Tesla Model S – Cost of Ownership vs. Honda Odyssey

Re:Tesla Model S – Cost of Ownership vs. Honda Odyssey by jesusmichael on Sunday April 13, 2014 @08:18PM (#7583803)

My source is an industrial electric motor supplier. Google "400hp electric motor"

I'm not saying tesla's require oil changes as a gas engine does... oil will last quite a long time when not contaminated by hydrocarbons.

But even sealed bearings need to be repacked after so much wear. To parts can't move against on another without generating heat, which will degrade a lubricant and allow wear.

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Re:Tesla Model S – Cost of Ownership vs. Honda Odyssey by leoedin on Monday April 14, 2014 @04:14AM (#7585036)

The mistake you're making is assuming that the single unit price of a low volume device like an industrial electric motor in any way reflects its component costs. High tech low volume engineering is dominated by R&D costs, one off manufacturing costs and margin. You could apply your logic (it would cost me $25,000 to buy one so therefore it costs Tesla that as well) to almost any item of consumer electronics and you'd find that your cost estimation was an order of magnitude (at least) above the retail price of a completed device. Try pricing a washing machine based on the cost of its component parts online - you won't be able to do it for anywhere near the cost in store.

When you build large numbers of integrated devices (be they washing machines, cars or cell phones), individual unit costs of components are always much lower. That's why we mass produce things.

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Re:Tesla Model S – Cost of Ownership vs. Honda Odyssey by revelation on Monday April 14, 2014 @01:04PM (#7587360)

And then you factor in that Tesla produces the majority of the motor in house from raw materials.

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Re:Tesla Model S – Cost of Ownership vs. Honda Odyssey by jesusmichael on Monday April 14, 2014 @08:48PM (#7589743)

The "mistake" you are making is that you assume Tesla has "invented" an electric motor, so rugged that it can withstand that riggers of being inside a consumer vehicle on the open road with a novice operator, in various environmental conditions, that is a fraction of the cost of similarly powered electric motors that operate in static environments, such as a factory floor, with experienced operators and fixed maintenance schedules? Wow.. I have a bridge to sell you...

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Re:Tesla Model S – Cost of Ownership vs. Honda Odyssey by hatbert on Monday April 14, 2014 @03:18AM (#7584906)

Have you tried looking for motors that aren't designed for 60 Hz operation? I think you might be in for a surprise...

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Re:Tesla Model S – Cost of Ownership vs. Honda Odyssey by jesusmichael on Monday April 14, 2014 @05:58PM (#7589202)

Tesla uses a induction motor... which is AC and they use a frequency control unit to modulate the speed of the motor. So frequency isn't really a consideration...

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Re:Tesla Model S – Cost of Ownership vs. Honda Odyssey by thaumasiotes on Monday April 14, 2014 @04:23AM (#7585062)

disclaimer: I have no idea what I'm talking about.

I'd kind of like to see an elaboration of this, though:

> oil will last quite a long time when not contaminated by hydrocarbons

as I was under the impression that oil consists 100% of hydrocarbons.

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Re:Tesla Model S – Cost of Ownership vs. Honda Odyssey by jesusmichael on Monday April 14, 2014 @01:07PM (#7587390)

You are correct... I should have said "the product of combusted hydrocarbons"

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