Tesla has just announced that they will be opening up their design for the universal battery connector to all other automakers. This means that Tesla’s decades-long investment in both electric engine and battery technology is now public knowledge and can be used by any company in the industry with no licensing agreements.
Tesla’s electric engines, at a glance, are significantly more power-dense than those of combustion engines by virtue of not needing gasoline to operate. Plus, electric engines are able to capture kinetic energy when braking, which can be stored in a battery pack for later use. This means that, when the battery is running low on energy and the driver brakes, a portion of that energy can be put to use immediately.
The Tesla motor’s controller relies on software that monitors the health of its battery pack as well as outside factors such as temperature and ambient light conditions. If it detects that the battery is about to become depleted, it signals this to the vehicle’s computer system which uses a percentage from 0-100% of instantaneous acceleration to select which reserve power source will be used in order to keep driving.
In contrast, combustion engine controllers are limited by their onboard fuel supply, which they can only predict at best.
All these data points combined mean that Tesla’s motor design is significantly more efficiency, reliable and generally better than combustion engines.
Tesla’s design allows for a smooth, linear function of the output voltage, which is critical in extracting the most out of its battery packs.
More on Tesla’s data points: Tesla Motors’ Figure 8 2013 Patent
In addition, Tesla’s electric motor design is not only more efficient, but requires less maintenance over time. Every component within a combustion engine needs to be monitored and checked regularly. This can be done by factories under warranty, but many freighters and other vehicles often build their own motors with parts they buy at local stores. This is another hidden cost that comes with owning a combustion engine.
As far as pricing goes, Tesla Motors is quoted at a base price of $113,000 for its Model S sedan. It’s worth noting that this includes the motor, battery pack and charger as standard equipment. However, when cost of maintenance over time is factored in along with fuel costs, it could take between 30 to 45 years to break even on the investment over a normal combustion engine vehicle . In addition to the obvious environmental benefits from using electric engines over combustion engines, Tesla Motors has also received much attention for their design and user interface, which have been described as being “magic”.
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