Bill Gates buys Porsche Taycan, reveals the biggest problem with EVs

midian182

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A hot potato: Bill Gates spends a lot of his vast fortune on supporting good causes, including fighting climate change and other eco-friendly initiatives, which probably explains why he’s just bought an electric car. But while he enjoys his Porsche Taycan, Gates believes there’s still one big problem that puts a lot of people off joining the EV revolution: their range.

Speaking to YouTube tech star Marques ‘MKBHD’ Brownlee, the world’s second-richest man said (around the 5:00 mark) that passenger cars are one of the more hopeful areas when it comes to helping address climate change. “Many car companies are moving super-fast when it comes to electric cars,” explained Gates.

The former Microsoft boss revealed that he recently purchased his first electric car: the Porsche Taycan. The high-end model, which one would imagine was Gates' choice, starts at $186,350 and can easily pass $200,000 with the added extras—pocket change for a man with a $110 billion fortune. The car can do 0-60 mph in 2.6 seconds and has a range of between 241 and 279 miles. “It's a premium price car, but it's very, very cool. That's my first electric car, and I'm enjoying it a lot."

While the price of electric cars can be a problem for many people looking to buy one of the vehicles, Gates says the other big issue is their range. “If you want to go long distance, the pervasiveness of recharging and the time to recharge compared to filling up a time of gas.”

Tesla is continuing to address the range question in its lineup of EVs. According to a recent tweet from CEO Elon Musk, the latest update to its model S has increased the estimated range to around 390 miles. The Model X, meanwhile, has seen its range go from 328 miles to 351. But while the ranges of EVs are getting better, the prices remain high compared to combustion-engine vehicles.

It was recently reported that Gates had commissioned a $644 million hydrogen-powered superyacht, but the company behind the vessel denied it had any business relationship with him.

Are you put off buying an EV because of its range and/or price? Let us know in the comments below.

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There are many more electric sockets than there are electric cars, and the gasoline grid is not capable of refilling millions of cars all at the same time.
 
Come on bill you bought an EV that has the worse range why didn't you buy a tesla ?
Why would he? The Porsche is a much nicer place to be. Bear in mind that money is no object, if you want a proper sports EV, the Porsche is pretty much the only way to go at the moment.
 
"The high-end model, which one would imagine was Gates' choice, starts at $186,350 and can easily pass $200,000 with the added extras—pocket change for a man with a $100 million fortune."

What? When did Bill Gates get divorced, that He suddenly lost $99,9 billion? ;-)

Also, I wouldn't buy EV because of the cost, range, and the fact that where I live, EVs are powered by brown coal, so not really that clean.
 
There are many more electric sockets than there are electric cars, and the gasoline grid is not capable of refilling millions of cars all at the same time.
The number of sockets isn‘t the problem - current is. Just imagine the current passing through the grid if only a quarter of vehicles are EV and need to be fast charged.
 
The answer is hydrogen, obviously. The current BEV gimmicks are only delaying the inevitable. Commercial cases spread hydrogen already, it's only a matter of time before it arrives in mainstream cars as well.
 
Are we attacking the rich again TechSpot? At least this time it’s people spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on cars and not just anyone who can afford to buy an RTX2080ti or an i9.

I’d love an electric car but I do not have a driveway, I really don’t want to trail cables across the pavement to my car and as Gates mentions range is an issue. I occasionally need to drive to Scotland and back for work. Currently only petrol will do.

Price is also an issue but if I could afford it, it wouldn’t be. You could make an electric car for $1000 and it would still get complaints from people for being too expensive.
 
I prefer a Porsche over Tesla, even with the less range. I mean, c'mon...

For a Gas powered Porsche sure this EV one I'm not really a fan of. Not to also mention the much more developed Tesla Charge network its not even close.

Why would he? The Porsche is a much nicer place to be. Bear in mind that money is no object, if you want a proper sports EV, the Porsche is pretty much the only way to go at the moment.

 
"The high-end model, which one would imagine was Gates' choice, starts at $186,350 and can easily pass $200,000 with the added extras—pocket change for a man with a $100 million fortune."

What? When did Bill Gates get divorced, that He suddenly lost $99,9 billion? ;-)

Also, I wouldn't buy EV because of the cost, range, and the fact that where I live, EVs are powered by brown coal, so not really that clean.
That shocked me too. He doesn't even have a billion? What a fall from grace! ;)

And yes, when most people buy an EV they are only considering the fumes that are not coming out of the exhaust. They don't think about how the electricity is generated, how the car was manufactured, if the car can be recycled and how frequent or eco-friendly the battery changes are going to be.

I really wonder about the second-hand market of EVs. Technically the batteries can last about 10 years depending on usage but near the end of that, the range will be dropping fast. And it costs well over $5K to replace it with a new one.
 
Also, I wouldn't buy EV because of the cost, range, and the fact that where I live, EVs are powered by brown coal, so not really that clean.
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/02/19/electric-car-well-to-wheel-emissions-myth/
So, there it is. On average, a conventional car creates more the twice as much carbon pollution as an electric car. Even in the state that gets almost all of its electricity from burning coal, an EV still pollutes less than a typical conventional car.
 
And yes, when most people buy an EV they are only considering the fumes that are not coming out of the exhaust. They don't think about how the electricity is generated, how the car was manufactured, if the car can be recycled and how frequent or eco-friendly the battery changes are going to be.
Myth. See my post above.

I really wonder about the second-hand market of EVs. Technically the batteries can last about 10 years depending on usage but near the end of that, the range will be dropping fast. And it costs well over $5K to replace it with a new one.
In cars that have batteries, like a Prius, it is possible to do it yourself at a fraction of the cost if you are technically astute enough and have a good guide like this -
 
The number of sockets isn‘t the problem - current is. Just imagine the current passing through the grid if only a quarter of vehicles are EV and need to be fast charged.
When that time "comes" people will have solar and the grid will be obsolete. Well maybe those riding horses will have one?
 
There is a difference between hybrid electric and fully electric cars.
Yes, there is.

But the simple fact is that most driving in the US is to/from work, and that the average distance is approximately 30-miles round trip. https://newsroom.aaa.com/2015/04/new-study-reveals-much-motorists-drive/ This is well within the range of most PHEVs on electric only; in fact, browse the PHEV forums at https://priuschat.com and you even find some of them going thousands of miles without ever visiting a gas station in a car that only has a piddling 25-mile all EV range.

It is much rarer for people to drive longer ranges, and the amount of electricity needed to charge EVs will be directly related to the way that people drive their cars.

Not to mention, the report was published by professional scientists at The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory that have been studying the issue for more than a decade. I trust them over someone debating with no evidence to back their claims.
 
700 to 800 miles is the end goal, once they reach 700 to 800 miles that equals about the longest daily drive most people will want to do for traveling. 800 miles is almost 12 hours on the road and being able to go non-stop at that range would allow electric to compete well against normal fuel cars.
 
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