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Mercedes Benz buying batteries from Tesla for electric cars
Now that Tesla Motors has gotten loads of positive press for shoving 6,831 laptop batteries in a sports car to create its electric roadster, other car companies want to get in on the action. Specifically, Mercedes Benz.
Mercedes liked what Tesla was doing so much that they decided to just buy the lithium ion batteries from them outright. They're going to use the components to build electric versions of it’s a and B class vehicles as well as smart cars, with the resulting models hitting showrooms as soon as 2010. Nothing gets the wheels turning on the getting the electric car out to people like $4 gas, eh? We'll take it.
TechCrunch, via PSFK
By Delosworld at 6:14 PM ON 07/02/08
Tesla doesn't actually make the batteries but they do have good patent protection on how to use the thousands of batteries in a battery system, which they do make. What they've done is developed ways to remove any individual battery gone bad with switching circuitry. Their system will sense how batteries behave and then remove them if there's a chance they show signs that they might want to blow themselves up in a crispified mess. So for Mercedes it probably made more sense to purchase functional battery packs or license the technology from Tesla.
By gorgamin at 6:59 AM ON 07/03/08
In 10 to 20 years gas/petrol vehicles will be a rarity. Electric cars have instant acceleration, are cheap to run and are pollution free.Combustion engines are unreliable, smell bad and cost too much to refuel. We just need family versions now.
By gorgamin at 7:12 AM ON 07/03/08
Just search for Wrightspeed on youtube to see how combustion engines are the past. The only car that's faster is the Bugatti Veyron ;)
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gorgamin:
Just search for Wrightspeed on youtube to see how combustion engines are the past. The only car that's faster is th...More »