Perhaps contrary to urban legend, Elon Musk did not found Tesla. It was actually a joint effort by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning in 2003. However, the company also regards Elon Musk, JB Straubel and Ian Wright as co-founders. Martin Eberhard made an interesting comment to Engineering News on January 2, 2018. This was to the effect that we should engineer EVs around batteries, and not the other way around.
Engineer EVs Around Batteries? What This Could Mean
For whatever reason he may have had, Martin Eberhard resigned as CEO of Tesla in 2007 to work with Volkswagen. He had previously obtained an undergraduate degree in computer engineering in 1982. And he followed up with a master’s degree in electrical engineering a year later.
We can respect his opinion. Fortune Magazine listed him as one of the top 24 innovators in 2007. Business Magazine named him #24 out of 50 people ‘that matter now’ the same year. If engineering is the task of creating integrated systems, what does Martin Eberhard think we should do to engineer EVs around batteries better?
Martin Eberhard regards electric vehicle batteries as the inherently least reliable, most dangerous, most expensive, and heaviest part of electric vehicles. He thinks battery companies are obsessed with optimizing their performance within the traditional automobile paradigm, whereas the basics will remain the same.
He Says We Should Come to Terms With Battery Realities
Perhaps, he says, we should see the challenge the other way around. How can we engineer EVs around batteries, given their intrinsic nature?
Martin’s answer is to engineer the cost of the vehicle down until it competes with internal combustion transport in terms of cost. After all, Henry Ford dominated the market with no frills vehicles.
Do you think Martin Eberhard is saying we should do something similar with electric cars? Produce a few basic runners that regular citizens can afford: And stop taking on the luxury end of the market?
It’s an interesting thought given the no frills nature of Beijing taxis. However, we won’t go as far as saying ‘any color as long as it is black’ because we like bright colors.
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Preview Image: Electricity
