Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by audunw 2359 days ago
> And battery packs have cooling systems too. So no savings there.

That's not quite true. At the very least, EVs require a much smaller radiator, if it has one at all. Some EVs don't have cooling at all (Nissan Leaf), although that increases degradation in hotter climates.

I think his point stands.. An ICE engine weight at least 200lb. With transmission it could be up to 600lb. The Model S engine is 70lbs.

You "only" need to halve the weight of a Model S battery for the drivetrain+battery to be in the same ballpark as an ICE drivetrain as far as I can tell.

1 comments

You can look at actual numbers. Instead of a Model 3. Lets compare a Chevy Bolt with a Prius.

Chevy Bolt is about 3500lbs Prius is about 3000lbs.

Chevy Bolts battery weighs 440 kg or about 968lbs.

Reduce the battery weight by 1/2 and save 484 lbs. So the weight drops to 3016.

So point stands if the battery power density improves 2X then the weight penalty disappears.