Electric Cars: The Basics
For those of you new to zero-emission electric driving, we recommend a read of the following articles:
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The All-Electric Tesla Cybertruck
Tesla Inc. (formerly Tesla Motors Inc.) was founded by American engineers, Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning in 2003. They named the Palo Alto based company, Tesla, as a tribute to the engineer Nikola Tesla. In fact, Elon Musk (Co-Founder, Tesla) become involved with the company post the founding of Tesla Motors. He was the lead investor in the 2004 Series A investment round.
Tesla has the following battery-electric vehicle (BEV) models either in production or in development. In 2020, the EV company surpassed a production volume of 1 million plug-in electric cars.
- All-electric Tesla Model S (BEV)
- All-electric Tesla Model 3 (BEV)
- All-electric Tesla Model X (BEV)
- All-electric Tesla Model Y (BEV)
- All-electric Tesla Roadster (BEV)
- All-electric Tesla Cybertruck (BEV)
On November 21st 2019, Elon Musk, the co-founder of Tesla, revealed the electric pickup truck at a ‘stunts-filled’ event, which maybe mostly remembered for the ‘broken-glass’! Despite the glitch, the futuristic looking sci-fi battery electric vehicle (BEV) utility truck certainly has caught everyone’s attention.
The pure electric truck is like ‘Marmite’, it is either loved or detested in fury and has certainly polarized commentators. Elon Musk envisions a significant market potential for the environment friendly light duty electric pick up truck, in particular for the US market, where approximately 6,500 internal combustion engine (ICE) trucks are sold per day.
Within a week of the launch, Tesla received more than 250,000 pre-orders for the ‘blade-runner’ inspired electric pickup. Production of the Single Motor RWD is expected to begin in late 2022. The production of the Dual Motor AWD and Tri Motor AWD variants is expected in late 2021.
The very angular designed truck has an exoskeleton ‘an exterior shell’ made for ultimate durability and passenger protection, to include:
- Ultra-Hard 30X Cold-Rolled stainless-steel structural skin
- Armoured glass
- Polymer-layered composite
The electric vehicle (EV) has 3,500 pounds of payload capacity. The Tesla Cybertruck is not available in India.
The All-Electric Tesla Cybertruck (credit:Tesla)
| At A Glance | |
|---|---|
| EV Type: | Battery-Electric Vehicle (BEV) |
| Body Type: | Pickup Truck |
| Engine: | Electric |
| Available In India: | No |
| Trims (3 Options) |
|---|
| Single Motor RWD |
| Dual Motor AWD |
| Tri Motor AWD |
| EV Battery & Emissions | |
|---|---|
| EV Battery Type: | Lithium-ion |
| EV Battery Capacity: | Available in three battery sizes (100 kWh, 120 kWh, 200 kWh) |
| Charging: | 250 kW rapid charging standard (Supercharge up to 175 miles in 15 mins) |
| Charge Port: | Type 2 |
| EV Cable Type: | Type 2 |
| Tailpipe Emissions: | 0g (CO2/km) |
| Warranty: | 8 years or 190,000 km |
| Charging Times (Overview) | |
|---|---|
| Slow charging AC (3 kW – 3.6 kW): | 6 – 12 hours (dependent on size of EV battery & SOC) |
| Fast charging AC (7 kW – 22 kW): | 3 – 8 hours (dependent on size of EV battery & SoC) |
| Rapid charging AC (43 kW): | 0-80%: 20 mins to 60 mins (dependent on size of EV battery & SoC) |
| Rapid charging DC (50 kW+): | 0-80%: 20 mins to 60 mins (dependent on size of EV battery & SoC) |
| Ultra rapid charging DC (150 kW+): | 0-80% : 20 mins to 40 mins (dependent on size of EV battery & SoC) |
| Tesla Supercharger (120 kW – 250 kW): | 0-80%: up to 25 mins (dependent on size of EV battery & SoC) |
- Note 1: SoC: state of charge
| Dimensions | |
|---|---|
| Height (mm): | 1905 |
| Width (mm): | 2027 |
| Length (mm): | 5885 |
| Wheelbase (mm): | N/A |
| Tesla Cybertruck Single Motor RWD | |
|---|---|
| EV Battery Capacity: | 100 kWh |
| Pure Electric Range (EPA): | 400+ km |
| Storage: | 100 CU FT |
| Vault Length: | 6.5 FT |
| Towing Capacity: | 7,500+ LBS |
| 0-100 km/h: | <6.5 seconds |
| Drive: | Rear-wheel drive (RWD) |
| Autopilot: | Standard |
| Adaptive Air Suspension: | Standard |
| Ground Clearance: | Up to 16″ |
| Approach Angle: | 35 Degrees |
| Departure Angle: | 28 Degrees |
| Transmission: | Automatic |
| Seats: | 6 |
| Weight Unladed EU (kg): | 2,600 |
| Tesla Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD | |
|---|---|
| EV Battery Capacity: | 120 kWh |
| Pure Electric Range (EPA): | 482 km |
| Storage: | 100 CU FT |
| Vault Length: | 6.5 FT |
| Towing Capacity: | 10,000+ LBS |
| 0-100 km/h: | <4.5 seconds |
| Drive: | All-wheel drive (AWD) |
| Autopilot: | Standard |
| Adaptive Air Suspension: | Standard |
| Ground Clearance: | Up to 16″ |
| Approach Angle: | 35 Degrees |
| Departure Angle: | 28 Degrees |
| Transmission: | Automatic |
| Seats: | 6 |
| Weight Unladed EU (kg): | 2,750 |
| Tesla Cybertruck Tri Motor AWD | |
|---|---|
| EV Battery Capacity: | 200 kWh |
| Pure Electric Range (EPA): | 800 km |
| Storage: | 100 CU FT |
| Vault Length: | 6.5 FT |
| Towing Capacity: | 14,000+ LBS |
| 0-100 km/h: | <2.9 seconds |
| Drive: | All-wheel drive (AWD) |
| Autopilot: | Standard |
| Adaptive Air Suspension: | Standard |
| Ground Clearance: | Up to 16″ |
| Approach Angle: | 35 Degrees |
| Departure Angle: | 28 Degrees |
| Transmission: | Automatic |
| Seats: | 6 |
| Weight Unladed EU (kg): | 3,000 |
Electric Driving: Top 5 EV Jargons For India
Despite the increased visibility of EVs in India, the vocabulary (jargon) used in electric driving is still new to consumers. In fact, for many, it can seem daunting and confusing. We have therefore put below some of the more commonly used terms in the EV glossary, to give you an easier introduction to electric driving in India!
| EV Glossary: Top 5 | |
|---|---|
| DoD (Depth-Of-Charge): | What is Depth-Of-Charge? A battery’s Depth-of-Charge is the level of discharge of a battery. As you drive an EV, the battery is discharged. The DoD indicates the % that has been discharged relative to the capacity of a battery. Conversely, a State-of-Charge (SOC), is the percentage of capacity still available in a battery. If you use 25% of your EV battery capacity, then the DoD is 25% and the SOC is 75%. It is recommended not to fully discharge an electric car battery, as this reduces the lifespan of a battery. Automotive manufacturers publish recommend DoD levels for charging, but a charging range between 20% to 80% is ideal. |
| EV Battery Life: | What is the life of an EV battery? Like petrol and diesel engines, electric car batteries also have a finite lifespan. Though EV battery technology has come a long way over the past few years, battery degradation is inevitable. Just as normal wear and tear is the case for an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle. Currently most EV manufacturers are offering a warranty up to 8 years or 160,000 km. However, some automotive manufacturers are offering an even longer EV battery warranty. An example is the Japanese automotive manufacturer, Toyota. The company offers a 10 years EV battery warranty for the all-electric Toyota bZ4X SUV. In most cases, such warranties are up to 70% of the original EV battery capacity. The battery life is impacted by a number of factors, which in turn impacts battery electrical performance, to include, the range the electric car can travel. The most commonly used batteries in electric cars are lithium-ion batteries. |
| Frunk: | What is a frunk? Though a frunk is not a new term, its availability is becoming more widespread with the development of electric vehicles (EVs). A frunk is a storage space/ compartment/ trunk in the front of a vehicle, rather than the rear. In the case of pure electric cars, given that these vehicles do not have an onboard internal combustion engine (ICE), there is space for a frunk. It is worth noting that a frunk is usually much smaller than a trunk, and in EVs, a good space for storing the EV cable. |
| One-Pedal Driving: | What is one-pedal driving? In one-pedal driving, the EV slows down or stops, when the pedal is released. One-pedal functionality reduce the need to use the brake pedal, for speed reduction or stopping. Of course, the brake pedal is still the best way to hold a vehicle in place at a complete stop. |
| WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure): | In a bid to continue to improve the quality of realistic data released by automotive manufacturers, on economy, range and CO2 emissions, Europe has implemented its first phase for the WLTP program. The testing procedures under WLTP will result in reduced ranges for electric cars released under other previous testing regimes. The WLTP is seen as a significant improvement over the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) designed in the 1980s and based on theoretical driving. The WLTP has been developed with the aim of becoming a global standard, so that cars can be easily compared between regions. |
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