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Per WSJ: "The European Commission–which has executive powers in the European Union–will propose to levy a minimum EUR20 per metric ton of carbon dioxide emitted on products like gasoline, diesel, natural gas and coal starting in 2013. But it will also propose adjusting the existing legislation by gradually increasing a minimum levy on the energy content of diesel to bring it to the same level as that of gasoline starting in 2018."
Per Ferdinand Dudenhöffer from the Center for Automotive Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen: "Because of generous diesel subsidies, nearly 48 percent of German cars and more than 60 percent of Austrian cars are powered by diesel. In Switzerland, where no such subsidy is in place, only about 20 percent of the cars run on diesel."
http://jalopnik.com/tesla-model-x-delayed-again-until-the-third-quarter-1655175029
Think of the Tesla as a $100,000 Smart Watch.
Next we'll learn that no towing hitches will fit because of the battery pack platform. So no trailer hitch bike racks on the back.
Oh, it's got AWD. Let's take it to Whistler. Hm, guess we'll have to rent snowboards and skis when we get there since there's no place for a ski rack on top.
Germany needs to bail out of that sovereignty stealing concoction. Funny how almost exactly 25 years ago, there was reunification and freedom, now a cabal of irresponsible untouchable bureaucrats are calling the shots again. I'd like to see a force from one of the non-bone-idle EU members (short list) invade Brussels and level the EU complex there. Unsustainable mess.
Hm, no idea about the driver but plenty of people do fine in Alaska with RWD in the winter. Next up for this guy will have to be a Model X though.
Talkeetna man hurt, Tesla Roadster totaled in Parks Highway crash (KTUU)
http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/factory-upgrade
Audi Developing Long-Range Electric Car to Challenge Tesla (hollywoodreporter.com)
And for the record, a friend sent me that story - I usually don't read the Hollywood Reporter (maybe I should add it to my favorites though.
All this is OT, but there's not much going on in Teslaland aside from continued sketchy accounting, tax breaks given to those who need it least, and chatter about that oddly proportioned gullwing CUV thing that is supposedly out soon
http://seekingalpha.com/article/2719375-will-volvos-plug-in-electric-suv-make-life-difficult-for-teslas-model-x?uprof=45
Speaking of longterm thinking------As for cheap gas prices, I think they will boost sales of bigger SUVs and cars, and dent the normal EV, hybrid and diesel market but not to a significant degree.
I think (hope) that at least some Americans are aware that the reason for cheap gas has a lot to do with the new technology that was developed to find new, and more destructive, ways of acquiring oil. So I think it's an end game that will have repercussions that even short-term-memory America will be able to see for themselves.
Short-term, though, just about every "pseudo-green" politician at the higher levels is going to cave in on lessening environmental regulations, to our present good but longterm detriment.
I don't really care about the politics of oil, but it does concern me that all the great new engine designs (and cars) we've seen in the last few years will become inert in their development without the spur of expensive fuel costs. In other parts of the world, however, where fuel prices remain high, they may develop technology that will literally clean America's clocks in 10-20 years.
We'll see won't we? We've already seen this in Europe's most recent space exploration achievement. And China wants to go to the moon. I sure hope we don't go back to building 1976 Eldorados.
http://www.autonews.com/article/20141203/OEM04/312039906/audi-plans-electric-crossover-in-u-s-to-challenge-tesla
http://www.autonews.com/article/20141205/OEM05/141209869/vw-buys-stake-in-startup-u-s-battery-company-report-says
Meanwhile, filed under Uber, airBnB and other disruptive technology:
“The mortal threat that ever cheaper on-site renewables pose” comes from systems that include storage, said Amory Lovins, co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, a Snowmass, Colorado-based energy consultant. “That is an unregulated product you can buy at Home Depot that leaves the old business model with no place to hide.”
Why Elon Musk's Batteries Scare the Hell Out of the Electric Company (bloomberg.com)
And another thing----I wish people would stop calling Tesla "cutting edge". It's not. It's building cars just the way everyone else does, using a technology that is basically nothing new--just improved, and using the same supply chain as GM or Toyota.
I'd really like to see business separated from the idea of it being some kind of religious quest. It's business, and Musk is very good at playing the game---and really, the game favors the big players.
So IMO it's a game changer but only in the change in which type of poker you're playing.
And then there’s the home front. In a July report, Morgan Stanley said Tesla’s home and business energy-storage product could be “disruptive” in the U.S. and in Europe as customers seek to avoid utility fees by going “off-grid.”
VW is known for making big profits. They are also outspending all other automakers combined on R&D. Tesla would not exist except for tax payer dollars and consumer dollars being given to them. Tesla total profit in 2013 was due to Carbon Credits from the other automakers.
“So if a manufacturer has sales in California of, let’s say, 100,000 vehicles, and the obligation is credits equal to one percent of their sales, they have to come up with 1,000 credits,” Bevan said.
If a company comes up short, it has to pay a penalty of up to $5,000 per credit. Or it can buy credits from a company like Tesla, which happens to earn a lot of credits on every car it makes.Tesla has sold enough credits to post its first profit.
Cheap gas sells more gas guzzlers, pays more credits to Tesla. When will Tesla run out of millionaires to buy their cars.
They will never forget you 'til somebody new comes along
"If you are a serious automaker, you have to be in the SUV market," said Renee Stephens, vice president of automotive research at JD Power and Associates. "In the past three years the compact SUV segment has really grown and Tesla is saying, 'Hey, this is a market for us. We need to get in there.'"
Women waiting in the wings for Tesla's Model X (montereyherald.com)
I wonder if the SUV is another big Fib like the $50k family model? My question, do Wise Men really buy over priced EVs?
Should the oil industry and oil producing countries be worried?
Will oil top $100 per barrel within the next three years, and will it ever exceed it's 2008 all-time high price of $145?
The answers to these questions are just guesses at this point, but what do you think after reading the following article...
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-12-17/toyota-embraces-fuel-cell-cars-for-post-gasoline-future
"The environmental benefit of fuel-cell cars won’t be fully realized if hydrogen isn’t eventually produced from renewable sources. Splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity, a process called electrolysis, from a renewable source such as solar is one option. Another is biomass conversion, the biochemical conversion of methane gas, say, from landfills into hydrogen. “There’s a high possibility that there will be many sources of hydrogen in the future, such as solar energy and even waste,” says Toyoda. Yet whether these methods will ever be cost-competitive with gasoline and diesel is unclear."
Even if they work, I think it'd be a waste to use them. Why take solar electricity and split hydrogen, when we could use the electricity directly and reduce coal use? Why do thee same with methane from landfills, when a CNG vehicle could use it directly?
Musk: Tesla May Eventually Use Car Dealers But Not Ones Who Have Been “Jerks” (consumerist.com)
GM Could Put Tesla Out Of Business Tomorrow If It Wanted
The Bolt? Yea, rhymes with Volt, but...