Tesla Motors CEO on Nissan Leaf: Primitive battery technology

By: Peter Chubb | August 9, 2010 | 1 Comment

There are two very important cars coming up, the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf. The one grabbing the headlines recently has been the Leaf and the bold claims that Nissan has made about the battery technology. However, Tesla Motors CEO is not convinced and has come out saying that the technology is primitive.

Elon Musk had said this during a recent conference call with shareholders, saying that he has no fears that Nissan will better them when it comes to cost-per-kWh. The reason is because Nissan believes that they have now broken the $400/kWh mark.

According to Josie Garthwaite from Earth2Tech, Musk was asked in the call if Tesla had any plans to try and drive down costs; it was then that he made the comment about the Japanese carmaker – believing that the Tesla system is more complex.

One of the main differences between the two technologies is how they keep themselves cool. The Tesla system cools the battery with liquid, whereas Nissan has chosen to go with the cheaper air-cooling system. However, consumers will not care too much about that, all they will care about is cost – this could force Tesla to drop their prices.

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Tags: Tesla Motors

vic
Electric cars are the only way forward, As Jeremy Clarkson said while testing the Petrol/Electric Toyota which he found didnt live up to its MPG+E economy that was claimed by the makers by a long shot , he said,i quote, "Why dont they just make an Electric car if they want to save the planet", Nissan have done it, and done it in style, the loud annoying whistling like other electric cars, its totally silent inside, other electric Vehicles arent, well done Nissan, plus a new battery plant, and this silly stop/start effect on some of the other Petrol/Electric models is ridiculous, i wonder how many times you will stop in the busy London traffic, how long will the starter motor last on a 5 day period to work and back gobbling up petrol like there is no tomorrow, dont forget that the Leaf will be using no power while you will be depending on traffic the stop/Start system,etc, Nissan Leaf "WILL" be a success, especially in the major cities, but most of all wether we like it or not we dont have a choice, the "Totally" electric car is here to stay, the sooner we all get used to there ideas the better.