The Problem with Electric Vehicles
I have to disagree with many points in that article. My point of reference is the German grid, so it might be different in the US.<p>- switching all cars to electrical would increase the total electricity consumption by 20%, while currently we export about 10% of our production. All the changes are going to happen over a timeframe of more than 20 years, because that is how long it takes to replace the cars at minimum, a long time to make any necessary adjustments to the grid.<p>- in general, electrical cars should be rather beneficial to the grid. There is no reason to charge them at dinner time. Electrical cars have timers and current control, it is very easy to have them charge at times where the grid is underloaded. Many power companies have rebates at night anyway to get rid of excess electricity. (Assuming a car with a reasonably sized battery, like the Model 3)<p>- long term, the speed of charging could be controlled remotely by the power company (for a rebate) so they could use this further to stabilize the grid.<p>- The Model X is available with a tow hitch, and it seems that the Model 3 might have one too (Elon tweeted something to that extend)<p>- Most Tesla owners seem to be happy with the combination of range and the Supercharger network, and the range is going to improve by about 5% per year.