B

V B M

WallyRippel,PrincipalPowerElectronicsEngineer
January9,2007

WallyRippelisalongtimeproponentofelectricvehicles.PriortojoiningTeslaMotors,hewasan
engineeratAeroVironment,wherehehelpeddeveloptheEV1forGeneralMotorsandwas
featuredinthedocumentarymovie,WhoKilledtheElectricCar?WallyhasalsoworkedfortheJet
PropulsionLaboratoryonelectricvehiclebatteryresearch,amongotherprojects.In1968,asa
Caltechundergraduatestudent,hebuiltanelectriccar(aconverted1958Volkswagenmicrobus)
andwontheGreatTranscontinentalElectricCarRaceagainstMIT.
OneSizeDoesNotFitAll

Inthatodiousworldofgaspoweredvehicles,enginesarenotallalike.Thereareflatheads,
Hemis,straight,opposed,andVconfigurations.Andonandon.Onewouldhavethoughtthat,
yearsago,someonewouldhavefiguredoutwhichwasbest.Thatwouldhaveendedallthe
choicesandthereafteronlytheonebestenginetypewouldbeinproduction.Notso.Thereisno
onebestenginetype,rathertherearedifferenttypesofenginestosuitpersonalrequirements,
suchaspriceandperformance.Thisisalsotrueforelectricvehicledrives.
BackwhenIhadhaironmyheadandcarriedasliderule,therewereleadacidbatteries,DC
brushmotors,andcontactorcontrollers.Today,noneoftheseremain(includingmyhair).Lead
hasbeenreplacedbylithiumandDCbyeitherDCbrushlessorinduction.Contactors,meanwhile,
havegivenwaytomodulatinginverters.So,willeachoftheseelementsalsobecomeobsoletein
thenearfutureorisitpossiblethatsomestabilitymaybeathand?Withoutagoodcrystalball,it
ishardtopredictthefuture.Myguess,however,isthatwewillseebothinductionandbrushless
machinesdukeitoutformanyyearstocome.Eachwillhaveitsloyalproponentsandreligious
detractors.
ACloserLook

Sowhatarethesetwotechnologies?Howdotheywork?Whatdifferentiatesthem?Andwhatdo
theyhaveincommon?LetsstartwithDCbrushlessdrives.
Withbrushlessmachines,therotorincludestwoormorepermanentmagnetsthatgenerateaDC
magneticfield(asseenfromthevantagepointoftherotor).Inturn,thismagneticfieldentersthe
statorcore(acoremadeupofthin,stackedlaminations)andinteractswithcurrentsflowingwithin
thewindingstoproduceatorqueinteractionbetweentherotorandstator.Astherotorrotates,itis
necessarythatthemagnitudeandpolarityofthestatorcurrentsbecontinuouslyvariedandin
justtherightwaysuchthatthetorqueremainsconstantandtheconversionofelectricalto

mechanicalenergyisoptimallyefficient.Thedevicethatprovidesthiscurrentcontroliscalledan
inverter.Withoutit,brushlessmotorsareuselessmotors.
Letsmoveontoinductionmotordrives.Aforerunnerofthe3phaseinductionmotorwasinvented
byNikolaTeslasometimebefore1889.Curiously,thestatorsforthe3phaseinductionmotorand
theDCbrushlessmotorarevirtuallyidentical.Bothhavethreesetsofdistributedwindingsthat
areinsertedwithinthestatorcore.Theessentialdifferencebetweenthetwomachinesiswiththe
rotor.
UnliketheDCbrushlessrotor,theinductionrotorhasnomagnetsjuststackedsteellaminations
withburiedperipheralconductorsthatformashortedstructure.Currentsflowinginthestator
windingsproducearotatingmagneticfieldthatenterstherotor.Inturn,thefrequencyofthis
magneticfieldasseenbytherotorisequaltothedifferencebetweentheappliedelectrical
frequencyandtherotationalfrequencyoftherotoritself.Accordingly,aninducedvoltageexists
acrosstheshortedstructurethatisproportionatetothisspeeddifferencebetweentherotorand
electricalfrequency.Inresponsetothisvoltage,currentsareproducedwithintherotorconductors
thatareapproximatelyproportionatetothevoltage,hencethespeeddifference.Finally,these
currentsinteractwiththeoriginalmagneticfieldtoproduceforcesacomponentofwhichisthe
desiredrotortorque.
Whena3phaseinductionmotorisconnectedtoutilitytype3phasepower,torqueisproducedat
theoutsetthemotorhastheabilitytostartunderload.Noinverterisneeded.(Wereaninverter
needed,Teslasinventionwouldhavebeenuselessuntilsometimeinthe1960s.)Thefactthat
inductionmotorsaredirectlycompatiblewithconventionalutilitypoweristhemainreasonfortheir
success.Incontrast,abrushlessDCmotorproducesnostartingtorquewhendirectlyconnected
tofixedfrequencyutilitypower.Theyreallyneedtheaidofaninverterwhosephaseis
maintainedinstepwiththeangularpositionoftherotor.
While3phaseinductionmotorshavegreatutility,theyalsohavesomeseverelimitations.They
cannotoperatefromDCACisamust.Shaftspeedisproportionatetolinefrequency.Hence,
whenusedwithutilitypower,theyareconstantspeedmachines.Finally,whenoperatedfrom
utilitypower,theyhavelimitedstartingtorqueandsomewhatlimitedrunningpeaktorque
capabilities,whencomparedtoDCtypemachines.
Addaninverter(withoutanyfeedbackcontrol)anditbecomespossibletopoweraninduction
machinefromabatteryorotherDCsourcevariablespeedalsobecomespossiblesimplyby
adjustingtheinverterfrequency.Still,torqueperformanceislowcomparedwithDCmachines.
Addsomefeedbackloopssuchthattheinverterproducestheexactfrequencythatthemotor
desires,andtheinductionmotorisnowcapableofcompetingwithDCandDCbrushlessfor
vehicleapplications.
BrushlessorInduction?

Backinthe1990salloftheelectricvehiclesexceptonewerepoweredbyDCbrushlessdrives.
Today,allthehybridsarepoweredbyDCbrushlessdrives,withnoexceptions.Theonlynotable
usesofinductiondriveshavebeentheGeneralMotorsEV1theACPropulsionvehicles,

includingthetzeroandtheTeslaRoadster.
BothDCbrushlessandinductiondrivesusemotorshavingsimilarstators.Bothdrivesuse3
phasemodulatinginverters.Theonlydifferencesaretherotorsandtheinvertercontrols.Andwith
digitalcontrollers,theonlycontroldifferencesarewithcontrolcode.(DCbrushlessdrivesrequire
anabsolutepositionsensor,whileinductiondrivesrequireonlyaspeedsensorthesedifferences
arerelativelysmall.)
OneofthemaindifferencesisthatmuchlessrotorheatisgeneratedwiththeDCbrushlessdrive.
Rotorcoolingiseasierandpeakpointefficiencyisgenerallyhigherforthisdrive.TheDC
brushlessdrivecanalsooperateatunitypowerfactor,whereasthebestpowerfactorforthe
inductiondriveisabout85percent.ThismeansthatthepeakpointenergyefficiencyforaDC
brushlessdrivewilltypicallybeafewpercentagepointshigherthanforaninductiondrive.
Inanidealbrushlessdrive,thestrengthofthemagneticfieldproducedbythepermanentmagnets
wouldbeadjustable.Whenmaximumtorqueisrequired,especiallyatlowspeeds,themagnetic
fieldstrength(B)shouldbemaximumsothatinverterandmotorcurrentsaremaintainedattheir
lowestpossiblevalues.ThisminimizestheIR(currentresistance)lossesandtherebyoptimizes
efficiency.Likewise,whentorquelevelsarelow,theBfieldshouldbereducedsuchthateddyand
hysteresislossesduetoBarealsoreduced.Ideally,Bshouldbeadjustedsuchthatthesumof
theeddy,hysteresis,andIlossesisminimized.Unfortunately,thereisnoeasywayofchangingB
withpermanentmagnets.
Incontrast,inductionmachineshavenomagnetsandBfieldsareadjustable,sinceBis
proportionatetoV/f(voltagetofrequency).Thismeansthatatlightloadstheinvertercanreduce
voltagesuchthatmagneticlossesarereducedandefficiencyismaximized.Thus,theinduction
machinewhenoperatedwithasmartinverterhasanadvantageoveraDCbrushlessmachine
magneticandconductionlossescanbetradedsuchthatefficiencyisoptimized.Thisadvantage
becomesincreasinglyimportantasperformanceisincreased.WithDCbrushless,asmachinesize
grows,themagneticlossesincreaseproportionatelyandpartloadefficiencydrops.Withinduction,
asmachinesizegrows,lossesdonotnecessarilygrow.Thus,inductiondrivesmaybethefavored
approachwherehighperformanceisdesiredpeakefficiencywillbealittlelessthanwithDC
brushless,butaverageefficiencymayactuallybebetter.
Permanentmagnetsareexpensivesomethinglike$50perkilogram.Permanentmagnet(PM)
rotorsarealsodifficulttohandleduetoverylargeforcesthatcomeintoplaywhenanything
ferromagneticgetsclosetothem.Thismeansthatinductionmotorswilllikelyretainacost
advantageoverPMmachines.Also,duetothefieldweakeningcapabilitiesofinductionmachines,
inverterratingsandcostsappeartobelower,especiallyforhighperformancedrives.Since
spinninginductionmachinesproducelittleornovoltagewhendeexcited,theyareeasierto
protect.
Ialmostforgot:Inductionmachinesaremoredifficulttocontrol.Thecontrollawsaremore
complexanddifficulttounderstand.Achievingstabilityovertheentiretorquespeedrangeand
overtemperatureismoredifficultwithinductionthanwithDCbrushless.Thismeansadded
developmentcosts,butlikelylittleornorecurringcosts.

StillNoWinner

MyconclusionisthatDCbrushlessdriveswilllikelycontinuetodominateinthehybridandcoming
pluginhybridmarkets,andthatinductiondriveswilllikelymaintaindominanceforthehigh
performancepureelectrics.Thequestioniswhatwillhappenashybridsbecomemoreelectrically
intensiveandastheirperformancelevelsincrease?Thefactthatsomuchofthehardwareis
commonforbothdrivescouldmeanthatwewillseeinductionandDCbrushlessliveandwork
sidebysideduringthecominggoldeneraofhybridandelectricvehicles.

Tags:RoadsterandElectric
Next:ThePerfectCar,EnemyoftheGoodCar

Signintocomment.

leboismark2014@...
1year1week

Thisarticlepiquedmyinterestinthelatestproductsavailableonthemarket,andIfoundagreat
resourcehere:http://www.directindustry.com/industrialmanufacturer/dcmotor60997.html.Hope
thisisausefulresourceforyouotherreaders.

michaelb1
3years4months

Thankyouforthispost.Itisextremelyinformative,althoughIstilldontknowwhichmotorisbestto
putinmyelectricmotorcycleprototype.
~MB

WilliamRobertson
4years3months

Excellentsummary.I'mcurrently(ha!)convertingacartoEV.Ultimatelyit,oranother,willbeall
wheeldrive,butintheinterimitwillbeasinglemotor,directlydrivingthediff.(FWD)I'mgoingto
usea220VACBRUSHEDALTERNATOR(fromageneratorset)forthesimplereasonthatthe
amountofcontrolwillbehuge:drivingtherotorwithaPWMcircuitmeansthatIcanvarythe
performanceandregen/brakingcompletely.They'realsorelativelycheap,robustandreadily
available.Whilebrushesareabitofa'nono'thebrushes/slipringslastaverylongtime.Quite
easytoaddwatercoolingifnecessary.

SAMU
5years2months

thankyoufortheverywonderfulinformationthatyouhavesupplied....wehavelearnedalotfrom
it...

Jackson
5years3months

EEstorisdevelopingthesupercapwhichcouldreplacethebatteryforthepureelectriccarvery
soon.
Supercapisthefutureinthedevelopmentofpureelectriccar.Chinahasalreadydevelopedpure
electricbus
poweredbysupercapandhasalreadyrunfortwoyearsinShanghai.ThebusrouteisNo.11.
EEstorhasannoucedthattheirsupercapcanpoweravehicletorun800kmperonecharge.The
chargingis
lessthenonehour.

SamWhobuddy
5years4months

Yes,Teslaisthecarofthefuture,andthefutureisherenow!Weneedtogetoffourduffs,rollup
oursleeves,andgetthistechnologyavailabletothemasses.Thebigoilbarrons,needtotake
theirgreedandsticktheirheadsinthesand.Theyhavebilkedusforallweareworth,goaway,

youalreadyhavemorethanyouwilleverneed.Spreadthewealthofknowledge,ofelectric
transportation.Keepitinauniformanduniversalmanner,sothetransformationcanbesmooth
andunderstandable.Thankyouforyourtime,and,wecometothe21stcentury.
WilliamHenryOtto

Aditya
5years6months

Sir,averygoodandinterestingarticle.Iamanengineeringstudentdoingaseminaronwhether
multiphase(5phaseor6phase)inductionmotorshaveprospectsinthefieldofhybrid
vehicles.....ihopedthatyoucouldshedsomelightonthetopic...

RichardW
5years6months

Allthisinformationiswonderful,but,whataboutrecuperative/regenerativebreaking?Howdothe
differentmotortypeslendthemselvestothat?

NawabAhmed
5years8months

werequiredabove3000rpm2hp3phaseorsinglephaseacordcelectricmotor(compact&light
weight).
Thanks.

gulkhan
5years11months

ineedinforrmationaboutinductionmotorstartingstrategyasthereisnobasicdescriptionofstarts
perhourof3phaseinductionmotor.althoughthereissomerestrictiononstartsperhourfor
differenthpas12startsperhourfor10hpand4startsfor150hp.butthereisnodetailthatwhy

itsstartsarelimitedandwhathappenswhenincreasethestartsperhour.explainplease.
1)iamworkingonsoftstarterfor10hpandfacetheproblemofcrawlingthatstartswithreduced
voltagefrom2530veryslowlyi.e34revolutionpersecondandatoncei.ewithinasecontakes
fullspeedwhenthecurrentreaches42amp.thisoccurssometimesirregularly.althoughitis
normalinthefirst57starts.explain

ChisMarrie
5years12months

Iaminterestedin,investinginYourecompanyandwishYouwouldsendmethestocksymbol.
ThankYouverymuch
ChrisMarrie

johnedwards
6years1month

howmuchpowerdoesthemotoractualyuseperhour,soifforexampleifthemotoruse1watt
p/handthebaterryhold5wattp/hthenthecarsouldgofor5hourright?

BRIANBARWELL
6years1month

CANIPOWERWITHWINDTUBINEGEN?

BrendanMcHenry
6years1month

Teslamotorsisknowworldwideforitsinnovativecars,soisthereapossibilityofTeslaMotors
beingfloatedonthestockexchange?I'dlovetopurchasesharesinthisprivatelyheldcompany
andIthinkalotofotherswouldbelikeminded.

goowSteatinge
6years1month

MegaMillions,Powerball,Lotto6/49,Super7,Euromillion,NewYorkLottoBetheNextJackpot
WinnerWithTheOnlyOnlineServiceThatEnablesYouToPurchaseOfficialLotteryTicketsFrom
AroundTheWorld.

dineshddhawale
6years3months

Imverymuchimpressedbytouchtecniquesandwishtobeapartofit

FrederickW.Pe...
6years3months

Inmyestimation,hybridelectricdriveisthebestapproachtosolvingtheautomotivepower
problem.Pureelectriccarsatthistimeonlypasstheproblemontothesource.And,theonlygood
solutionforeliminatingfossilfuelsistousenuclearpowerforelectricgeneration.Thisalsogives
ustheoptionofproducingcheaphydrogen,whichinturncanbeusedtopowerthecombustion
engineinthehybricvehicle.YouwillnoticethatIsaidcombustionandnotinternalcombustion.
Externalcombustionasusedtopowersteamoranyotherfluidtodriveaturbineresultsina
higheroverallefficiencyofoperationthandoestheinternalcombustionengine.

G.Dixon
6years4months

WOW!WOW!WOW!I'vepatientlyreadalltheseblogsaboutwhichmotortouseinorderto
increasetheefficiencyofanelectricvehicleafewpercentandhowamazingtheTeslaelectric
vehiclewouldbeifitweren'ta$100,000technicallyoverengineeredmarvelthatusesapower
supplythatwillhavetobereplacedwithinapproximately5yearstothecostof$20,000+.Ireally
wanttobuystockinacompanythatproducesaproductthatwillbetechnicallyobsoletebythe
timeithitsthestreet[justlikeacomputertodays'hightechistomorrows'junk].Anybodycan
buildasimpleelectricvehiclewithextendeddistantcapabilitiesiftheypackitwithenoughbattery

power.Theideaistoproduceapracticallowcost,lowmaintenancevehiclewithextended
distanceproperties.TheproblemisNOTthemotor.Anycapablemotorwillsuffice.THE
PROBLEMISTHEBATTERY.Morethanafewcompanieshavetoutedthedevelopmentofnew
batterytechnologybasedonnanotechnology.Theideaisbasicallysimple.Theonlydifference
seemstobethebasicmaterialusedtocreatemoreenergyoutputatalowertemperatureina
smallerandlighterpackage.However,thesecompaniesarenotlookingattheautoindustryasa
marketfortheirproduct.Whybuildabatteryforanindustrythathasalimitedmarket,noviable
productandisintotaldisarrayandconfusion.Thebigmoneyisinsmallconsumerelectronic
devicessuchascellphones,pdaunits,toys,laptops,etc.Thesecompaniesfeelthatthe
accumulationofmoneyismoreimportantthanweatherweandourchildrencanbreathecleanair
inthenearfuture.Getthesecompaniestoapplythistechnologytocreatingapracticalautopower
supplyandyouwouldseealowcost,extendedmileagevehicleinaveryshorttime.Thebatteryis
thekey.Stopnitpickingaboutmotors,controllers,brakingsystems.Italldoesn'tmatteruntilwe
gettherightpowersupplythenit'sGAMEONandmaythebestmanwin!

JoesphBanks
6years5months

ThebatterytechnologyisprettymuchkeepingtheEVcaratbayatthistime.Thecostassociated
withthispartoftheequationisastronomical.ThecompanythatownstheLiontechpatentisA123
systemswhichallthecarcompanieswantorwantedtouse.Thisisexactlythecompanythat
Teslausesforitsparts.ThefunnythingisthatTeslapatentedthe"technology"ofhoneycombing
thecellstogetherwhichIfindkindafunnybecausealmostanythreeyearoldwithbuildingblock
experiencecando.Alterthisjustalittlebitandyouhavegottenpastthepatent.
Thesadthingisthegovernmentisalwayswaggingthedog.Meaningtheyaredistractingfolks
with"hydrogen"fuelknowingtheyareveryfarofffromdeliveringanythingwhilstyoucanactually
deliveracarwhich95%ofthepublicnowcanuseeveryday!!!ThecostofA123cellswoulddrop
asproductionrisessotheabilitytostymietheEVcarleadstothecoststructurewehavetoday.
Thatsit!

MajorWeber
6years5months

Theproblemdoesn'treallyhingeonthetypeofmotor/enginetheproblemisaviable,efficientand
readilyavailablefuelsource.Ifelectricmotorsaretobeused,haulingaroundheavyrechargeable
batteriesaddstothevehicleinefficiency.Rechargingbatteriesisaninefficientprocessthat
consumesmoreenergythanwhatistemporarilystoredinabattery.Theuseofbatteriesrequires

longtermrechargingthateitherrendersthevehicleunusableforanextendedperiodoftimeand
greatlyreducestheefficacyofthevehicleasafunctionalmeansoftransportation.Toovercome
therechargingdowntime,we'llendupbuyingtwoormorevehiclestoperformthefunctionofone.
Insteadofbettermotors/enginesandinsteadoftryingtobuildbetterbatterieswithlessandless
improvementfortheinvestmentinvolved,weneedtofigureouthowtotransmitelectricalenergy
tothevehiclewhileitisinuse.Subwaysdothisthrougha"hot"railjustlikemanyearlyelectric
trainsetsweusedtoplaywithaskids.Streetcarsdiditwithanoverhead"hot"cablethataspring
loadedarmranagainsttopickuptheelectriccurrentneededtorunmotors.Nowisthetimeto
explorehigh/lowradiofrequencyenergytransmissionlikemicrowavesorradiotransmissionsthat
canbelocatedintheroadbed.Asdevelopmentinthisareaprogressed,theenergyreceivedbya
vehiclecouldbemeteredandchargedtotheoperator/owner.Thesysteminfrastructurecouldstart
withtheInterstateHighwaynetworkthenbranchouttomajorfeederhighways,etc.Asthenetwork
moveddowntolocalroadsvehiclescouldbeequippedwithtraditionalfueledenginesorasmaller
batterysettogettothe"electricalfueled"highway.Thetransmissionofpowerthroughlandlines
(literally)couldultimatelybereplacedbysomesortofradiatedenergytransmissionsthroughthe
airthatwouldstilldrivethesametypeofmotors(andorchargebatteries)andeventuallyreplace
petroleumpoweredvehiclesaltogether.

JordanBarr
6years5months

Iwaswonderingifshareswereavailableforyouwonderfulcompany.

DonnaYoung
6years6months

CananyonetellmeofthehistoryoftheelectricbatteryandThomasEdison.Didheimprovethe
battery.WashisPatentpurchasedandheldtonotdeveoptheEVinUSAandCanada,tosupport
gasolinecars,stonewallingEV'sdevelopment?EV'sevenforcommercialuse,oughttohave
evolvedalongsidethegasolinecars.Ifwehadthoughtahead,wewouldnothavedestroyedour
oneisland,PlanetEarth.Itisthoughtoolatetoundothedamagebyourbelovedcarsandtoour
health,bypollution.WhopurchasedthepatentonEdison'svehicleelectricbattery?Wasit
improvedtowhatwasbeingused,then,intheearly1900's?Shameonus,fornotcaringmorefor
cleanerair.Wewereallresponsible,butmostlythecarmanufacturersandtheoilandgas
corporations.Shameonthem.

JohnKennedy
6years6months

Mr.Rippel,
Hopefullyyouwouldtakeamomentandanswerthis,youareobviouslyextremelyqualified.
Itismyprojecttobuildawindpoweredhomeheatingsystem.Ihavedesignedatowerwith
louveredvanestoallowprevailingwindtoenterfromanydirection(betterlookingthanthose
stupidthreeblades),followaventuripathtodrivearotordesign.Thisspinsawheelcoveredwith
anequalnumberofmagnetsatit'scircumference.Thecoilswillbeequalinnumber,distributedto
afixedradius.Thequestionbecomesoneof,canthecoilsbeofasmallguagewirebecausethere
aresomanyofthem?Canthecoresbesomesimplesoildmaterial?Theobjecthereistoachieve
currentwithminimalspinfromlightwinds,andhavethecurrentsupplyacommonelectrichot
waterheaterwithacirculatorsupplytobaseboards.Ifthewindblowslightly,yougetsomehot
waterandifitstorms,yougetmoreheat.Myhairisdisappearingtoo,hopefullyIcanfinishthis
beforeitisgonealltogether.
Best,
John

MarlaSweeney
6years7months

Willpublicstockeverbeavailable?Ijustsawthe60MinutesStoryregardingyourcompanyand
competitionfromFiskerAutomotiveandGM.YoumakeGMlooklikethegreedyidiotstheyare.
EvenifstockwillneverbeavailableItrulybelieveyouarethebesthopetheUnitedStatestoend
itsoildependenceandsaveourworldfromgreenhouseemissionsandglobalwarming.
Goodlucktoyouandyourtrulyamazingtechnologicalbreakthroughinthenextgenerationof
automotivetechnology.IamfromsuburbanClevelandOhioandthistypeofvehiclewouldbeso
welcomedhereforsaleaswellastryingtogetyoutoconsideropeningamanufacuringfacility
hereinterriblyeconomicallydepressedOhio!

RyanM.
6years9months

I'vebeendebatingaboutwhethertogobrushlessoracformynextebike.Youhaven'tmademy
decisionanyeasierbutIammoreinformed.Thankyou.

John
6years9months

You'veprobablybeenaskedbut1moretimeWhyaren'tyouorVoltusingramairgeneratorsfor
rechargingorwhatever?
Iknowpatentsexistforsamebutyoumusthaveotherreasons?

Jeremy
6years10months

Hiwally,
IknowthatyouareanEngineer&youprobablydonthavealottodowiththesalesendofyour
company.
IjustwantedtosayIamaHUGEfanofelectricmotortechnologyBUTdidyouguyseverthink
thata100KpricetagisatotallySTUPIDpricetoputonacarthathashugesellingpotential?I
meanIwouldTOTALLYbuyacarrightNOWthatwasbuiltinasimlarwaytothecurrentRoadster
withareasonablepricetagof2535Kdollars.
Iunderstandthatbatteryproductionisanexpensiveprocess&thingslikethatbutmass
productionhasalwaysbeenasolutiontohighproductioncost.
IfIcould,IwouldliketorecommendthatTeslahassomesortofonlineregistration&expression
ofinterest(whichcanbeseenbyeveryonevisitingyoursite)inaneconomicalversionofthe
Roadsterthatpotentiallyhassomesortofslightlycrampedbutavailablebackseat(callitaTesla
Sedan),dosomebasicmarketing&requestforexpressionofinterestandthengetgoingwithyour
production!
IforoneknowthatIhaveabout25peoplethatIknowwhowouldbuya$25000electriccar,here
inAustralia&Imsurethatthereareatleast20kotherpeoplethatwouldaswell.
Maybeitsworththinkingaboutthemassproductionofyouritemsothatitswithinthereachof
everyonethatwouldactuallyuseit&notjustaselectfewbuisnessmen!:)
GreatexplainationBTWveryinforming.
&propstothewholeTeslateamonthecaritsgreatallaroundexceptfortheprice!)

JamesElger
6years11months

Here'saschematicandaexplainationyoushouldread.
http://elgersmad.homestead.com/files/Motor.gif

JamesElger
6years11months

Youknowhowyoucanhookuponetransformertotheoutputofanotherandlooseverylittle
energy.Well,squirrelcagemotorsdon'tallowyoutodothat.Imaginehavingthesameeffeciency
asapowertransformer,andbeingabletopassthatpowerondownthelinetoanothermotor,then
another,andanotherjustlikethetransformers.Forthesecondmotoryouonly20%ofthepower
lostinwindingsandmagneticcorematerialsbythefirstmotor.Thatmeansthatwith4to6
motors,youcanpower2generators,andall6motorsoncethebatteryhasstartedthetwowith
generatorstofullyspinning.Thetheoryisperfectlysound,orsquirrelcagemotorsjustdon'twork.

PatrickCrachiolo
7years3weeks

BackwhenIhadhair,typewritersdidnothavea"1".Youhadtousethelowercase"L".Enoughof
tellingofagesandwarstories.
IbelievethatTeslaisontherighttrack.IammyselfdesigningarudimentaryelectriccarasIsee
thisastheabsolutewaveofthefutureintransportation.Directdriveinductionmotorshavebeen
usedsincethe50'sstartingwiththediesellocomotive,thenstreettrolleysandnowmostmass
transitsystemsoperateelectricallywithdirectdriveinductionmotors.
IhavefollowedtheTeslastoryforsometimeandhaveneverhadanoutlettospeakoutuntilI
foundthisblogtoday.Teslahasaresponsibilitytohumanitywiththistechnologicallyadvance
vehicle.WhenIfirstreadoftheaninductionmotorcapableof250HPweighinginat125lbs,Iam
suremyeyesbuggedout.Teslashouldconsiderdownsizingtoavehiclewitha50hpmotorfor
commuteruse.Icouldbemistaken,butIamsurethetimeisnowforthistypeofvehicle
considering$4/gallonforregularinCaliforniaandthereisnoendinsight.
Idonothaveabevyofengineersatmydisposalnoraremyresourcesasnearlyunlimitedas
Tesla's.Ido,however,plantocontinuemyquestforanelectricallyoperatedvehicle.IfTesladoes
comeoutwitha2550HPinductionmotor,Iwanttobuyit.
Sincerely,
PatrickCrachiolo
Salisbury,NC

CarloSavarese
7years1month

EsteemedEngeneer,I'manitalianstudentinAutomaticEngeneering.Ihavereadwithattention
thisarticlebecauseI'mdoingathesison"cruisecontrolforanelectronicvehicle"fortheexamof
"TecnlogiesofAutomaticsystems".TowritethemathematicalmodelofthemotorIneedto
considerarealcase.CouldIhavethedataoftheTeslamotortowritethemodel?ExactlyIneed
ofthesedata:
ElectricalvoltageV,amperageI,resistivitiesR,inductancesL,MomentofinertiaJm,coefficientof
frictionBm,electricconstantKeandtorqueconstantKt.
Thankyouverymuch.
Bestregards,Carlo

TommeyReed
7years2months

Iamworkingonapermanentmagnethubmotor,thisis18"hubwith16fieldsonstator.Thisisa
200v1000amphubmotor,Iwillputthisonyoutubesoon.

ClintJudd
7years2months

VeryinformativeButriddlemethisbatman.
IftheDCbrushlessmotorhaslimitationsbecauseofthepermanentmagnetrotor(fluxcontrol)then
whynotmakeaslipringrotorandhavemorecontrolovertherotorforhigherstartingtorque.
Slipringswouldhaveabetterlifespanthanacommutator.Therotorcouldbeaseriesmotorrotor
withthecomremovedandslipringsinstalledandtherotorcoilswiredeitherinseriesorparallelto
thesliprings......
Foodforthoughtmaybe?

CedricLynch
7years2months

WoulditbepossibletocontactRollyConcepcionofManila,Philippines,whoislookingforbetter
motorsfortricycles(inpostingat9.00pmon19Sep2007)?

BillHowland
7years2months

ToSeanHealy.Youdidn'tgiveeitherthefrequencynorthespeedofthemotor,soI'mgoingto
guessthatsinceyoustated250kwinsteadof350horsepower,alsoyoumentioned400volts,so
I'massumingthisisametric50hzmotorwithasynchronousspeedof3000rpm.Istherea'pf'or
Cosinethetastampedonthemotor?AmericanmotorshaveaCODELETTER,andaNEMA
CLASSwhichtellmuchabouttherotorresistance/reactance.Newmotorsalsohaveanefficiency
stamp.IassumeSCIMmeansselfcooledinductionmotor?Whatbrandisit?
Hopethishelps.
Bill.

SeanHealy
7years3months

Hey,
Iamafinalyearelectricaleng.studentiwaswonderingifanyonewouldknowwheretoget
informationon
a250kW2pole400VcastironSCIMmotor.Inrelationtotheresistanceandinductivereactance
oftherotorandstator.Iwouldbeverygreatfulforadatasheetorsomethinglikethatorif
someonecouldpointmeintherightdirection
thanks
sean

gdattn
7years4months

Maybyyou'veallreadythoughtaboutit?ButI'dliketohaveacarwithamotorinsideeachwheel
ofit.Notcentralonewithparasitmechanicallinks.

DennisReece
7years5months

Iamsorry,buttheauthorofthisarticlemadeamistakewiththisstatement:"BackwhenIhadhair
onmyheadandcarriedasliderule,therewereleadacidbatteries,DCbrushmotors,and
contactorcontrollers.Today,noneoftheseremain(includingmyhair)"
HeiswrongaboutleadacidbatteriesandbrushedDCmotorsinsayingtheydonotexist,lead
acidbatteriesarestillmade,justpopyourhoodonyourcarandsee.BrushedDCmotorsare
STILLMADEbyvariousmotormanufacturers..Likeforexample:serieswound,shuntwound,
compoundwound,andpermanentmagnet.AllthoseIlisteduseacommutatorandcarbon
brushesandyestheyarestillusedinindustry.
Nowifhesaidthataserieswoundmotoruseincarsandtrainsisstartingtobereplacedbypoly
phaseinductionmotorsthanksinparttofluxvectorcontroltogivetheinductionmotorDClike
performancethenhewouldbecorrect...Ijustdon'twantpeopletogothinkingthatbrushedmotors
havedisappeared.Weneedtoeducate,nottrickpeople.....

jovencio
7years5months

iwanttolearnthewidingandthewiringofmotors
examplewyetodelta,deltatowye,wyetowye,deltatodeltaandetc.....
canyougivethewebthatcangetinfomatiominthislearning?

shumin
7years6months

DoesanybodyknowwhoisthebestinmakingelectricmotorsforEVs?AretheyoptimizedforEV
applications?

BruceScher
7years7months

Howaboutawheelmotor(ringinringordiskondisk)motorofinductivetypedesignedasaretrofit
tofitoverexistingbrakeassembliesinavarietyofsizes13",14",15"etc.Thesemotorswouldbe

transferablefromonevehicletoanother,andallowforthecreationofinstanthybridsfromalmost
everyvehicle,allowingforrapidtransformationoftheworldwidefleettoelectric.(Thanks,I'lltake
myanswerofftheair.)BruceScher,TucsonAZUSAEarth

StanleySufficool
7years7months

SerieswoundDCmototrshavethedisadvantageoflowefficiencies(

rudy
7years7months

UsingseriesD.C.motors(brushesrequired)wouldeliminatetheneedforaconverter.You
wouldonlyneedadccontroller.Youcouldeitherpulseitorusescr'stocontrolvoltage.
Veryhighstartingtorqueandastheloadisdecreasedsoistherotor'smagneticfield.Youwill
needanrpmlimitdeviceasthesemachineshavenorpmlimitwhenmechanicalloadislost.
Regen.brakingisalsopossible.
Idon'tknowifthisisanadvantage.Idon'thaveanyexperiancewithpmmotors.

Linda
7years8months

DoesTeslaMotorshaveplanstogopublicinthenearfuture?

ProbynGayle
7years8months

Verygoodexplanationofthemotortypes.Iwillpointpeopletothistosavemesomeexplaining.
RoyHarvieshouldaddPowerTechnologiesInc.www.pwtcbattery.comtohislist.SimilartoFirefly
Energy.

rollyconcepcion
7years8months

IamfromManila,Philippines,invitingsuggestionsondesign,motor(brushlesstractionmotor36
or48voltsw/correspondingController),etc.forapplicationonourprototype"tricycle"forpublic
transporation,replacingtheAIRANDNOISEpolluting125ccmotorcycleswithsidecars
extensivelyusedinurbanandsuburban,remoteareasofthePhilippinesasameansofcheap
transporationthatpenetratesmallcountryroadstotransportpeopleaswellasfarmgoods,fish,
constructionmaterials,etc.,therebyabusedinoverloading.
wehavebuiltseveralprototypesusing2.34.24.0H.PwithcorrespondingControllers.some
burned,othersoverheat,controllersburned.Somedirectdrive,otherswiththeoriginal2stroke
transmissionwichweconvertedandmodifiedanddrivenbytheElectricMotor.someachieve25
30km/hspeedwitharangof60kmbeforethe82amperebatteriesdie.wehaveexperimented
differentsizesprachketsandpulleys.weneedmoretechnicalinputs.TheMarketistremendously
huge.Thecountryissohepintheconversionprogram,duetotheglobalconciousnessof
warming,pollution,etc,etc.It'llalsomeantremendoussavingsinFuelandpartsthatthatneed
foreignexchangeconservation.Therearecloseto4million"tricycles"inacountryof87million
people.IneedsomeoneshelpouttheretoreralizaagreatcontributiontomyCountyry.THANX

DaveG
7years8months

OK.IthinkI'vegotthebasicidea.Insimplisticterms,abrushlessDCmotorhasmagnetsinthe
rotor,whileACinductionmotorshavewirecoiledupintherotor.Bothhavewirecoiledupinthe
stator.Whenusingabatteryforpower,bothusepulsesofDCcurrenttothestatorcoilsinorderto
gettherotortoturn.Softwarecontrolsthesepulsespreciselytogetthebestpowerandefficiency.
Theonlydifferenceisinthesoftwarealgorithmsforinductionorbrushless.SothetermACand
DCarereallydeceptiveinthisinstance,sincebotharecontrolledrelativelysimilarly.Iprobably
havesomeofthiswrong,sopleasecorrectme.
Myquestionis:Whynotuseacombinationofmagnetsandcoiledwireintherotor?Doesthis
haveaname?Wouldthisbemoreefficient?
Probablydumbquestions,butthatshowIlearn.

sanjay
7years8months

howdoBLDC&Inductionfareagainsteachotherinregenrativebreaking?

BernardStollman
7years9months

Haveyouconsidereddesigningavehicleutilizinganinductionmotorthatispoweredbya
subsurfacepowerline,eliminatingtheneedforbatteries?
Highspeedtrainswithinductionmotorsaretheinspiration.Cantheynotbeminiaturized?.A
lightweightpodcantravelinadedicatedlane,programmedastospeed,withcollisionavoidance
capability,whiletheoccupantsmoveabout,freetoengageinawidevarietyofactivities.
Installationofthepowerlinecanproceedrapidlyatrelativelymodestcost.Doyouseeany
drawbacktothisapproach?

jimhendershot
7years9months

MrRipple,
Isincerelycongratulateyouonyourconciseandveryaccuratediscussionoftheelectrictraction
motorcomparisonsbetweenPMselfsynchronousandACinduction.(YouomittedSwitched
Reluctanceofcoursebecauseitisnotasyetaseriousalternative).Ibelieveallengieerswhoare
currentlyworkinginthistechnicalarenashouldreadyourarticlefirstsotheyhaveachanceof
understandingtheissuesandmakingtherightchoices.
JimHendershot

ChandikaDas
7years10months

Hi,
What'sdifferencebetweenDCMotorFrequencyandInductionmotorfrequencyparameters,how
wewillmeasureitswholestrength

TEG
7years12months

#Wallywroteinthisblog:Today,allthehybridsarepoweredbyDCbrushlessdrives,withno
exceptions.
#Iresponded:"WhythenamIseeingreportsthatthePriususesanACmotor?!"
#www.toyota.com/prius/specs.htmlMotortype=PermanentmagnetACsynchronousmotor
Thanks,KiwiMEforrespondingwithsomedetailsastothis"grayarea"ofsemantics.
Sorry,Wally,thatImadeafussoveryouruseofterminology.
Inhindsight,goingbacktoMartin'sold"MotorCity"blog,therewasawarningaboutthisalready:
http://www.teslamotors.com/blog2/?p=30
""JBwarnsme:
Beabitcarefulhere.ThebrushlessDCmotorisactuallyanACmotor.Youneedaninverterto
driveit!Abetternameforthistypeofmotorwouldbe:synchronouspermanentmagnetAC
motor.MostpeopleaskwhywedontuseabrushlessDCpermanentmagnetmotor,likeall
hybridstodayuse.Wechosenottouseoneofthesemainlybecauseofthewideefficiency
plateauthatwegetfromanACinductionmotor(whichmeanshighefficiencyoverawideRPM
andpowerrange),notbecauseitisreallyaDCmotor.(Someofyouhaveaskedabouttheuseof
niobiumorotheradvancedmagnetsinourcar.IfweusedabrushlessDCmotor,wedhavesuch
magnets.Butwedont)""

KiwiME
8years2days

WhenbrushlessPMmotorsfirstappearedontheservomotorscenetwodecadesagoIrecallthey
wherereferedtoas"DC"bysometypicallytheAmericanbrands,and"AC"byotherstypically
theJapanese.Itseemedtobemoreofamarketingchoicebytheformerastheyweretryingto
replaceconventionalbrushedDCdesignsandpresumablydidn'twanttoconfuseuspoor
engineersaswemadethetransition.Inaddition,thereweredesignsofbothservosandother
motorsthathadtheelectronicsbuiltintothehousingsoactuallydidrunonDC.Clearly,however,
all3phasemotors(andSR)arepoweredby"AC"insomeformoranotherinthecontextofthis
discussion.

KiwiME
8years2days

Inthecontextofanpureelectriccar(orserialhybrid)the3phinductionmotorseemslikeafairly
clearchoicesimplybasedonthelowerlossesatlowpowerlevels.

ForthetwomotorsintheToyotaPriusIwouldimaginea"DC"brushlessmotorwasaprefered
choiceastheymaybeeasiertocontrolpositionwiseatverylowspeeds,acriticalfeaturefor
startingtheinternalcombustionenginewithoutanyperceptableroughnesstothedriver.Youcan
imaginehowcomplexthebalanceoftorqueisacrosstheplanetarygearsetbetweentheroad
wheelsandtwomotorswhilefightingstartupenginecompression.

MarkoSenjanin
8years5days

IunderstandthatTeslaisprivatelyheld,butisthereanyindicationorfutureplansofhavingtelsa
stocksavailabletothepublicinthenearfuture?Evenoverthecounterstockssuchas"Tesla.ob"?

TommyAndersen
8years6days

Eventhoughyoudon'thavehairleft,youcertainlyhavealotofyouthleft:aboyishentuiasmefor
whatyouaredoing.
Theinvertersareessential.Interestingthatrenewabelssupportgreencars.Windpowerwould
havebeennothingwithoutpowerelectronics.Windturbineshavetorunonvariablespeed,hence
thegenerators.Thathasdevellopedinvertersetcdramaticllyintherecentyears+plustheyhave
becomemuchcheaperandmoreefficient.
Perhapswecanlookforwardto,thattheexpandingmarketforEV'willcontributetofurther
devellopmentofpowerelectronics,whichcanbebenificialforWPtoo.
Keepupsteam.
TommyAndersen
Denmark.

BillRicker
8years2weeks

Aren'tthereefficiencylossesconvertingDCtoACandback(duringbraking)?Youranalysiswas
greatinyourwhitepaper......butatnotimehaveyouanywhereexplainedtheefficiencyoftheAC

motorsetupchoosen.AsamechanicalengineerI'msocuriousastothischoice.Couldyou
explainittojustmeatleast?

Alvin
8years2weeks

Itooaminterrestedinknowingifthestockisavailableforpeopletopurchase?Pleaseemailme
thecontactforinvestmentoptionsforTeslamotors.IwouldliketoconsiderhavingTeslamotors
aspartofmyportfolio.Thanks.
Sincerely,
Alvin

Editor'sAnswer:TeslaMotorsisprivatelyheld.

AdrianSnyder
8years1month

Mr.Rippel,
Iamparticipatinginaprojectatmyuniversitywhichinvolvesbuildingafuelcellpoweredracing
kart,andwe'vedecidedtouseeitherDCbrushlessorinductionmotors.Wehavehadalotof
troublefindingpotentialsuppliers,andIwaswonderingiftheinductionmotorsusedbyTeslawere
developedinhouseorifyouwenttoasupplier?Iknowit'ssomewhatofalongshot,andthere
mightbeconfidentialityissues,butifyoucouldprovidesomehelpinwheretosourceamotorit
wouldbeappreciated.Thankyou.
AdrianSnyder

Editor'sAnswer:YoucanfindoutallaboutthemotorintheMotorCityblog.

RupertPilkington

8years1month

Wherearealltheanswerstothesequestions?I'vebeenlookingeverywhereforinformationon
howtobuysharesinTeslaMotors,andcan'tfindanything.
Aresharesavailable?Pleaseletmeknow.
Thankyou.
R.Pilkington.

Editor'sAnswer:TeslaMotorsisaprivatelyheldcompany.

RandyGrainger
8years2months

Iagreewiththeacinductionchoice.Thenewsupercapacitortechnologywillprovideultrafast
chargetimeslikeacoupleofminuteslessthenittakestofuelwithgas.Anyplansto
incorporatethesupercapacitorintoyourmixofenergysources?Itwouldbefuntoseethe
aerodynamicsandsuperstructurelaminatedwithcarbonaerogeltoprovidetheneededenergy.
Whatdoyouthink?

Editor'sresponse:Ithinkyou'dbeinterestedintherecentblog,Balance,writtenbyTeslaMotors
CEOMartinEberhard.

goukl
8years2months

thankyou,givesomemoreinformatoinsofinductionmotor

RobertMelodia
8years3months

Wally,

Ihavereadyourexplanationwithinterest.Youexplainedthedifferencebutstatethereareno
winners.Ibegtodiffer.Soontherewillbeanannouncementofanenginethatisbrushlessand
hasnopermenantmagnets.Itisexpandanbletomeetpowerneedsandeasilyfixablewithlow
maintainencecosts.Itcomesapartlikeanaccordianandgoesbacktogetheragainthesameway.
Itfitsintoanyvehicleontheplanetwiththeadapterforthatmodel.
Mostthingstodayaremadetoocomplicatedandthebasicsarenotmaintainedthatgivethebest
performance,reliabiltyandmaintainence.Allthingseveryoneislookiingforinanelectricvehicle.

StanleySufficool
8years3months

SRmachineshavegreatpotentialforregenerativebrakingaswellashighefficiencypoints.
Howeverfrommylimitedresearchonthistechnology,theyalsohaveahightorquerippleand
massivevibrationalcharacteristicswhenscaledtohighoutput.
TheyarecurrentlyusedonICpowersteeringandauxsystems.

PatrickChikwo...
8years4months

The'DC'usedin'BrushlessDCmotors'wasduetothefactthatthesemotors,withitstrapesoidal
backemf,haveaDC(brushed)motorcharacteristic.The'AC'usedin'BrushlessACmotors'was
duetothefactthatthesemotors,withitssinusoidalbackemf,havecharacteristicssimilartoan
ACsynchronousmachine.Theyareverydifferentmachinesforthemotordesigners,withvery
differentpositionalsensorrequirementsDCtypeusingsimple3hallsensors,andACtypean
expensiveresolver.However,thiscommunityappearstohaveomittedanimportantalternative
theswitchedreluctancemotor(SRM)technologies,whichcanpotentiallycombinethebenefitsof
theACinductionandbrushlessPM.Iconcede,however,SRMhassomewaytoproveits
credibilityinthevastlyriskaverseautomotiveindustry.IdohopethattheEVcommunitywillbe
lessriskaverseandmoreopenminded,likeourgreatmentorsTeslaandEddison,whoshowed
ustothink'outofthebox'.Then,thefuturewillbemoreexcitingforthebenefitsofall.

MilanTatalovic
8years4months

Veryniceexplenationandveryenhancedproject!Ihopeitwillbewidespreadcar.
Comment:
Inductionmotorwithanencoder,fedbyvectorcontrolinverter(i.e.SIMOVERTVC)require
magnetizationcurrent(Isd)about3040%ofmotor'sratedcurrentandinvertermaintainsit
constantlywithinconstanttorquearea.Certainlyitwillcauselooses.Brushlessmotorhasnot
needforsuchacurrentduetopermanentmagnets.Eddyexistininductionmotorstoo.
Frommymodestpersonalexperience(drivespecialistinsteelindustry),Icansaythatbrushless
motorhasmuchbetterperformancethaninductionmotor.Respondtosteptorqueisdelayed
about10msforinductionandlessthen1msforbrushlessmotor.Thisisthereasonthatallour
(DANIELI)highdynamicservomotors(forpositioningmachines)arebrushles.Ibasethis
statmentsaccordingtomyexperienceinworkwithSiemensSIMOVERTVCandMCdrives.
Bestregardsandgoodluckinyourmission!
Withdeepestregards,
MilanTatalovic

JohnWolf
8years4months

I'vebeenfascinatedwithelectricmotorssincechildhoodinadditiontobeingamusicianIalso
repaircommercialanddomesticappliances,andencounterbothinductionandbrushlessD.C.
machines.Someonepostedaquestionregardingregenerativebrakingininductionmotors.I
believethatthisisaccomplishedbyprogressivelyreducingthesupplycurrentfrequency,as
inductionmotorspeedisadirectfunctionofthenumberofpolesinthestatorandthefrequencyof
thesupplycurrent.Forexample,thedrivemotorsofWhirlpoolDuetfrontloadwashersareofthe
3phaseinvertercontrolledinductiontypewhentheycomeoutofthespincyclethefrequencyis
droppeddrastically,causingarapidbrakingaction(totheaccompanyingmagneticwhine,
droppinginpitch,asthemachineslowsdown).AmIontherighttrackwiththis?

KevinPacansky
8years4months

HowwoulducomparetheTeslaRoadstertootherfullyelectriccarsmadethisyear.

flabby
8years4months

ExcitingnewsfromEESTOR.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007/01/eestor_announce.html#more

TEG
8years4months

Bytheway,the#ofFordRangerEVsontheroadismorethanEV1,ACPropulsion,tzeroand
Teslacombinedrightnow...
http://media.ford.com/newsroom/release_display.cfm?release=8005
"RangerEVisthenationalleaderinelectricvehiclesales,with561vehiclessoldinNorthAmerica
duringthe2000modelyear.Therearenowover1,250RangerEVsinusebycustomers
throughouttheU.S.andCanada."
(Thatdoesn'tevenincludepostalvehicles)
So,atthemomentitisthekingofinductionACmotorsontheroadintheUSevenifitisarather
wimpymotor...

TEG
8years4months

Wellifnothingelse,Ilearnedtothinkintermsof"inductionversuspermanentmagnet"ratherthan
"ACvsDC"whenitcomestocomparingmotortechnologies...
Wallydidsay:"TheonlynotableusesofinductiondriveshavebeentheGeneralMotorsEV1the
ACPropulsionvehicles,includingthetzeroandtheTeslaRoadster."
So,IamstillwonderingwhynooneseemstowanttotalkabouttheInductionmotorintheFord
RangerEVs...
Istherenothingnotableaboutthem?
www.mavin.com/index.php?crn=200&rn=362&action=show_detail
www.greencarcongress.com/2006/12/ballard_selling.html

MalcolmWilson
8years4months

TheDCinDCBrushlessstartsoutasaDCsupply(fromthebattery)butisconvertedintoACby
thedriveelectronics.TheseACsignalsarefedtothemotortomakethepermanentmagnets/rotor
spinwhichiswhy,confusingly,ithastheseconflictinglabels.
Havealookround:http://www.st.com/stonline/products/support/motor/tutorial/motor.swf
(BLDC=BrushlessDCmotor)

RoyHarvie
8years4months

VanHumphriesWow!IthinkFlynnResearchreallyhassomething.Thismotordesignwouldbe
particularlyefficientatlowspeed,andforthoseapplicationsitisawinner.WallyRippelchosethe
inductionmotoroverapermanentmagnetmotorlargelybecauseofcostandIdon'timaginethat
theFlynResearchmotorsarecheapforthisreason.Let'sassumethatTesla'smotoris93%
efficientandFlynnResearch'sis97%.Isthe4%gainworththecost?AlsoFlynnResearchsays
theirmotorisverycompact,soisTesla's,andIsuspectTesladeliversmorepowerperpound.I
amgoingtowatchFlynn'ssitetoseewhentheypublishfigures,thenwecancompare.
HydrogenproductiononIsracastarticleproducesCO,sincewhenwascarbonmonoxidenot
consideredapollutant?

TEG
8years4months

CMwrote:
##ToclarifythepermenentmagnetsynchrnousACmotoractuallyisanothernameforDC
Brushlessmotor.Bothuseasophisticatedinvertercontrol,bothuseapermenentmagnetrotor.
Really?Toyotasaystheirmotoruses3phaseA/C
http://www.hybridsynergydrive.com/en/electric_motor.html
Accordingtotheelectricmotordefinitionshere,"SynchronousACmotors"areintheACmotor
category:

http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/overview.jsp?nodeId=02nQXG3MYxC...
Wikipediaalsoputstheminthe"ACmotor"category:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_motor
Maybetheyareagrayareainbetween?ShouldwerefertothemasAC/DC"Hyrbid"electric
motorsfortheHybrids?
Iguessthequestionis:
IsthemotordefinedasanACmotorbecauseitrunsoffofACcurrent?
OrdoesthefactthatithaspermanentmagnetsautomaticallymakeitaDCmotor?

CM
8years4months

Toclarifythe"permenentmagnetsynchrnousACmotor"actuallyisanothernamefor"DC
Brushlessmotor".Bothuseasophisticatedinvertercontrol,bothuseapermenentmagnetrotor.
Asforthe"Engineuity"technology,norealbreakthroughthere.Itistherevivalofanoldmethodof
makinghydrogenbyreactinganalkalinemetalwithsteamtocreateametaloxideandhydrogen.
Thehydrogenisthenburneditinainternalcombustionengine.Theprocessrequiresalotof
metal,andrefiningthemetal(andrecyclingthemetaloxide)takesalotofenergy.Itisbothvery
inefficientandveryexpensive.Doyouhaveanyideawhata"fillup"of220lbsofmagnesiumwire
wouldcost?

VanHumphries
8years4months

JustwonderingwhatyouthinkoftheelectricmotorindevelopmentatFlynnResearch:
http://www.flynnresearch.net/
Istheir"ParallelPathMagneticTechnology"anygood?

David
8years4months

LenIthinkFreeHydrogeneffectivelytrashedEngineuity'sconcept
http://freehydrogen.blogspot.com/2006/01/engineuityrecycled.htmlSorry,Iwishitmadesense
too...

JamesAnderson...
8years4months

#
LenCozzolinowroteonJanuary15th,2007at7:42pm
1zinkmatrixbattery.2Engineuity.theIsrelitechnology.www.isracast.com.Goto
technology.Scrolldownto.Thecarthatmakesitsownfuel.Ihopeyouinjoythisarticle.Len
Cozzolino

Editorscomment:ThearticleLenisreferringtocanbefoundhere:
www.isracast.com/Articles/Article.aspx?ID=43
================================================
Interestingidea.IwonderifthehydrogenflowissufficienttopowertheMazdaRenesisengine
thatswitchablyrunsongasolineorhydrogen?

T.J.
8years4months

TheplacetobuildtheWhitestarcarisCaleeforniaifArnieknowswhat'sgoodforboth.

Alfred
8years4months

JustwouldliketomakeacommentabouttheChevoletVolt.BasedonwhatIcouldfindonthe
internetandothersources,IdoubtTeslamotorshaveanyrealcompetitioncomingtheirwayfrom
GM.ItisobviousthatGMisnotreallyseriousaboutsellingthiscartothepublic.Evenfromthe
Gmofficialwebsite,theystatethattheydonotknowwhenthecarwillbeofficiallysoldandthat
thisisjustaconceptcar.Iguesstheywantedtoflextheirengineeringmuscletoadegreebutare

notreadytomakeanactualcommitment.Meanwhile,whenisapictureoftheWhitestargoingto
appearonthissite?

LenCozzolino
8years4months

1zinkmatrixbattery.2Engineuity.theIsrelitechnology....www.isracast.com.Goto
technology.Scrolldownto.Thecarthatmakesitsownfuel.Ihopeyouinjoythisarticle.Len
Cozzolino

Editor'scomment:ThearticleLenisreferringtocanbefoundhere:
www.isracast.com/Articles/Article.aspx?ID=43

TEG
8years4months

Wallywroteinthisblog:
""Today,allthehybridsarepoweredbyDCbrushlessdrives,withnoexceptions.""
WhythenamIseeingreportsthatthePriususesanACmotor?!
http://www.toyota.com/prius/specs.html
""Motortype=PermanentmagnetACsynchronousmotor""
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:PriusBatteryModule.jpg
""utilizesaninverterto"stepup"thepowerto500Volts,andconverttheDCbatterypowertothe
ACrequiredfortheelectricmotors.""
Icanseeyoumissingadetailhereorthereinyourdescriptionsbutyougooutofyourwaytosay
"withnoexceptions"yetyouoverlookthemostpopularhybridmodelsoldtoday!Didyouwrite
yourarticlein1996orsomething(beforethePriusandFordRangerEVcameout)?!?!?

DonnaKaphan
8years4months

Towhomitmayconcern:
IamveryinterrestedinyourRoadsterandyourcompany,willStockinyourcompanyeverbe
available?

BartHibbs
8years4months

Titania:Forapermanentmagnetmachineyouareright:youdowanttheelectricalfrequencytoby
synchronoustotherotor.Andyoudocontroltorquewiththephase.Butforaninductionmachine
operatingsynchronouslyresultsinzerotorque.Youhavetohavetheelectricalfrequencyalittle
faster(upto3%orso)thantherotortogetpositivetorqueformotoroperation,andhavethe
electricalfrequencyalittleslowerthantherotortogetnegativetorqueforgeneratoroperation.
Example:Anormalpluginthewallinductionmotorspinsat1800RPMwithnoload.Ifyouloadit
upitslowsto1725RPM,producingtourqueandconsumingpower.Ifyouspuntheshaftwith,say,
awindmillitwouldspeedupto1875RPManditwouldgeneratepower.

JonNorris
8years4months

Thearticleinbrushlessvs.inductionwasinterestingreading.Iwouldsuspectthatthevictorwillbe
thedesignthatisthemosteconomicaltoproduceandoperate.
Regardingthedieselmotor(mentionedabove),thatmotorwasdesigned100yearsagotorunon
vegetabvleoil.Thisnewfadofusingnonfossilfuelstopowervehiclesisnothingnew.
Therealproblemthatmustbeaddressedisthebattery.Adecent/economicalbatterycouldquickly
obsoletegasolinedrivencommuterautomobiles.Untilthattime,Iwillbeforcedtofillupmy
Corollawithgasoline(anddonatetoour21stcenturyrobberbarons).
Jon

JosephEThomas
8years4months

Iwasfavorablyimpressedbythehightemperature,diesil"burning",fuelcellsthatwerebeing

usedsomeyearsago.Isuspectdevelopmenthasbeenongoing,Idon'tknow,butitsurelooked
likeawaytokeepthepeoplewithalltheireggsintheoilbasketfrommountinganattackand
reducingfuelconsumption.
Bestwishes
JoeT

ian
8years4months

RonaldGreene"IbelievethatGMhasovercomeamajorbarrier"
Uhm,GMhasyettoproduceanything.AndtheserieshybridconceptpredatestheGMVolt
designby50+years.AsfarasHydrogengoes,it'sjustaninefficientenergystoragesystem.Read
theTelsawhitepapersonwelltowheeleffiencyorPopularMechanicsarticleonalternativefuels
soseehowitcompareswithtoday'sbatterytechnology.
Teslaisn'tinterestedinaserieshybridEV,butmakenomistake,Teslaismuchcloserto
producingonethanGM...sinceGMwouldfirstneedanelectriccarinordertomakeaseries
hybridelectriccar.

Doug@Stanford
8years4months

Morenewsonthepossiblelocationofthenewplant:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070114/COL06/701140657
ApparentlyMichigan'sgovernoristryingtowooMartintoputtheplantinherstate.Personally,I
reallyhopetheplantgoesupinCalifornia,thenArizonaasadistantsecond.Puttingthenewplant
forthecarthatwillchangetheworldinawesternstatemakesitfeelfreshandexciting.Puttingit
inMichigan,likealltheothercarmanufacturers,makesitfeelalittletiredfromthegetgo.Alsofor
myownpersonalinterest,I'llfinishmyPh.D.inAppliedPhysicsaroundthistimenextyearand
maybeIcantrytogetajobfromyouguys.Butaftergrowingupontheeastcoast,Icertainlydon't
wanttoliveinMichigan.

EdvanderPol

8years4months

Iwouldliketoseeyoudesigna'sportcoupe'alongthelinesoftheMercedesCLS500!Iwillbein
linetoputinmyorder,asIneedafourdoorcarbutwanttheperformanceandstyling.

Editor'sresponse:Wehaveplansforafourdoorsportssedan.SeeTheSecretTeslaMotors
MasterPlan.

Roger
8years4months

HiAll,
Justsomeidlespeculation.IwonderifChevyconsideredagasturbinefortheirbatterycharger
insteadofthesmall3cylinderreciprocatingthingythatsmentionedinthepressreleases?
Turbineshavereplacedreciprocatingenginesinmanymajorapplicationsfrompowerplant,
~1890ish(???),ships,1904HMSDreadnought,andaircraft,ME262/Meteor/etc1944onwards,
andevensomerecentmilitaryvehiclesM1Abrams/M2Bradley.Irealizethatgasturbineslose
efficiencyasyouscalethemdowninsizeandfordirectdriveapplicationsthegearboxdesignis
horrendouslydifficultandstartupuptimescanbeapainsoanextremelyrefined3cylinder
reciprocatingenginemayhavetheedgewhenitcomestodesign/analysis/manufacture/testbutI
thinkthatforataskthatrequiresconstantRPM,suchasturningagenerator,anequivalently
powerfulturbinemightbelighter,morecompact,haveloweremissionsissuesandfewermoving
parts.

AnthonyKelman
8years4months

Wally,Irememberseeingyouspeakatanearlyshowingof"WhoKilledtheElectricCar"lastJune
inPasadena,greattofindoutyou'reatTeslanow.Motortechnologyhasalwaysbeenatan
interestingconfluenceofmechanicalandelectricalengineering.Itissuchausefulsubjectto
understandforpracticalapplications,butacademicinstructionisabitlackingsinceitisbetween
disciplines.Atleastcontroltheoryapplieswhetheryou'vegotamechanicalsystem,anelectrical
system,oracombinationofthetwo.Yousay"Ideally,Bshouldbeadjustedsuchthatthesumof
theeddy,hysteresis,andIlossesisminimized,"andIhear"costfunction"and"linearquadratic
regulator."Keepupthegoodwork,Ihopepricingandavailabilityworktheirwayintoatimeframe
thatletsmemakethejumptopureelectricsoon.Ohyeah,whendotheCustomerCareCenters
opensoIcanatleasttakeatestdriveinthemeantime?

T.J.
8years4months

Youknow,IwonderwhytheeconomiesofallthecountriesaheadofU.S.inYale/ColumbiaPilot
reportaren'twreckedbecausethat'swhat"someofouresteemedgovt.officials"saywould
happentooureconomyifweeverreallygotwithitenvironmentally.Youwouldthinkthatifthe
reportrankingswereplayedupinthemajormedia,thecountrywouldbeclamoringforGore/'08.
Butnoooothatwouldn'thappenthatwouldmaketoomuchsense(forthiscountryatleast).

T.J.
8years4months

Accordingto"Pilot2006EnvironmentalPerformanceIndex"study(byYale&ColumbiaU.),U.S.
ranks28inworldbehindeveryeuropeancountryexceptRussia,Hungary,Poland,Belgium&
RomaniaandRussiaiscloseat#32.Thereportcoverspolicycatagoriesof:health,biodiversity,
energy,water,air&naturalresources.Among"peergroup"countriesofU.S.("nationsatasimilar
levelofdevelopment")U.S.ranks23outof29.Lookslikethere's"someroomforimprovement"
Perhaps!?Ithinkwhatevermoneysiliconvalleyventurecapitalistsareinvestinginthisproblem
theyshouldtripleit:bigproblem=bigopportunity.

DixieKing
8years4months

OKsoI'mlikeyourtypicalsuburbansoccermom(yes,Iactuallycoachedsoccerfor6years)
environmentallyengaged,willingtolookatahybridorelectriccarformynextpurchase.Isortof
seemyselfasTesla'sfutureclientbase(wishingforsomepointintimewhenmillionsofusbuy
electricsorhybridsforoursecondcaretc.l).Solet'stalkAFFORDABILITY:whenistheregoingto
beacarforthemiddleclasses????What'srealisticforanidealistlikemyself?AToyotahybridin
theneartermandaTeslaifIwinthelottery?(p.s.lovethelookoftheroadsterverycute)

T.J.

8years4months

"Certaingroups"inthiscountryhaveneverwantedanenergyefficientcountrythemorewespend
onoileveryyear,thebetterandthelongerthebetter.Justas"certaingroups"alsolikelong,
drawnouthalibutlikefishywarsthelongertheyrun,thebetterfor"business"(andother
purposes).AnyonewhoknowstheRealhistoryoftheworldknowsthat"thingsaremadeto
happen",whichwouldn'totherwisehappen,justtoenablethisgameplan(asin:"con")tosucceed
againandagain.

T.J.
8years4months

U.S.consumes20millionbarrelsofoilperday(25%ofworld'stotal).Thenext5topconsumers,
inmillionsofbarrelsperday,are:China:6.4,Japan5.6,Russia2.8,Germany,2.6andIndia2.3.
Thetotalforthesecountries:19.7.GermanyisclosesttoU.S.inindustrialization.U.S.population
is3.6thatofGermany,ifweconsumedoilattheirrate,ourconsumptionwouldbe9.4.Using10.6
millionbarrelsofoillessperdaywouldputalotofwastedoilmoneybackintooureconomy.Time
forTeslatoraiseenoughmoneytocomeoutwithboththesportsandfamilysedanswithin5yrs.
Teslawouldhavethehighgroundwhiletheothercarcompaniesstillputzaroundwithimproved
hybrids.

Doug@Stanford
8years4months

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/01/14/nextteslawilldefinitelybea...

RonaldGreene
8years4months

JayPurserwroteonJanuary11that4:34TheChevroletVoltconceptofasmallgasolineengine
tochargethebatterieswhenneededdoesgivesthedrivertheconfidencethathe(orshe)won't
beleftonthesideoftheroadifthebatteriesdischargecompletely.Wehaveallhad
deadbatteriesandweallhateitwhenthathappensandourcarswillnotstart.Thus,Ibelievethat
GMhasovercomeamajorbarrier
ingettingpeopletobuyelectriccars.Electriccarsneedtohavetheirownsourceofelectricityto
chargethebatteriesorrunthecarincaseofacompletedischargewhichmaynotbethefaultof

thedriversuchasroaddetoursandetc.Forexamples,therearefuelcellsthatlookjustlike
anotherbatterybutitwillactasasourceofelectricythatwillpowerthecartogetyouhomeortoa
placewherethecarcanberecharged.Electriccarsmustprovidesuchabackupsyteminorderto
succeed.

BenFarmer
8years4months

HasTeslaeverthoughttoofferRenewablePowerPlantstomakethecarcompletelyrenewable
bychargingwithSolar/Wind?IworkforoneoftheUSA'sfastedgrowingRenewableEnergyRetail
companies.Itsgreatthecarissoefficientandnonpolluting,infactitsawesometoseethe
ElectricCarmakingacomeback,sincethefirstcarsstartedthisway.Butiftheelectric"fuel"is
madefromCoalplants,stillmakesitnotthemostoptimalsituation.Forthosethatcanaffordthis
car,theycanprobablyalsoaffordtheirownSolarCarPort.[Contactinforemoved.]

Editor'scomment:SeeourFAQ:CantheTeslaRoadsteruseSolarPower?

jameshowell
8years4months

whybatterieswhynotageneratorpoweredbysmalldieselengine?theyhavebeendoingin
trainsfor50yearsItrullythinkyouronthewaykeepuptheideamachineandsorrywhenyoucan
getthepricetoaround20grandillbereadytobuyone

PaulHollowaty
8years4months

WhenwillTeslabemovingintotheirnewengineeringcenterinRochesterHills,Michigan?

Editor'scomment:WeexpecttoaddthelocationofthenewofficetoourContactUspagesoon.

BRIANNIGHTINGALE
8years4months

HAVEYOUGUYSATTESLAMOTORSCONSIDEREDUSEINGTHEDELOREANPLATFORM
TOSTARTYOURELECTRICREVOLUTION/REBELLION.IFYOUDOTHISTYPEOF
DELOREANREFURBISHWITHYOURPOWERTRAINYOUWILLNOTFAIL.TOBEGINWITH
TESLAMOTORSWOULDHAVETHEENTIREDMCVEHICLEOWNERSATYOUR
BECKONING,SECONDLYTESLAMOTORSWOULDHAVETHEENTIREDMC
REMANUFACTURERSTOCALLUPONFORYOUREVERYNEED.IAM
ANAUTHORITYINVISIONARYINSIGHTANDSTRESSTHATTHISADVICEISASEVEN
MOVECHECKMATESTRADEGYTHATWILLTOPPLEALLOFYOUROPPONENTS.DOTHE
NECESSARYLEGALMANEUVERSANDDONTCHEAPOUTONABIGPRICETAGONTHE
FINISHEDPRODUCT,TAKEITEASY,LONG&SLOW,(YOUWILLWINBIG).

Roger
8years4months

Itwouldbeinterestingtoknowhowtheefficiencyofthetesladesigncomparestothetrulydc
CedricLynchmotor.Ihaveexperimentedwiththesemotorsusinganinvalidcarriageforatest
bed,veryexcitingbutdontrecomendit.

MalcolmWilson
8years4months

Itcouldbethatthe"ElectricElise"labelisahangoverfrom1998.
http://fixedreference.org/en/20040424/wikipedia/Zytec_Lotus_Elise
(linksfromtheabovepagenolongerwork)
ApparentlythisoneisnowintheMotorMuseuminGaydon,WestMidlands.Imusttrytogetto
seeit.NotthatitwilllookwildlydifferentfromanormalElise.Noexhaustand....that'sit.

T.J.
8years4months

There'saninterviewwithTedTurnerin"emagazine.com"(don'tknowhowold).Sayshehasfund

called"TurnerEndangeredSpeciesFund"andhe"activelycrusadesforcleanertransport(that
wouldbeTesla),sustainablepopulationgrowth,wildernessconservation&greenerbusiness
(ditto,Tesla)".Talkingabouttheenvironmentandthosethatdon'tbelievethere'sacrisishesays:
"Ifthiswereabaseballgame,it'sthe7thinningandwe'redownby3runs...Iputmymoneyonthe
smartminority,notthedumbmajority,wouldn'tyou?".TimeforTedtoputhismoneyintoTesla
definitelythesmartminorityoftheautoworld.

Titania
8years4months

Ross,
ThosearesomegreatpointsandIthinkyoursuggestionforaproperforum(maybevBulletin)
ratherthanablogisagreatsuggestion.vBulletinhasagreatsearchfunctionandasimplesticky
postaskingpeopletosearchbeforepostingusuallydoesthetrick.
IhaveinstalledandadministeranumberofvBulletinforums,includingmyownonmywebsite,
anditreallyisagreatresource.Itisalsoagreatwaytoachievehigherlistingsonsearchengines
too.Essentially,everywordandpostanyonepostsonaforumiscrawledbysearchenginebots.
QuotebyRoss"Andhey,ifnothingelse,assoonaswebothgetourroadsterswecanhavea
racetosettleit:)Disclaimer:itmaytakemelongertogetmine."
Soundsgreattome.:)

T.J.
8years4months

TeslawillhavetocallTedlaterhe'sdowninruralArgentina,outofcellphonerange(bypress
reports)Patagonia,nodoubtvisitingtheoldlairofButch&Sundance.He'sarenegade,alrigh:a
mogulenvironmentalisttheperfectTeslainvestor.

T.J.
8years4months

YesterdayTedTurnerannouncedhe'sgettingintosolarpowerinCalif.byinvestingincompany
calledDTSolar.NextTeslashouldgethimonthehornhewouldbeagoodinvestor,beingalong
timeenvironmentalist(biggestprivatelandownerinU.S.withbigwildernesstractsin
Montana,Dakotas,NewMexico&Florida).Hecouldscrapetogetherthekindofmoneyto

acceleratetheWhitestarSedan&OffwhitestarFamilySedanafterthat.Thatwayhecouldhelpon
thetwomainCO2fronts:buildings&cars.Whatmorecouldheaskforwhyattackjustone?He
shouldgoforboth.IfIwerehimI'dinvestinTesla.

montysandoe
8years4months

doesthecarhaveaheatertokeeppeoplewarmincoldCanada.Andalsodoyouhaveanytrucks
planed?orregulersizedcarsforfamilys.Iamafarmerandiwouldliketopurchaseatruckwitha
8ftlongboxtouseforshortrunsabout250milesmaximumbutmainlyforshortrunsabout20
milesataatime.tyforproducingelectriccars

Editor'sresponse:TheTeslaRoadstercomesstandardwithaheaterandheatedseats.Seethe
blog,BlowingHotandCold.AbitofinformationaboutplansforadditionalmodelsatTheSecret
TeslaMotorsMasterPlan.

Dan
8years4months

Ihavebeenattemptingtoaquireinformationonthestockandifitisavailable.Ihavesentane
mailtoTeslaHdqtrsviathestandardoptionofferedontheTeslawebsiteandhavereceivedno
response.Sothequestionis"IsstockinTeslaMotorsavailableandifsohowdoIgoabout
aquiringthestock?

Editor'sresponse:TeslaMotorsisaprivatelyheldcompanyandsoitsstockisnottradedinthe
publicmarkets.

Wade
8years4months

InacoldclimatesuchastheMichiganwinter,howmuchrangediminutionmightoccurduetoa.)
coldbatteries,and/orb.)energyrequiredtoheatthevehicleinterior?Isthereapracticallow
temperaturelimitforthepresentTeslaMotorstechnology?Couldsomeoftheregenerative

brakingrecoveredenergybebudgetedtotheheater,orconverselyinhotclimates,toprovideair
conditioning?(Ialwayswished,withinternalcombustioncars,thatabsorptionrefrigerationwere
practicalinamovingplatformtorelieveengineheatloadwhilecoolingtheoccupants,winwin,
ratherthanpilemoreheatontothepowerplantwiththeconventionalairconditioningcondenser
physicallycolocatedwiththeengineradiator.Congratulations,TeslaTeam,andbestregards.
Pleasedriveonebyhere(Brighton,MI)sometime.ComingtoNorthAm.AutoShowJan.202007.

MalcolmWilson
8years4months

Oops.Mybad.
Stillit'shappenedbefore.....
http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~alopezo/mathfaq/mathtext/node18.html

ross
8years4months

So,Iwasreadingaroundaboutyourcar(somethingI'veprobablyspenttoomuchtimeatwork
doing)andthearticleIwasreading,alongwithanumberofothersthatI'veseen,referredtoyour
caras"theElectricElise."Doesthatmakeyouangry,annoyed,orrollyoureyes?It'sdefinitelya
mythyou'vebeentryingtobusteversincethecarwasunveiled,butunfortunatelyyouhaven't
convertedeveryone.

Editor'sresponse:Wewouldneverrolloureyes)But,seriously,theTeslaRoadsterisanewcar
anditmaytakeawhiletocorrectsomefallaciesoutthere.Asyouknow,TeslaMotorsdesigned
anddevelopedtheTeslaRoadster.BackgroundonourrelationshipwithLotusandsomeofour
technologydecisionscanbefoundacrossoursite.Thesetwoblogsareparticularlyhelpful:Lotus
PositionandBalance.Feelfreetopasstheword.

Iz
8years4months

#JayPurserwroteonJanuary11th,2007at4:37pm
#Haveyouthoughtofproducingasimiliarsystemandmountingitonatrailer,withextraluggage
spaceincluded,forroadtripsbeyondthenormal250milerange?
Jay,refertoMartin'sblogentryof9/27/2006"Hybrids,PluginorOtherwise".Checkoutthelinks
foramazingcontraptionandsecondversion.Theversion2photoisquiteinteresting.

ross
8years4months

Titania:Iagree.Itisagoodquestionanddeservestobeanswered.It'ssogoodaquestion,in
fact,thatmanypeoplehaveaskeditonpreviousblogs.But,atthesametime,it'salsosogoodof
aquestionthatit'sbeenansweredmorethanonceonthiswebsite.LookingbackIseethatmy
commentmakesmesoundlikeafish(somewouldspecifyhalibut),butthepointwasthatitis
askedsooftenherethatthereshouldbea"requiredreading"sectionofsomesorteasilynoticable
fromanyblogposttoanswerit.
Anotherpossibilityistohavearealforumonthissite,oratleastalinktotheunofficialoneat
http://teslamotorsclub.com/forum/togivereadersawaytostilldirectlyrespondtotheblog,but
alsoforgeneraldiscussionquestionssuchasyoursandmanyothers(includingafewofmine).
Andhey,ifnothingelse,assoonaswebothgetourroadsterswecanhavearacetosettleit:)
Disclaimer:itmaytakemelongertogetmine.

Titania
8years4months

RossnooffensebutIthinkmyquestionwasquiteappropriateandmostcertainlydoesn'tmake
melooknaive.Iamfullyqualifiedinelectronicsandhaveakeeninterestinalternativeenergy
supplies.IwasverykeentoheartheopinionsandpointsofviewoftheTeslaengineerson
mattersrelatingtofuelcells.Theinformationwasgraciouslyprovidedbytheeditor.
Askingthosewhoworkwithsuchconsiderationsonmajorprojectssuchasthisisagreatwayto
furtheronesknowledgeandappreciationoftheeffortthathasgoneintocreatingthisvehicle.
IamseriouslyconsideringinvestinginmyownRoadsterand,assuch,haveavestedinterestin
findingoutasmuchaspossibleaboutit.
Thegoodfolkshereonthisblogareawonderfulandopensourceofsuchvaluableinformation.
BartHibbsIamcurious.Iwasundertheimpressionthatitwasmoreefficienttohavethe
frequenciesoftheelectronicsandthemotoroperatingatthesamereducingorincreasing
frequencybutadjustthephaseandimpedancetocontroltherateofchangeofspeed.Iamno

expertinthisfield(punintended)butIalsobelievethatsomeofmorecomplexcontrollersuse
harmonicstoincreaseperformanceunderdifferentconditions.

ross
8years4months

JayPurser:seeeditor'sresponsetoTitania'sfirstpost.
Editor:2...

Doug@Stanford
8years4months

LotsofnicehighresphotosoftheRoadsteronAutoBlogGreen:
autobloggreen.com

TommeyReed
8years4months

Haveanyonestartedtoredesignthedcmotor?
Ihaveseenmostelectricmotorshavesmallarmature,woulditbemuchbetterwithabiggerone?
Thiswouldallowhightorquewithlessampstorun,Evenifitdoesloserpmsitsreallythetorque
thatmovesthecar.
Letsaya16in.armaturethiswouldhavehightorqueoutput,anditcouldbeallmadeofmagnets.
Nowwouldthisnotuselesspowertorunandalsohavetorque?
Aamworkingonthisdesign,thisisabrushlessdcmotor,couldthisbemoreefficientthenanydc
motortoday?
WhatdoyouthinkTeslaMotors?
AdvanceEnergySystems.com
Tom

TEG
8years4months

#MalcolmWilsonwroteonJanuary11th,2007at2:49am
#Radiansarebasedonpi(3.14285).
#rosswroteonJanuary11th,2007at3:19pm
#Idontknowwhereyougotyourvalueofpifrom,becauseitsclosebutwrong.
Apparentlytheyusedthecommon22/7shortcutratherthanrememberingrealdigits.
http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/55842.html

JayPurser
8years4months

TheChevroletVOLTconceptofasmallgasolineenginetochargethebatterieswhenneeded
doesgivethedrivertheconfidencethathe(orshe)won'tbeleftonthesideoftheroadifthe
batteriesdischargecompletely.Haveyouthoughtofproducingasimiliarsystemandmountingit
onatrailer,withextraluggagespaceincluded,forroadtripsbeyondthenormal250milerange?

RoyBaudoin
8years4months

IwatchedWiredSciencetheothereveningandaminterestedverymuchinTelsaMotorproducts.
Whenwillinformationbeforthcomingonnewmodels?The5passengerSedanandsmallerlocal
commuter.

BartHibbs
8years4months

Hey,Wally,youforgetaboutmycar?TherearestillahundredorsoofusUSelectricarowners
withinductionmotorsunderthehood.Thecarshavebeengoingfor15years,certainlythatcounts
as"notable".
Noteoninductionmachinesandregenbraking:whenaninductionmachineisoperatingasa
motortherotorisspinningslightlyslowerthantheelectricalfrequency.Whenitisoperatingasa
generatortherotorisspinningslightlyfasterthentheelectricalfrequency.Theinducedcurrents

thentrytoslowtherotor,causingbraking.

ross
8years4months

MalcolmWilsonwroteonJanuary11th,2007at2:49am
#However,youwillneedtoknowthatengineersmeasureanglesinunitscalledRadians,#not
Degrees.Radiansarebasedonpi(3.14285).
Justalittlenitpickinghere:Idon'tknowwhereyougotyourvalueofpifrom,becauseitsclosebut
wrong.Therealvalueis3.14159265...(goesonforever),soyourfirst3digitswereright.Iwouldn't
havesaidanythingifyoustucktothem:)Also,3.142iscorrectlyrounded,butthenyouhavetwo
roguedigits.
Alsoanotetotheeditorre:re:Titania:Whyareyoustillsurprised?Thereisatleast3comments
perblogthatcouldbeansweredwiththosetwolinks,includingtheblogthatyoulinkto.Maybeput
astatementsomehwereobvious(likeatthetopabovetheblogger'spicandcredentials)thatsays
"BEFOREPOSTINGGENERALQUESTIONSABOUTLIIONvsOTHERTECHNOLOGIES,
PLEASEFOLLOWANDREADTHESETWOLINKS:The21stCenturyCarandTheFutureof
CarsIsElectric."
Nooffensetothosewhoaskthesequestions,butit'salwaysbesttoatleasttrytofindtheanswer
onyourownbeforeaskingitratherthanjustaskingandsoundingnaive.

AlvarHanso
8years4months

"Sincespinninginductionmachinesproducelittleornovoltagewhendeexcited,theyareeasier
toprotect."
IguessIdon'treallyunderstandthecontextofthatlittlesentence.I'mnotevensurethatthis
situationwouldbeencounteredinanACdrivesystemthatutilizesregenerativebrakingunlessthe
controllerdisconnectscompletelyfromthemotorinsomesafetyinitiatedsituation.Don'tyou
requirefreewheelingprotectiondiodesonanunloadedspinninginductionmotortoachievelittle
ornogeneratedvoltage?
(Jim:)NormallyinanACdrivetheregenerativebrakingconditionisinducedbyalteringthephase
oftheappliedinverterfrequencysuchthatthemotoritselfbecomesthegenerator.Thebattery
systembecomestheloadascurrentsaredrivenbackintothebatteriesandtosomeextentthey
are"recharged"althoughnotallofthisenergyisrecoveredbutsomethingisbetterthannothing!

Thevoltages/currentsgeneratedbytheACmotor(nowagenerator)aredependentontheload
impedancescausedbytheinvertercircuitandthebatteries.
Thequestionwasbroughtupastowhatyoudowithenergycreatedfromregenerativebreakingif
yourbatteriesarefullycharged.FortunatelyforapureelectricvehiclesuchastheTeslaroadster
thisisnotalargeproblemsincetheenergystateofthebatterieswillgenerallyalwaysbelessthan
whenyouleftyourgarageimmediatelyaftercharging.Thereisatleastonescenariothatcould
causethis,however.Ifyourmorningcommutecarriesyoudownhillforseveralthousandfeetof
verticalheightyoucouldindeedoverchargeyourbatterywithregenerativecurrentsunlessyour
vehicle'scontrollersystemhasthesmartstopreventthisfromhappening.Inthiscase
regeneratedcurrentsmustberedirectedawayfromthebatterypackandintosomethingthat
dissipatestheenergylikeabankofwellcooledpowerresistors.Haveyoueverseentheseveral
largecoolingfanexhaustsonthetopofadieselelectriclocomotive?Thosefansarethereto
dissipatetheenergyofthetrainintheformofheatgeneratedinresistiveloadsasthetrainslows
downduringregenerativebraking.AdieselelectriclocomotiveisalotlikeaTeslaroadsterexcept
thatithasadieselmotor/electricgeneratortogenerateelectricityinsteadofbatteries.Q:Whyisit
sogreattouseACdrivesystemsinalocomotive?A:Youwouldneedaridiculouslylargenumber
ofgearsinamechanicallocomotivetransmissiontogetatraintopullalargeloadfromadead
stop.TheACdrivesystemISthetransmissionduetothelargeamountoftorqueavailableinthe
ACinductionmotoratlowspeeds.

RoyHarvie
8years4months

ToAlbertCovemaekerIknowthatitwouldbegreattoseetheTeslaRoadsterinperson,butthe
factisthataboothinamajorautoshowisveryexpensive.WhyshouldTeslapayforaboothto
promotesalesoftheircarswhentheyalreadyhavemoreordersthantheycanfill?LatestIhave
seenis270carssold,congratulationsTesla!Andthesewithheftydownpayments.
IamgladtoseetheChevyVoltfromGM.ThiscarisnotcompetitionforTeslaasTeslais
committedtothebestenvironmentalsolutionwherastheVoltismorepraticalforthemasses.GM
saysthatthiscarisslatedforproductionnotvaporware.Theyarelookingforlowcostbatteries,
notexoticbutcurrentlyavailabletechnologyatsignificantlylowerprice.

Titania
8years4months

Deareditor,

Thankyouverymuchfortheinformation,inparticularthePDFdocument.Thatanswersmanyof
myquestionsoncurrentfuelcelltechnologyandefficiency.Certainlyfoodforthoughtand,
althoughitisprettyclearthatTeslaMotorshavedonetheirhomework,thismakesitevenmore
obvious.
FromthefirstmomentIsawone,IhadmyheartsetonpurchasingaTeslaRoadsterandthisblog
andalltheinformationonitjuststrengthenmypassionforthiscar.:)

AndreBrisebois
8years4months

IliveinCanada,intheprovinceofQuebec.
Haveyouevertestedtheinductionmotorinnorthenclimates?
Sincewehaveplentyofhydroelectricfacilitieshere,electricityisextremelyavailableandcheap.
IwouldliketodevelopthemarketforTeslacarsupherenorth.AnyplanfordistributioninCanada
?Anyinterestindoingso?

Titania
8years4months

TheTeslaRoadsterisaveryexcitingdevelopmenttomeanditisgreattobeabletoreadabout
thereasonsanddevelopmentsbehindthetechnologyinvolved.
IwouldexpectthatTeslahavelookedintothemyriadofdevelopingfuelcelltechnologiesas
potentialpowersources.Ibelievethatthiskindoftechnologywill,atsomepointverysoon,
becomeapreferredandmorecosteffectivesolutiontoLithiumIonbatteries.
Atthispointtherearecertainfuelcelltypesthatcangeneratesignificantpowerwithgreater
pollutionefficiencythantypicalinternalcombustionenginecombinations.Also,thefuelcellswould
befarmorecosteffectiveinthemidtolongtermoverLiIonbatteries.
ObviouslythereissomethingIhavemisedhereorTeslawouldbeusingthistechnology.Perhaps
itisthelackofwidespreadavailabilityinasuitableformoffuelsourcessuchashydrogenthatare
themajorcontributortochoosingLiIon.

Editor'ssurprise:Checkoutthefollowinglinks:The21stCenturyCarandTheFutureofCarsIs
Electric.

kert
8years4months

Everybodywouldverymuchliketohearanofficialopinionbyspecialistswhetherthetechnologyis
therefor40mileelectriccarbatterypackornot.GMessentiallysaid"thebatteriesarentready"by
whattheymeantthatthebasicchemistriesarethere(A123,valence,etc,thereareseveral
inherentlysafelithiumchemistriesaround)butcurrentlyonlysmallformatcellsareshippingin
volume,andtheyarenotgoingtoputtheseinacar.Also,thatthesafetyandcostatthepack
levelhavetobeverified.I.e.juststraightengineeringchallenges.
Teslahasgone(andisstillgoing)throughtheseengineeringandvalidationchallenges,usingthe
previousgenerationof"unsafe"cellsmakingitasafepack.
NowwhatwassaidbyGMistakenbymediaandspunas"Voltrequiressomemiracle
technologicalbreakthroughstobecomeviableandnobodyknowswhenorifthiswillhappen".This
isinstarkcontrastofwhatisactuallythesituation.Also,nobodymentionsthatNiMHisviable
today,andthattherearethousandsofEVszippingaroundwithgoodoldleadacid(800g
Wiz/Revacitycarsinlondon,forexample)
Someoneshouldgooutandsettherecordstraight.AhighprofileInterviewwithmr.Lutz,maybe.
Bothmr.EberhardandLutzonLarryKinglive?

MalcolmWilson
8years4months

JamesAndersonMerrittwrote:
#Givethispresentationsomepicturesoranimations,anditwouldmake
#anexcellentorientationtomodernelectricmotorsforthecurious
#consumer(ortheschoolkidstartinganengineersjourney!).
Lotsofanimationshere:
http://www.st.com/stonline/products/support/motor/tutorial/motor.swf
UnderMotorType,selectAsynchronousMotor(Induction).Asyoureadthrough,wordsinblue
canbeclickedontorevealcloseupphotosetc.Someparagraphsarealittletoofreewith
engineeringterminology,butpages4to9areBRILLIANT!
However,youwillneedtoknowthatengineersmeasureanglesinunitscalledRadians,not
Degrees.Radiansarebasedonpi(3.14285).pi/2rads=90degrees,pirads=180degreesetc.
Sothe2/3piand4/3piradsmentionedonpage7areequalto120and240degreesrespectively.
Onpage9,noticehowtheblackarrowwhichrepresentsthetotalmagneticfieldprovidedbythe

threestatorsisrotatingfasterthanthesquirrelcage.ThisistheideabehindSlip.Ifyoucouldsee
thearrowrepresentingthetotalmagneticfieldinducedintherotatingsquirrelcage,youwouldsee
thatitlagsbehindtheblackarrowbyaparticularangletheAngleofSlip.
Hopeallthishelps.

DickPong
8years4months

January10,2007mayormaynotberememberedasaseminaldayinracinghistory,butifa
proposed500mileracerunsinMay2009perhapsatIndianapolisMotorSpeedwayfeaturing
hydrogenfuelcellpoweredelectricvehicles,itwillmarkthebeginningofaneweraasthesport
fightstoremainrelevantandresponsibleinevolvingenvironmentalandautomotivemarket
climates.
ThatisthevisionoftheHydrogenElectricRacingFederation,thebrainchildofPeterDeLorenzo,
anautomotiveadvertisingandmarketingveteranandpublisherofAutoextremist.com.
HERFhelditscomingoutpartyataBirmingham,Michiganhotel,anditdrewcurioussenior
executivesfromAudi,GeneralMotors,Honda,Hyundai,Nissan,Toyota,BridgestoneFirestone
andMichelin,aswellasIMSbossTonyGeorge.
Theproposal:Racingshouldserveastheultimateprovinggroundfortheelectrificationofthe
automobile,throughaproposedracecarformulathatspecifiesclosedwheelracecarsweighing
nolessthan900kgandfeaturing300kw(minimum),400hphydrogenfuelcellpowerplants.
HERFwantstorunitsinauguralrace,TheHydrogen500,atIMSorperhapsCaliforniaSpeedway,
aspartofatwoovaleventfirstseason.Threeraceswouldrunin2010,includingtwoovalsand
oneroadcourse,followedbyfiveroundsin2011thatHERFhopesincludeanovalinJapananda
roadcourseinShanghai,China.
Apipedream?Notnecessarily,saidautomotiveexecutiveswhoattendedthemeeting.Were
excited[bytheidea],saidStevenWesoloski,roadracinggroupmanagerforGM.GMRacing
bossMarkKentbackedthatview,thoughnotedasdidothersinattendancethattheproposed
timeframeisveryaggressive.However,GMsDougFehan,programmanagerforAmericanLe
MansSeriesracing,saidthetwoyeartargetisachievable.
Thepictureshouldbecomeclearerin90days,whenasignedletterofintenttocompeteisdue.
Judgedbythereactionanddiscussionsthattookplaceatthemeetingsconclusion,theauto
manufacturersaretakingHERFveryseriously.
http://www.autoextremist.com/page3.shtml#fumes

TEG
8years4months

MentionofMalcolmBricklin'snewventurehere:
autobloggreen.com

T.J.
8years4months

TheeuropositronbatteryonHarvie'sposthasareallybigenergydensityperwt.&volume
accordingtographonsite's"techniquescompared"section.Alotmorethanlith.ion.Supposedto
have3000chargecycles.

AlbertCovemaeker
8years4months

IfIattendtheDetroitAutoshow,wherewillIbeabletoseeyourcar?Isitthere?Ifnot,WHY
NOT?
Ihaveseennothinginthenewsmediaboutyourcar.
WehaveonlyheardabouttheGMHybridproductthatgoes40milesonacharge,thenswitches
togas..NOTHANKSforwhattheywantforit..
Canyoupleasereply,asIplantogotothecarshow,andwouldbelookingforyourvehicl,and
display..
ThanksAlbertCovemaeker

Editor'sresponse:WebroughttheTeslaRoadstertotheSanFranciscoandLosAngelesauto
shows,butwedon'thaveaboothattheDetroitAutoShowthisyear.

MikeHarrigan
8years4months

I'veseenthequestionregardingreplacingthebatterypackata"servicestation"askedinseveral

TeslablogsoverthepastfewweeksandI'dliketocomment.TheTeslaRoadsterbatterypack
(ESS)weighsaround900lbs.It'snotlikepullingtheLiionbatteryoutofyourlaptoporcellphone.
SpecialequipmentandtrainingisrequiredtoremoveandreplaceanESS.Intheroadsterit's
abouta23hourjobfortwopeople.RememberthattheESSisliquidcooledsoyoumust
disconnect/reconnectthecoolingsystemhosesaswellastheelectricalconnections.Inshort,it's
alaborintensivejobthatrequiresspecialequipmenttoremove/replaceaswellasspecial
equipmenttomaintainaninventoryofESSunits.Thesavingsintimeoverthe3.5hourcharge
timearenotenoughtojustifytheprocess.
MikeHarriganisVicePresidentofCustomerService&SupportatTeslaMotors.

Nick
8years4months

Thanksmuch,asamemberofthegeneralpublic,allofthishasbeenquiteinformative,Iwillnow
waituntilmypocketbooklevelreachesyourtechnologylevel.....Iamnotcomplainingaboutthe
automakers....theyareafteralltiedtomakingdecisionsbasedonstockholderneeds....Ilikewhat
youdid.....beatthemattheirgame.....Iwanttobeastockholderofyours....inthemeantimeIwill
notbuyanothercarunlessitisdrivenbylithiumIonandaninductionmotor.....Thankyouonce
again!!

PeterG
8years4months

Iamshocked!FirstGMgoesandannouncesthattheyaregoingtoproduceaPHEV,thenIfind
outthatWallyhasputasidehisslideruleandisnowbloggingontopofeverything).DidIwake
upinaparalleluniverse?

MichaelLittlewood
8years4months

Althoughthearticleiswellwrittenitwastootechnicalandverycondensed,whyteasea
neophyte?.Afewisimplellustrationswouldhavemademoresense,yesapictureiswortha
thousandwords.

Neil
8years4months

GoodexplanationWally!Don'tsupposeyoucoulddoablogonregenerativebreaking?(Whatdo
youdoifthebatteryisalreadyfull,efficiencies,backupetc..).Onemorequestion:willsuppliesof
rareearthmetalshaveanimpactonDCbrushless?

RoyHarvie
8years4months

ThankyouflabbyfortheinformationandlinktoEEStorpatent(previousblog).Ihadalmost
forgottenEEStoraswhenIfirstheardaboutitIcouldnotfindanyfigures,onlyhype.Ihavenow
addedittomychartcomparingbatterytypesat
http://www.plasticlabels.ca/index_files/compareEVbatteries.htm.EEStorisworkinghardtodeliver
samplestotheirfirstcustomersandIassumethattheyarealsoworkingonacontrollerthatcan
handlethe3500peakvoltage.CurrentIGBTsareratedabout1500voltsmaxsothiswillnotbe
easy.

ian
8years4months

TheVoltisapipedream.Ilovetheconceptandhavebeeninfavorofaserieshybridforawhile,
butGMisalltalknowalk.Theirbatterysystemhasyettobebuiltandisbasedonsomefictional
systemtheyhopetoseeavailableinthefuture.
IhopeGM'smarketingcampaignisn'tsuccessful.Theyshouldrealizethattheyhavelittle
credibilityandneedtoproduceanactualproductbeforetoutingit.
Appleisagoodexample(andTesla).StevejobsrecentlyunveiledtheiPhone,whichlooked
almostreadytogooutthedoor.They'resayingJune.Anyway,theycouldhavesaidtheywere
comingoutwithaniPhoneayearago,buttheydidn't...why?Probablybecausetheyknewthey
wereactuallygoingtobuildit,sowhyhypeitayearandahalfearly?
SoGM,ifyou'reactuallygoingtobuildtheVolt,thenwhyhypeitnow?

BruceWallace
8years4months

Excellentaccountofthemotortypeselection.InoticedthatyouonlydiscussedInductionand
BLDCtypes.WasSwitchedReluctanceeverevaluated?IknowthatanSRmotorrequiresvery
highairgapprecision,andtendstoproduceafairamountofacousticnoise,butcanitalsobetter
theefficiencyandpowerdensityofaninductionunit?

Mark
8years4months

AfterseeingthenewiPhonedemonstration,itwouldalmostbeasinifthenewTeslacouldn'ttalk
withitinameaningfulway:)
ThatthinghasthemostincredibleuserinterfaceIhaveeverseen.

RajIyer
8years4months

Howfeasibleissimplyreplacingspentbatterypacksatservicestationswithfullychargedpacks?
(Servicestationschargingafeeforthecharging/cleaningservice.)

StradaAutoStore
8years4months

Veryinformative....ThankYou!ArethesemotorsfortheTeslamanufacturedinChina?

JamesAnderson...
8years4months

Givethispresentationsomepicturesoranimations,anditwouldmakeanexcellentorientationto
modernelectricmotorsforthecuriousconsumer(ortheschoolkidstartinganengineer'sjourney!).
Thankyou,Mr.Rippel!

MalcolmWilson
8years4months

Thankyou.Thatwasaveryhelpfulcomparisonofbrushlessandinductionmotors.
TheUS'sveryownTexasInstrumentshaveanextensiveonlinelibraryofsupportdocumentsfor
awiderangeofelectroniccomponentsincludingACmotorcontroldevices.Ifanyonewishesto
findoutmore,thefollowingwebaddressprovidesalinktoapdfdocumentfrom1996,dealingwith
variousmotorcontrolstrategies.Sincethedocumentissoold,thefocusisongeneralindustrial
applicationsratherthanelectricvehicles.
http://focus.ti.com/general/docs/techdocsabstract.tsp?abstractName=bpra043
Alternatively,typingakeywordlike"induction"intothesearchfacilityatthetopofthesamepage
above,providesaccesstofarmoreinformationthanisprobablyhealthy:)

CM
8years4months

Wonderfulinformation.IwasunawareofthereasonTeslaMotorschoseACinductionfortheir
motor,butnowitmakessense.
Icheckedoutyour"other"blog,foundthecommentarythereinterestingaswell
http://sirycars.blogspot.com/2007/01/whyelectricvehiclesmakegoodsen...
ThebighulabaloothisweekendwastheannouncementbyGMoftheir"pluggablehybrid"effort,
theChevy"Volt".Theyarepushingtheelectricdriveaspectandthey'renotcallingitaserial
hybrid,eventhoughtheconceptcarhasageneratordrivenbyagasengine.Moreinterestingis
whatGMcallsthe"Eflex"platformthebasicdesigncanbemodifiedbyreplacingthegasengine
generatorwithadieselgeneratororfuelcell,orremovingthegeneratorandaddingmorebatteries
tomakeanallelectricversion!Nomentiononaproductiondate,GMclaimsthatthebatteriesare
notquiteready.(yeah,right...)
TeslaMotors,"WhoKilledtheElectricCar",risingfuelprices,andToyotahavehitGMwitha
quadruplewhammy.GMhasnoclearsenseofdirectionandisanxiouslycoveringallbases,
supportingresearchprogramsonassortedtypeofhybrids,electrics,diesel,gas,ethanol,
biodiesel,andhydrogenfuelcells.GMdoesn'thaveaclueastowhichtechnologyisbest,soitis
trying"alloftheabove".
2009and2010shouldbeinterestingyearsGMplanstomarketafuelcellcar,Mr.Bricklinwants

tostartimportingluxuryChinesehybridcars,ToyotawillintroduceanewversionofthePrius,and
ofcourse,Teslawillbeintroducingnewmodelsaswell.

T.J.
8years4months

OnWally'sposton"HorselessAge"sitehetalksaboutamazingdeceptionpulledoffbycar&oil
companies&WhiteHousere.hydrogencars.What'samazingishowoftenthepublicisconnedin
thiscountrybybothgovt.&industryit'saregulartagteameffort.Anotherexamplebeingthefact
thatDenmarkbannedalltransfatssomethinglike45yearsago.They"knewsomething"along
timeagowhichmeansourgovt./foodindustryknew"thesamething".Butjustlikecaseofbig
tobacco,afteralotofpeoplehavesufferedilleffectsordiedoverdecades,theyfinallysay"sorry
!"(suckers).Myquestionis"whoraisedthese'people'?".They'rebasicallypointblank
unrepentantconniving"catchusifyoucan"liarsandforwhat:more(&yetmoreandthenmore)
money/power/stausquo.IfIhadaccumulatedtheirkindofcashI'dhavebeenlivingofftheinterest
andgoingstraightlongago.Butnoooo!Thelobbyist/govt.job/lobbyistrevolvingdoorinthis
countryispathetic.Ithinkthetech.worldpeopleinsiliconvalley&elsewhereneedabigfulltime
presscorpssowordcangetoutmoretotheproverbialmaninthestreetandtheabovementioned
weaselscanbeslammedateveryturn.Really.Ialsohopetheymakemorehalibutin'moneythan
"cod",handoverfootandputitintotherightthingssuchascompanieslikeTeslainabig
way.Thenwecouldjustbypasstherodentsinquestion.

Jim
8years4months

Greatexplanationandcomparison.ButI'mstillwonderinghowdoesaninductionmotorgenerate
regenerativepowerunderbraking?

AnatolyMoskalev
8years4months

SomepeoplekeepswanderingincommentstopreviousarticleonthisblogwhyGMandothercar
makersappeartechnologicallywaybehindwithelectricityincars.Partoftheanswerdiscussedis
oiladdictionofbusinessstructureslikelytrue.
Butitexistapparentotherreasondiscussedearlieronthisbloghighbatterycost.Itisnota

randomfactthatTeslaRoadsterpriceiscloseto$100000.Todaybatteryupfrontanddepreciation
costmakesithappen.TeslaRoadsterbatterycostwasguessed~$20000ormaybehigher.Mass
marketcarmanufacturingcostoverallshouldbe$10000$15000Iguess.Outofthatgasoline
savingandpartsreductionwouldcountprobablyforlessthan$5000totalofaffordablecostof
batterypackinavehicle.Bigunknownismaintenancecostincarssupportinfrastructureand
affiliatedbusinessesbecauseallthetechnicianshavetolearnnewtrickswithelectricalcars
wouldnotcomefastandcheap.
Batterycostdidnotcomedown4timesyetfromtodayvalueperthesameenergydensityand
chargecyclecount.Nobodyknowswouldbatterycostcomedownthatmuchsoonornever.
Dependingonthisfactorwholebusinesswithelectriccarscouldmakebigsenseornosenseat
all.Iguessrisklevelassociatedwiththisfactorisstilltoohighforbigcarcompaniessotheyare
searchingsmoothevolutionandareextremelyreluctanttogoelectrical.
Itremainstobedemonstratedthatanybodycouldmakeelectriccarmatchingnotonlytodaycars
performancebutalsodoingitexactlyforthesameorevenlowerinitialcarpriceandhavingsame
orlowermaintenancecost.Takingintoaccounttoday'stechnologyitisflatoutnotpossible.

TEG
8years4months

#Wallywrote:
#"Backinthe1990salloftheelectricvehiclesexceptonewerepoweredbyDCbrushlessdrives.
"...
#"TheonlynotableusesofinductiondriveshavebeentheGeneralMotorsEV1theAC
Propulsionvehicles,includingthetzeroandtheTeslaRoadster."
WhynotmentiontheFordRangerElectric?
Itusesawatercooled3phaseACinductionmotor...
Theywereofferedforsalein1997/1998/1999/2000
http://www.mavin.com/index.php?crn=200&rn=362&action=show_detail
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2006/12/ballard_selling.html
Therestofyourarticlewasveryinformativeforthe"layperson"whohassomeinterestinthis
technology.Thanksforsharing!

RoyHarvie
8years4months

Thankyouforthisexplanation.Ihavenothadaclearunderstandingofthedifferencesbetween
inductionanddcbrushless,onlythatthereweremoresimilaritiesthandifferences.Despiteyour
declarationthattheyareequivalent,theadvantageswithafancycontroldoesmakeinductiona
clearwinnerforelectriccars.IguessGMthinkssotooastheChevyVolthasthesamemotoras
theEV1.

DavidNelson
8years4months

Veryinterestingandinformative.Thankyou.HowdoesabrushlessDCmotorcomparetoaSEM
DCmotor?IsaSEMamotorwithoutpermenantmagnetsbutstillhasbrushes?

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