and in the future this indicator will only improve. If we talk about the resistance of lawmakers, then Musk believes that the impressive statistics of tests of “robo-cars” on public roads will help convince them. In the end, as Elon Musk explained, once the work of elevators was also controlled by people, but this profession has become obsolete with the advent of automation.
When asked from the audience about legal liability in the event of an accident, Musk, after a moment's hesitation, said that Tesla was ready to take full responsibility. The confidence that the probability of such incidents is extremely small helps the company decide on this. By the way, in one of the countries, Tesla expects to launch a robot taxi service by the end of next year. In other countries, the timing of the launch will depend on the goodwill of local authorities and legislation.
Speaking about the peculiarities of orienting robotic taxis on the ground, Musk sharply criticized optical radars and accurate digital maps of the area. The latter require regular updates, while the former are too expensive and inefficient. Cameras and radars provide Tesla electric vehicles with everything necessary for safe movement in automatic mode, as the founder of the company is convinced. A couple of times during his speech, Musk referred to the unsurpassed set of qualities of the 2012 Tesla Model S, which competitors still cannot catch up with.
Source: 3dnews.ru