Why Tesla is Doomed to Extinction and Electric Cars are the real Dinosaurs
In the movie Jurassic Park “chaos expert” Ian Malcolm is immediately skeptical of John Hammond’s attempts to bring dinosaurs back from extinction. In his view dinosaurs have been tried and found wanting. Evolution consigned them to the scrap heap of history for a reason, he notes, and trying to bring them back is to demonstrate unforgivable arrogance in the face of nature’s judgement.
This thought occurred to me when I was reading about the recent introduction of the Tesla Model S Sedan. Unlike the models put out by the likes of GM and Nissan (with the Volt and LEAF respectively) Tesla has captured the public’s imagination. It’s an electric car that’s actually sexy. Not only will you be helping the environment (in theory) you’ll look good too. Who doesn’t want one?
Well, I don’t. Here’s why. Much like how nature and evolution have pronounced judgement on the viability of dinosaurs, so too has the market spoken on electric cars. The truth is that there is nothing new about electric cars at all. When cars were in their Jurassic stage electric cars roamed the Earth, along with their gas guzzling brethren. However, overtime they were out-competed by the gas powered variety and died a natural, evolutionary death. May they rest in peace.
However, just like how John Hammond refused to accept nature’s judgement, so to are there people who insist on ignoring the markets lessons. Hence, the Tesla (and the EV-1, LEAF, Volt, etc). I canvassed Ricochet readers (the place for intelligent right of center discussion on the web) for their opinions, and these are some of the responses I got:
First of all, electric cars are not that environmentally friendly. 44.9% of electricity in the United States comes from coal. Only 6.9% comes from Hydro (which most environmentalists don’t even like) and 3.6% from renewables. To generate the power needed for a country full of Tesla’s you’re going to have to build a lot more coal, nuclear, and hydro electric power plants. Is that really the best for the environment?
The real sticking point for the Tesla though, is that same as its always been, namely its reliance on batteries. Read this article for a story on the issues encountered with the battery life in a Tesla Roadster. It’s not pretty. What’s more, those same batteries will cost up to $30,000 dollars to replace after 5 ears. Fuel, not batteries, remain the best energy storage system we have by a country mile. The Tesla doesn’t change this.
Having said all of that I still have a ton of respect for Elon Musk. Making his money from Paypal, he has put most of his fortune into bankrolling Tesla (as well as SpaceX) in order to try and make something new. If we’re going to get the North American economy going again, we need more Elon Musk’s. Still, like John Hammond, I think he’s let the dream cloud his judgement. Let them rest in peace.
Related articles
- Tesla Model S Gets Sneak Preview (VIDEO) (blippitt.com)
- My Dream Date With A $109,000 Electric Car, The Tesla Roadster (TSLA) (businessinsider.com)
October 5th, 2011 at 7:38 pm
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October 5th, 2011 at 7:45 pm
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October 6th, 2011 at 8:24 am
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