However the driver lives in New Jersey, where only 10% of the power comes from coal (as of 2005). There, I find that it is only 0.713 lbs of CO2 per kwh, so he'd only be releasing about 1.5 tons of CO2.

CO2 data from here: http://www.miloslick.com/EnergyLogger_files/State_Electricit...

Tesla has a cute map of electricity generation by state: http://www.teslamotors.com/goelectric#electricity

It looks like there isn't any state where driving an electric actually produces more CO2 than driving a gas car. And that's before you include the CO2 generated from refining oil (which requires a fair amount of electricity).

That's a great map except they fail to state the MPG of the "Gas Car" they are comparing too. Given the numbers in that, I'd be willing to bet a Prius outperforms the Electric in some of the worst states.

Edit: Assumption is stated as 22mpg at the bottom of the page.

That's fair if you are comparing the Model S to a similar luxury car. It also means the Prius wins in a lot of states.

> It also means the Prius wins in a lot of states.

That's true. But I think Tesla is trying to sell the Model S to people who would otherwise buy a similar luxury car. There are a not-insignificant number of people in the world who just hate the Prius because it sacrifices handling, performance, and interior finish for the sake of fuel-efficiency. If Tesla builds and sells a car that those people like, isn't it still a net win? People who like hybrid Priuses can still buy them.

Yup. Electric cars are one half of the puzzle. Moving away from coal and towards other sources are the other half.

It's good that one half of the puzzle is mostly complete, as the electric car seems to be here for good. I think moving energy sources away from coal will be the more difficult and time consuming task.

On the other hand, one could in theory outfit the coal plant with equipment to capture much of that carbon and prevent it from being released into the atmosphere.

That's much harder to do for the car, because you only have a limited budget for space and weight to attach things to the car.

> All numbers shamelessly cribbed from whatever google result supported my thesis.

FTFY

Snark like this is annoying and doesn't contribute in any way to the conversation. If you don't agree with someone's numbers, then take a few minutes and critique their data or do a little of your own research and post your findings. It's a lot more interesting and a more successful way to get your point across.

What thesis would that be? Feel free to go do your own calculation and contribute anything at all.