When the Tesla CyberTruck begins official delivery in the second half of 2021, it should become the world’s first mass-produced solar pickup truck, because it can be equipped with optional roof solar panels to bask in the sun. Offers 15 miles of range per day.
Tesla may be the most suitable car company in the world to launch solar cars, because in addition to its car business, Tesla also has an energy storage business including solar panels. As early as 2017, Musk urged Tesla engineers to consider integrating solar panels on the Model 3.
The CyberTruck, known as the Mars model, will be the first Tesla solar cell model. Its large-area cabin roof design is very conducive to the installation of solar panels. This will also complete an important part of Musk's pursuit of new energy territory - solar panel roof + energy storage battery + electric vehicle + solar vehicle.
Humanity’s attempts to produce solar cars did not start with Tesla. Traditional car companies such as Toyota and Hyundai, as well as startups such as Sono Motors and Lightyear, have launched similar products, but especially Tesla is expected to be the first car company to mass-produce and commercialize it because Tesla has SolarCity.
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Cars can run in the sun without refueling or charging. This is an idea of ??mankind's use of solar energy.
As early as 2010, the world's best-selling hybrid model, the Toyota Prius, had optional solar panels. Later, this optional feature was canceled until it became the Toyota Prius Prime again in 2017. part of the car model.
In 2010, the solar panels of the Toyota Prius only supplied power to the vehicle's 12V lead-acid battery. Because directly supplying power to the battery pack of the hybrid system would cause wireless interference to the car audio, it was not used. It doesn't provide much help for vehicle battery life. The 2017 Prius Prime's solar panels can power the hybrid system's battery pack.
The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime is equipped with an 8.8kWh battery pack that can provide 22 miles of driving range on a single charge. When the solar panel charges the battery pack, under ideal conditions, it can travel every day It can provide 2.2 miles of battery life. The 2020 Sonata Hybrid launched in South Korea in 2019 is also equipped with a roof-mounted solar charging system. This is the first-generation system installed on modern mass-produced models. It can only charge 30-60% of the 1.76kWh battery pack in 6 hours. of electricity. Currently, the second and third generation roof solar charging systems are being developed.
The startup Sona Motors is preparing to produce a solar cell car Sion EV. Its roof solar system can provide 21 miles of driving range per day; while another startup Lightyear said it is installed in its first model Lightyear The solar system on One has a charging speed of 12km per hour. This is a shocking data, we will wait and see. Because Sion EV plans to start mass production in the second half of 2020, and Lightyear One plans to start delivery in early 2021.
As for the Tesla CyberTruck, which will be delivered in the second half of 2021, it currently holds orders for more than 500,000 vehicles. It plans to provide an optional solar charging system upon delivery, which is expected to provide 15 miles per day. There is currently no optional price for the battery life. Previously, the optional solar system price for the 2010 Toyota Prius was US$2,000. I believe that the price of Tesla’s optional solar battery system should be lower, because Tesla has the strongest solar panel technology among global car companies.
In November 2016, Tesla acquired Sola City, another company owned by Musk, which is the leader in the U.S. residential solar market.
Musk wants to build a power ecosystem: electric vehicles - home batteries, solar panels, smart appliances and mini/microgrid power management software.
Tesla and SolarCity can produce huge chemical reactions. In 2017, Musk began urging Tesla engineers to install solar panels on the Model 3. Four years after its release, the Model 3 has become the world's best-selling pure electric vehicle.
Model 3 did not become Tesla’s first model equipped with solar panels, and the latest mass-produced model CyberTruck will be equipped with them. Tesla’s solar panels will extend from the roofs of every household to Tesla’s mass-produced models. As the scale expands, Tesla’s solar panel technology will develop and its cost will inevitably decrease. , which means higher charging efficiency and lower unit cost of electricity.
In the future, perhaps all of Tesla’s mass-produced models will have solar battery systems as a standard feature, because at this time, the cost of Tesla’s solar systems can be fully borne by users. , its solar panels may cover the roof, hood and other places.
We can imagine that in the future, a typical American Tesla user will install Tesla SolarCity’s solar cell roof for his independent residence, equip it with its home battery Powerwall, and drive a Tesla pure electric car. Electric vehicles are pure electric vehicles equipped with a standard solar battery system. In addition to being charged by the home power ecosystem every day, they can also be replenished by solar panels.
From a larger perspective, Tesla’s home power ecosystem is a microsystem that will complement the national grid system. Currently, Tesla has promoted this system in the United States and is recruiting solar energy-related employees in China. It also hopes to promote a similar system in China.
You must know that China's solar photovoltaic panels are also developing rapidly. As far as Che Zhijun is concerned, solar street lights and solar night lights have already appeared. These street lights and night lights, every day when the weather turns dark When it gets dark, it begins to illuminate the way and traverse human life. Take a night light as an example. A solar night light costs 100 yuan. It can illuminate any place where sunlight can reach it. It has a lifespan of about 2 years and costs less than 15 cents per day. The cost of solar street lights is higher. .
The scale of human use of solar energy will rapidly expand with the development of solar roofs, solar street lights & night lights, solar cars, and larger-scale solar photovoltaic power stations. The future of clean energy may be promising.
Musk said, sorry, Tesla is ahead of all car companies or energy companies when it comes to using solar energy.