Elon Musk teases ‘lots of improvements’ for the production Cybertruck

[MEDICALJMP]

In NYS, NYPA has begun building a network of high powered chargers. 50 miles apart https://www.nypa.gov/services/clean-energy-advisory-services/evolve-ny

Fabulous. More super chargers were there already are super chargers. See all that white on the map? That’s where we need more superchargers. Then fill in those other gaps.

Advertisement

 

[Owner13669]

Fabulous. More super chargers were there already are super chargers. See all that white on the map? That’s where we need more superchargers. Then fill in those other gaps.

These are in areas where there is no DC fast charging. These are also chademo and CCS. Sorely needed on 81 and the thruway. EA chargers were often down, and there were none in Watertown, Syracuse, Plattsburgh, etc. Upper NYS was a fast charging desert.

 

[rlhamil]

Windshield wipers?

I wish they'd switch to silicone wiper blades. I've had a pair of Silblade wipers for something like 12 years, and they're still ok (and that's in an area that does see occasional snow, frost, etc).

That'd fit in real nicely with an ultra-low-maintenance vehicle.

 

[Ehninger1212]

GM added crab mode just for the dealership service departments. You and I know that the complex electronic/mechanical system is going to break down after the warranty expires.

This was literally my 2nd thought.. right after "why would they do this?"

 

[Rthardison]

What's interesting about the GMC Hummer EV is that it is 400V architecture, but it can charge at 250 kW charger due to "clever switching and relays" that turn the 400V battery into an 800V. The battery is 2 packs stacked in parallel but the electronics turn into 2 packs in series which make it 800V for charging.

I posted several articles stating that GM and other big EV manufacturers was going to 800V architecture.

At least with the new Hummer EV truck they decided to go 400V. But then sometimes the reporting way gets watered down to a bit of disinformation, who knows.

I like the way you are thinking. I hope the CT will be able to charge with two 350kw at Superchargers 400V (plug on each side) one for each battery. Then, be able to charge at the Semi Mega charger at 800V at up to 500kw.

 

[Rthardison]

The Semi does not use the standard tesla plug. The chargers will be incompatible. They are currently using a special box to gang 2 regular super chargers into 1 semi charger

Good picture. I am sure Tesla can solve the plug issue.

 

[Rthardison]

How do you think this will be implemented?

I hope the CT will be able to charge with two 250kw at Superchargers 400V (plug on each side) one for each battery. Then, be able to charge at the Semi Mega charger at 800V at up to 500kw.

 

[AlexD]

GDay All, I was wondering if there is a "forum" for just asking questions?
I was reading about spare tyres, and IMO a must have in Oz. Have wrecked a tyre 800km from anywhere..I did have three (3) spares though.
Well, my question is: If the rims are sort of of the shelf stud pattern and sizes, are they available out of USA?

My guess is if the wheel bolt spacing is a stock size then its just a matter of getting the right wheel size with the right offset and we should be good to go.
One reservation I had at the launch was the wheels they had fitted. Not a big fan of those I'm afraid.

 

[ericpdb2]

The only things I might add:
1) A quad motor option
2)The rockets.

 

[rr6013]

Elon’s genius in Tesla CT, like Jeep before it, is that it is limited only by the use to which it‘s used. Cybertruck will be iterative, experimental and as an investment change over time its iteration number. Backward compatibility appears orthogonal. Only money separates a CT ver1.0 — 12.0 unlike iPhone which is a throwaway platform.

SpaceX could Starlink mobile platforms with untold possibilities in GEO, tracking, mapping, emergency and fleet specific interfaces. Tesla could launch a Pay to play for Cybertruck managing V2G metrics, load balancing, charging and backup. Tesla might twin V2G and V2H Powerwall access to develop its next Tesla product - distributed grid power.

I underestimated the potentials that Cyber contributed to truck. I expected Hydrogen to steal the future out from under BEV. Cyber is Tesla Kryptonite. Cyber can future proof battery technology. Truck mobility is insuring decades of utility and as a platform its a brand of portmanteau that could turn into an affordably sustainable verb.

 

[ajdelange]

I can't see Tesla lagging behind other EV manufacturers on charging(they've been a leader in EV's and continue to be), so I'm confident that the CT will have 350kW charging.

I too have little doubt that it will happen. What I wonder about is how it'.s going to be implemented. Obviously there is going to have to be a V4 supercharger. Assuming it conforms to CharIn standards (Telsa is a member of CharIn) it will have to produce voltages between 200 and 920 VDC and currents up to 500 A. This allows charging at 350 kW with 390 A at 900 V but would require 780 A to deliver this much at 400 V. A 400/800 switchable battery pack makes it seem this is the way to go but I have been intrigued by the idea that they could stay at 400 and simply install a second charging port adjacent to the first. The V4 charger would then simply have two "wands" on it probably molded into a single charging "head". The V4 charger would be the same as a V3 charger but with more modules and the new head. This would allow the CT to use any V2 or V3 charger as well and would, in fact, allow it to charge at faster rates by using more than 1 V2 or V3 charger at a time just as they are currently doing with the Semi.

Assuming the switchable battery pack in the CT a V4 supercharger becomes a CharIn HPC350 class augmented to produce 625 A instead rather than the minimum maximum of 500 A as required by the class spec. This is because it requires 625 A to charge a 400 V car at the 250 kW rate of the current V3. Such a V4 charger would be compatible with any Tesla vehicle on the road today (except the Roadster). And the CT would be compatible with any V2 or V3 charger out there currently but not at more than 250 kW.

Looks as if my thought about dual ports on the CT is not that realistic neat as it would be to connect two HPWC to it.

 

[rr6013]

I too have little doubt that it will happen. What I wonder about is how it'.s going to be implemented. Obviously there is going to have to be a V4 supercharger. Assuming it conforms to CharIn standards (Telsa is a member of CharIn) it will have to produce voltages between 200 and 920 VDC and currents up to 500 A. This allows charging at 350 kW with 390 A at 900 V but would require 780 A to deliver this much at 400 V. A 400/800 switchable battery pack makes it seem this is the way to go but I have been intrigued by the idea that they could stay at 400 and simply install a second charging port adjacent to the first. The V4 charger would then simply have two "wands" on it probably molded into a single charging "head". The V4 charger would be the same as a V3 charger but with more modules and the new head. This would allow the CT to use any V2 or V3 charger as well and would, in fact, allow it to charge at faster rates by using more than 1 V2 or V3 charger at a time just as they are currently doing with the Semi.

Assuming the switchable battery pack in the CT a V4 supercharger becomes a CharIn HPC350 class augmented to produce 625 A instead rather than the minimum maximum of 500 A as required by the class spec. This is because it requires 625 A to charge a 400 V car at the 250 kW rate of the current V3. Such a V4 charger would be compatible with any Tesla vehicle on the road today (except the Roadster). And the CT would be compatible with any V2 or V3 charger out there currently but not at more than 250 kW.

Looks as if my thought about dual ports on the CT is not that realistic neat as it would be to connect two HPWC to it.

Can someone address the grid? Those wires overhead?

I’ve built malls that run on 370V and know top wires distribute at the much higher voltages. My question is architecture and grid design for the supply of 900v for charging. If there is an efficiency in the higher 900v charge what impacts do they create for the grid?

 

[ajdelange]

The grid is designed according as to how much power needs to be distributed and whence it needs to go. There are tradeoffs between voltage and current and what is involved in interconversion but the same general principles apply:
1)The higher the voltage the less current
2)The more current the more loss or the greater amount of money must be spent on on conductors (copper is expensive)
3)Interconversion of voltage requires transformers which are expensive
4)There are clearly safety issues with higher voltages but there are other issues too

Thus generally speaking where large amounts of power are to be transmitted and/or long distances are involved higher voltages are used. Hence the use of 900 V in 350 kW chargers even though the distance is a matter of a few feet. The utility thinks the same way. Hydro Quebec will generate at around 7 kV becaue it is convenient to build generators at that voltage but then boost (using transformers) to hundreds of kV for long distance transmission to a substation where the voltage will be stepped down to 12 kV for distribution in my rural area (long distance between customers and the substation) or to a lower voltage (7 kV) for a suburban or urban area. Those voltages are further stepped down at the customers premises to whatever voltage the customer needs and in whatever format (biphase, 3ø wye or 3ø delta). In any case, what is on the pole is at a much higher voltage than what you need to run a charger and, ultimately, you the customer will pay for a transformer to step it down to whatever your equipment requires.

The voltage of the chargers has no direct influence on the grid or the grid connection. The total amount of power does, however. A dozen V3's could demand as much as 3 MW whereas a dozen V4's (assuming them to be 350 kW) would need 4.2 MW. It wouldn't matter whether the V4's charge at 900V or 400 V. The utility needs to supply 4.2 MW. This means that one can't just put a SC station anywhere. It has to go somewhere where the utility can supply 4.2 MW. They aren't going to build a new substation or put in new pole/pylons for you unless you pay for it so you pick a location where the existing infrastructure will support it.

The other aspect of this is that voltage conversion within the charger is now cheap. Transformers in the distribution system are very expensive because they require a lot of steel and that is because we distribute at 60 Hz in North America (it's worse in the rest of the world where they use 50). We now have solid state, high voltage semiconductors which allow us to convert 60 Hz AC to 60 kHz AC so that the size of a step up or step down transformer is tiny (more than 1000 times smaller) relative to the 60 Hz equivalent. As a consequence of this you can connect a modern power supply to a wide range of input voltages and obtain a wide range of output voltages all at very good efficiency. But the basic principle applies. If you take X kW out of the mains at V you will draw twice the current relative to what you would draw at 2V. As conductors are expensive one generally would want to feed his chargers with as high a mains voltage as the utility can supply.

 

[Crissa]

This is also why many DC charging stations have battery packs themselves: it allows them a capacitance to buffer their demand, and switch the voltage to the one the current customer requires.

Remember, ever car has a different pack and voltage requirements. CHAdeMO was supposed to go down to 50v! (Most stations violated the compatibility mode and don't go below 200v tho).

-Crissa

 

[FutureBoy]

This is also why many DC charging stations have battery packs themselves: it allows them a capacitance to buffer their demand, and switch the voltage to the one the current customer requires.

Remember, ever car has a different pack and voltage requirements. CHAdeMO was supposed to go down to 50v! (Most stations violated the compatibility mode and don't go below 200v tho).

-Crissa

50v so we can hog a charger for a week trying to “fill-er-up”.