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Interesting questions or statements in parking lots about R1T or S

Donald Stanfield

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"The electrical grid can't take all the electric cars. What would happen if you all plugged in at the same time! It would crash the system!"

I heard that 3 times in a week a while back so I assumed it was the Fox News topic du jour.

Probably the same thing as when you gas people all try to buy gas at the same time.
Bad things!

But if that's happening then something else bad is also/already happening or that isn't a realistic scenario...
I've also read that we need to add only 10% capacity to our power grid to be able to switch 100 million cars to EVs if we charge them all at off peak demand. This makes sense to me, we aren't using a ton of power at 1am so we could charge up all EVs then and not add too much demand.

I get asked a couple of times, “How much did you pay for it?”
Not sure how to respond but what’s the best response here?
I just tell them. If they really want to know they can look it up anyways, and I have nothing to be embarrassed about. I try not to spend any time worrying about what other people think. If I get the smart ass response of "it must be nice to be able to afford a 6 figure car" I usually just respond with "You're right, it is nice". They want to be annoying about it so can I.
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Greg Chick

Greg Chick

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I've also read that we need to add only 10% capacity to our power grid to be able to switch 100 million cars to EVs if we charge them all at off peak demand. This makes sense to me, we aren't using a ton of power at 1am so we could charge up all EVs then and not add too much demand.



I just tell them. If they really want to know they can look it up anyways, and I have nothing to be embarrassed about. I try not to spend any time worrying about what other people think. If I get the smart ass response of "it must be nice to be able to afford a 6 figure car" I usually just respond with "You're right, it is nice". They want to be annoying about it so can I.
I would reply to the "Plug all in at once" with, Most people charge their electric cars at night while they sleep and the smarter ones have solar power on the roof and it's free.
 

Donald Stanfield

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I would reply to the "Plug all in at once" with, Most people charge their electric cars at night while they sleep and the smarter ones have solar power on the roof and it's free.
I’d stay away from solar and being smart. Where I live with the electricity costs as they are and most of my power coming from hydroelectric plants anyways It is not very smart for me to get solar. It’s way too expensive when you compare it to using the grid.

In other areas of the country I’ve heard it can cost tens of thousands to just connect to the grid and for them solar is a no brainer. It’s all about economics and for me the 80k that solar would cost me might not even break even let alone be a good move. I could stick that same 80k into the market and average a 9% return over that same 30 years.
 

BigSkies

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"The electrical grid can't take all the electric cars. What would happen if you all plugged in at the same time! It would crash the system!"

I heard that 3 times in a week a while back so I assumed it was the Fox News topic du jour.

Probably the same thing as when you gas people all try to buy gas at the same time.
Bad things!

But if that's happening then something else bad is also/already happening or that isn't a realistic scenario...
This and the cobalt issue seem to come up all the time now. I assume it's some combination of Foxnews/WSJ talking points, morons on the internet, and some lobbying interests using social engineering to boost the reach of those ideas. This seems to be the most popular way of spreading ideas these days.

I've been reading up on this recently, and it's a fascinating topic. Albeit way more nuanced than is suitable for a parking lot conversation.

We are now in the process of electrifying everything. Passenger cars are the most visible, but only make up a relatively small percentage of the things to be electrified. Here's a good visualization of the things to be electrified in the US. And this isn't something that's going to happen someday in the future. This is already happening.

Heck, here in Colorado, we recently electrified a steel mill that is now ~90% powered by solar. This was formerly the largest polluter in the state and now it makes some of the world's cleanest steel.

I recall seeing the study that getting to 100% EV's will only increase total electricity demand in the US by about 10%. But an recent article in the Economist says that global electricity demand will be about 4x today's production in 2050. There's a lot of HVAC, industrial processes, and general commercial uses that are electrifying right alongside cars.

This is a massive undertaking, and it won't be perfect. But it is an exciting time to be alive and to be part of it.
 

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Greg Chick

Greg Chick

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I’d stay away from solar and being smart. Where I live with the electricity costs as they are and most of my power coming from hydroelectric plants anyways It is not very smart for me to get solar. It’s way too expensive when you compare it to using the grid.

In other areas of the country I’ve heard it can cost tens of thousands to just connect to the grid and for them solar is a no brainer. It’s all about economics and for me the 80k that solar would cost me might not even break even let alone be a good move. I could stick that same 80k into the market and average a 9% return over that same 30 years.

My system that I power my R1T with was $17,000. installed. As well here is a link on national costs for solar vs other sources. U.S. levelized energy costs by source 2021 | Statista I call this smart.
 

Donald Stanfield

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Greg Chick

Greg Chick

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I bought 14 panels, 400 Watts each, micro inverters on each. Roof top and the products used were the best I could research and verify. My incentives were the California standard, my $ was $5,894. My system was about 2.99 per Watt installed. I did not get batteries, and the company installed my system complete in a short day including the 14/50 power box at garage wall and my exterior Generator power link for using my 9K dual fuel generator in event of power outage. I have not paid an Edison bill since I got the system last July, including the snow weeks of this winter. My system helps the summer grid overload caused by people without Solar and the AC load they use in the heat of the peak day.
 

Donald Stanfield

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I bought 14 panels, 400 Watts each, micro inverters on each. Roof top and the products used were the best I could research and verify. My incentives were the California standard, my $ was $5,894. My system was about 2.99 per Watt installed. I did not get batteries, and the company installed my system complete in a short day including the 14/50 power box at garage wall and my exterior Generator power link for using my 9K dual fuel generator in event of power outage. I have not paid an Edison bill since I got the system last July, including the snow weeks of this winter. My system helps the summer grid overload caused by people without Solar and the AC load they use in the heat of the peak day.
There are no state subsidies here at all for solar. It becomes extremely cost prohibitive to install a system.
 
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Greg Chick

Greg Chick

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I will say that all types of people ask about by R1T, those that think EV's are all going to charge at once and cause a national melt down, to those thinking EV's will save the planet. Most are genuinely interested, while some are looking for a confirmation in either direction. The most often question is "What's the range"?
 

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NashvilleR1S

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I've had two people come up and tell me things they "know" about Rivian as I'm GETTING OUT OF THE RIVIAN I OWN.

"They just got bought by microsoft." "...oh...are you sure? I didnt know that" "yep, happened about a month ago. Trying to keep up with tesla." "hmm ok..."

"That a rivian? They make those in detroit, supposed to be the next big thing in the tesla competition." "....yep sure"
 
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Greg Chick

Greg Chick

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Really? bought by Google? now that is parking lot talk...
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