Electric

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Reportedly, the truck's frunk won't close, the massaging seats have never worked, and the dealer found loads of error codes.​

NSFW: The video above contains some language that's not safe for work or around children. The owner appears to be frustrated and uses a few curse words as he explains the situation.
If you've been following InsideEVs and Tesla news for some time, you may be aware of YouTube influencer James Klafehn. He's now the proud owner of a Ford F-150 Lightning electric truck that he says is causing him some grief. In fact, Klafehn reminds us of all the issues he had with his Tesla, and the Lightning is bringing back memories.

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Klafehn is an EV owner who's into DIY projects. We actually covered some of his videos about his T-Rex project, which is a camper with a range extender that he built to tow with his Tesla Model X. While the project was super interesting, much of Klafehn's coverage ended up being about his failed Tesla experience. To make a long story short, the situation was so troubling that Tesla ended up buying back his Model X.
He also owned an older RAV4 EV and went on to buy a Toyota RAV4 Prime, which he has also had issues with. Much like the Model X, Klafehn made videos about the RAV4's many problems, "major flaws," and 10 reasons he hates it.
 
Couple things come to mind.

Wright Brother made their first flight in 1903. We put a man on the moon in 1969.

My first PC was an 8086 with a 20MB hard drive. Purchased in the 80s. Today, I’m typing this on the phone I’m holding in my hand. It has a 128gb hard drive.
 
It appears that EVs are randomly incinerating themselves, and their surroundings, in the aftermath of the recent hurricane in Florida. IIRC, that ship full of cars that caught fire last year might have caught fire because of an exposure of moisture to an EV, or two, that were on board. I can’t imagine what kind of environmental impact the manufacturing needs of the EV industry will have in store for us as a species…
 
There are growing pains. Pains that’s gonna be here for awhile. Issues that will need to be fixed thru engineering advances that don’t even exist yet. Had you told someone in 1903 we’d be walking on the moon in 60 years, you’d have been committed.

Personally, I’m in no hurry to convert. May not even happen in my lifetime. But for some of you “young” guys it’s gonna happen whether you like it or not. And once they figure things out. It will be good.
 
iblive said:
Couple things come to mind.

Wright Brother made their first flight in 1903. We put a man on the moon in 1969.

My first PC was an 8086 with a 20MB hard drive. Purchased in the 80s. Today, I’m typing this on the phone I’m holding in my hand. It has a 128gb hard drive.
Click to expand...
I'll never forget going with my grandpa to Sears back in 1995 and he bought a Packard Bell computer with the newly released Windows 95. The smug salesman said " Sir, this thing has a 1GB hard drive: you will never use that in your lifetime". A standard blank DVD is 4.7GB, my phone is 64GB, my kid's Fire tablets are 64GB, even my Honeywell Doorbell is 10GB lmao
 
Thatbastarddon said:
It appears that EVs are randomly incinerating themselves, and their surroundings, in the aftermath of the recent hurricane in Florida. IIRC, that ship full of cars that caught fire last year might have caught fire because of an exposure of moisture to an EV, or two, that were on board. I can’t imagine what kind of environmental impact the manufacturing needs of the EV industry will have in store for us as a species…
Click to expand...
And that’s some of the major questions that still need resolved. Batteries that mysteriously catch fire. Safe handling (disposal) of spent batteries that will need replaced in the car. Where are they going to get the huge increase in demand of electricity needed to charge these things. And Until they figure some of this out…. Or engineer a safer longer lasting (not lithium) battery. We’re not ready to head Willy nilly into the world of EV.
 
Thatbastarddon said:
It appears that EVs are randomly incinerating themselves, and their surroundings, in the aftermath of the recent hurricane in Florida. IIRC, that ship full of cars that caught fire last year might have caught fire because of an exposure of moisture to an EV, or two, that were on board. I can’t imagine what kind of environmental impact the manufacturing needs of the EV industry will have in store for us as a species…
Click to expand...
iblive said:
And that’s some of the major questions that still need resolved. Batteries that mysteriously catch fire. Safe handling (disposal) of spent batteries that will need replaced in the car. Where are they going to get the huge increase in demand of electricity needed to charge these things. And Until they figure some of this out…. Or engineer a safer longer lasting (not lithium) battery. We’re not ready to head Willy nilly into the world of EV.
Click to expand...
There in lies the biggest problem with EV vehicles: Lithium Ion Batteries. While they are phenomenal at recharging capabilities and long lasting, they are really only best in small applications like hand held power tools, portable electronics and remote batteries. Even in something like lawnmowers, they are pushing the boundaries of their limits and their lifespan gets cut down a lot. Something as large and demanding as a vehicle is just way beyond their range.

I'm sure there is something better on the horizon, like an entirely new battery design altogether but lithium ion and even worse, lithium polymer, aren't the answer. Plus, we are mining all of our easily accessible lithium reserves now to dangerously low levels and will have to resort to deeper mining in order to maintain demand.
 

Truth #1: Carbon Cost of Manufacturing Electric Vehicles​

But, what makes building EV batteries so bad for the environment?

The primary issue is that these batteries require the mining and transportation of various raw materials including cobalt and lithium. Usually, the batteries themselves are built in gigafactories, massive facilities that create EV batteries on a large scale.1

These facilities require a large amount of energy to function. Usually, this energy is generated from the burning of fossil fuels. In turn, this increases the carbon footprint of the batteries that are installed in electric vehicles.

And that’s just the actual construction of EV batteries. It’s worth remembering that the mining of raw materials used in EV batteries is also incredibly destructive largely due to unsustainable, unethical, and environmentally hostile mining practices.

All of this contributes to an electric vehicle initially having a much larger carbon footprint than an equivalent gas-powered car. In fact, some researchers have argued that the construction of EV batteries can add almost 40% in extra production emissions.
 
The main problem with charging electric vehicles is that they most often pull power from the electric grid which in most of the United States is predominantly powered by fossil fuels. As such, most electric vehicles are still burning fossil fuels, they’re just doing it during the “refueling” stage of a drive and not during the drive itself.

Of course, this specific cost can be lessened depending on how and where you charge your vehicle.

For instance, if an owner of an electric vehicle gets all of their residential energy from solar, wind, or other renewable sources, and if they also charge their car using energy from these renewable sources, then they will have significantly reduced the emissions associated with charging the vehicle.

However, this is only true for a few individuals and would only be viable if they always charged their car at their residence. Given the relatively short range of a single charge and the enormity of the US, this just isn’t applicable to most people.

So, before you buy an electric vehicle, you also need to consider how you will charge it.

Unfortunately, this is the reality of building, shipping, and charging electric vehicles right now. They are not without their carbon emissions and, when buying a new one, are actually worse for the environment than choosing a used, good condition gas-powered vehicle.
 
As you already know, the construction of EV batteries produces a lot of carbon emissions. In fact, according to some researchers, producing one lithium-ion battery is the equivalent to driving a fuel-powered car for one to two years.

For instance, building a 75 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery at Tesla’s battery factory in Nevada would produce approximately 4,500 kilograms (4.9 tons) of carbon dioxide. This is about 3,000 kilograms (3.3 tons) less than if it were produced in certain Chinese factories due to Tesla using solar energy alongside fossil fuels to generate power.

For context, you could produce the same amount of carbon dioxide (4.9 tons) by driving a gas-powered car for 1.4 hours a day, with an average annual distance of 12,000 miles
 
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