The immediate reason is economics, but it has a lot to do with physics as well: Larger, heavier, less aerodynamic electric vehicles need larger, heavier, more expensive batteries to power them. Our research has looked at the energy needed to move cars and trucks along the road, and has identified the important factors that affect power usage.
Tesla Model 3 cars arriving at a port in Shanghai. Zhao Yun / VCG via Getty Images
Three years after it was first announced, Tesla's Model 3 is now available for $35,000 in the United States, The Verge reported Thursday.
"We are incredibly excited to announce that the standard Model 3, with 220 miles of range, a top speed of 130 mph and 0-60 mph acceleration of 5.6 seconds is now available at $35,000!" the company announced in a blog post. "Although lower in cost, it is built to achieve the same perfect 5-star safety rating as the longer-ranged version, which has the lowest probability of injury of any car ever tested by the U.S. Government."
One of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. is from burning fossil fuels for
transportation, so accelerating the electrification of our planes, trains and automobiles is crucial in a clean energy future.
Koch Industries is calling for the elimination of tax credits for electric vehicles (EVs), all while claiming that it does not oppose plug-in cars and inviting the elimination of oil and gas subsidies that the petroleum conglomerate and its industry peers receive.
Outgoing Nevada Republican Senator Dean Heller introduced a bill in September that would lift the sales cap on electric vehicles eligible for a federal tax credit, and replace the cap with a deadline that would dictate when the credit would start being phased out.
Similarly,
Tesla CEO Elon Musktweeted over the weekend that his company's enormous Gigafactory in Sparks, Nevada will run entirely on Tesla Solar by the end of 2019.
The $800 million (US $634 million) project—struck in February by Tesla CEO
Elon Musk and former South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill—involves installing solar panels and batteries on 50,000 homes to function as an interconnected power plant.
Nissan, the maker of the world's top-selling
electric vehicle, officially rolled out on Thursday a seamless solar energy and battery storage system for homes in the UK.
The venture, called
Nissan Energy Solar, allows homeowners to generate, store and charge EVs with their own renewable energy, which can reduce household energy bills by an estimated 66 percent, the company touts.
Tesla's Powerpack battery system in South Australia is charged by a nearby wind farm. Tesla
Since switching on in December,
Tesla's massive battery in South Australia has already drastically lowered prices in the region's frequency and ancillary services market (FCAS) and has taken a major share of that market, Renew Economy reported.
During Australian Energy Week, McKinsey and Co. partner Godart van Gendt boasted about the stunning efficiency of the 100-megawatt Powerpack system, which is connected to Neoen's Hornsdale
wind farm.
Now, the Elon Musk-headed venture is vying to build another massive Powerpack system in Colorado for Xcel Energy Inc., an electric utility operating in eight Western and Midwestern states.
