TSLA - Tesla Motors

[hyten1]

i guess we have to agree to disagree, we will never know.

 

i just don;t see how a sedan with teslas performance etc. without the EV/environmental/changing the world part will get the same reception and coverage that tesla currently gets.

 

 

if tesla was just a typical sedan (with its nice performance etc.) without the whole EV part, we won't be having all these discussion and the market cap of tesla won't be what it is, so saying Tesla just happen to EV is little disingenuous.

 

I disagree. 

 

The market cap could be the same if they eliminated the EV part and somehow still cranked out this kind of performance and safety in it's cars.  Their margins would be much higher without the superchargers and other investments that are EV specific.

 

Just look at what VW paid for Porsche on annual sales volume of roughly 140,000 cars at the time.

[augustabound]

• Maybe for GM, building a car is just a job. For Tesla, it's realizing a dream.

From everything I've seen, Tesla employees are passionate about their cars. Elon Musk has set a customer first vision throughout the company. That includes safety.

 

The big 3 have the old boys in the union on the shop floor. They only care about their paycheque not what rolls off the assembly line. I've known a few people throughout the years who have worked in the assembly plants here. They really don't give a shit.

 

Of course this could just be my utter disdain for unions.

[johnny]

• Maybe for GM, building a car is just a job. For Tesla, it's realizing a dream.

From everything I've seen, Tesla employees are passionate about their cars. Elon Musk has set a customer first vision throughout the company. That includes safety.

 

The big 3 have the old boys in the union on the shop floor. They only care about their paycheque not what rolls off the assembly line. I've known a few people throughout the years who have worked in the assembly plants here. They really don't give a shit.

 

Of course this could just be my utter disdain for unions.

 

Appropriate since Tesla uses the old NUMMI plant, I'd recommend anybody interested in Tesla look into the history of that plant. The stories about the sort of things the laborers were doing/getting away with in the bad old days was comical. It's not just that they didn't give a shit, it is that some of them affirmatively gave negative shits and would deliberately sabotage vehicles (I recall a story about a worker deliberately putting loose screws in certain compartments or between panels so that there would be an undiagnosable rattle when the thing was driven).

 

The labor advantage for Tesla really is enormous, although I worry about its sustainability as they scale up. What is keeping the UAW away long term? UAW is going to be a much stronger political opponent than dealership associations.

[boilermaker75]

The Volt doesn't solve any problems.  It simply combines the worst of ICE and electric by giving you a watered down version of both.  It's not a great product.  If it was a great product it wouldn't depreciate by 70% in a couple years.

 

A 15 minute charge after driving for 200 miles isn't a big deal.  There are times where I only need to charge for 5 minutes to add 30 miles of range and then head home.  Almost everyone I know that has a Tesla enjoys that charging aspect on a long trip.  It at least gives them piece of mind that they aren't stuck within some 100 mile radius with very strict travel paths.

 

I never want to be trying to accelerate into heavy, fast highway traffic in a volt. In a Tesla it would be fun!

 

[ERICOPOLY]

 

• With a $100K car versus a $30K car, they have more money to spend on everything, including safety.

 

 

changing the topic a bit away from GM...

Ferrari has a lot of money to spend on safety.  Maserati.  BMW. Porsche.  Mercedes.  Lexus.  Etc...

 

None of them achieved Tesla's safety ratings on the first try.  Or the second try...  Or third... Or fourth... Etc...

 

Maybe they never will.

 

Did the money make Tesla safer?  I'd argue not, because they were financially not as well off as the others when the Model S was under development.

[hyten1]

why do we keep comparing a car that is 35k to a car that is 90k. i can say the same about the escort and 911.

 

also volt 0 to 60 is 7.1 second, its not sports car fast, but its pretty respectable.

 

 

 

The Volt doesn't solve any problems.  It simply combines the worst of ICE and electric by giving you a watered down version of both.  It's not a great product.  If it was a great product it wouldn't depreciate by 70% in a couple years.

 

A 15 minute charge after driving for 200 miles isn't a big deal.  There are times where I only need to charge for 5 minutes to add 30 miles of range and then head home.  Almost everyone I know that has a Tesla enjoys that charging aspect on a long trip.  It at least gives them piece of mind that they aren't stuck within some 100 mile radius with very strict travel paths.

 

I never want to be trying to accelerate into heavy, fast highway traffic in a volt. In a Tesla it would be fun!

[tripleoptician]

there is a product for every niche

 

i personally would not buy a EV right now especially as the "only" car, for the enthusiast, the early adopter sure ... go nuts. but waiting 30 min to fill up (charge up) just a pain (i am sure this is true for most people). as the only car, EV is not there yet, I don't want to wait 30 min and have detour on my trip to get to the chargers.

 

what is the percentage of people buying model3 or bolt are using them as their only car? i would think its below 50%, then again that is my guest, anyone with this type of data.

 

 

its funny how people talk about these limitations and issue, yet GM has a product call VOLT that eliminate them all, sure its not as sexy, sure its not "as" efficient as a pure electric. But if you use the VOLT as pure EV most of the time and use the Gas for long trip (i can fill up in minutes pretty much anywhere), its DAMN efficient.  BUT its not a tesla not as sexy, or cool, its Government Motors, etc. etc.

 

I would only consider EV as a "second" car, and would only use it as daily commute/city driving, that is just me.

 

 

hy

 

Hyten1, if you fit the profile of most drivers, then the vast majority of your driving is daily commute/personal errands etc. This is 95% of the driving for most urbanites. See the historical driving trends and average length of driving for each activity in the US national database:

 

http://nhts.ornl.gov/2009/pub/stt.pdf

 

So if you fit this profile, the vast majority of your use is not waiting in a line, but charging at your house like a cell phone at night. I can't come even close to using the full battery on my 60 KWH Tesla.

 

As Eric mentioned, the key difference is how quickly you realize an EV is better than an ICE vehicle. I have an ICE as a second car, but am considering getting rid of it. For the 1 long distance trip every 2 years that would be inconvenient in my Tesla, I can just rent an ICE for the fraction of my average insurance/up-keep costs. I would seriously consider a second EV if our family needs 2 cars to maintain the day to day activities in our life.

[rkbabang]

there is a product for every niche

 

i personally would not buy a EV right now especially as the "only" car, for the enthusiast, the early adopter sure ... go nuts. but waiting 30 min to fill up (charge up) just a pain (i am sure this is true for most people). as the only car, EV is not there yet, I don't want to wait 30 min and have detour on my trip to get to the chargers.

 

what is the percentage of people buying model3 or bolt are using them as their only car? i would think its below 50%, then again that is my guest, anyone with this type of data.

 

its funny how people talk about these limitations and issue, yet GM has a product call VOLT that eliminate them all, sure its not as sexy, sure its not "as" efficient as a pure electric. But if you use the VOLT as pure EV most of the time and use the Gas for long trip (i can fill up in minutes pretty much anywhere), its DAMN efficient.  BUT its not a tesla not as sexy, or cool, its Government Motors, etc. etc.

 

I would only consider EV as a "second" car, and would only use it as daily commute/city driving, that is just me.

 

 

Sure but I would say that about any car.  If I could only have one vehicle I would have to stay with my Toyota Sequoia (or something of similar size Ford Expedition maybe).  I can't count the number of times, just in the last 3-6 months that I've needed to take all the seats out of my Sequoia to carry large items.  I don't know how any homeowner can have only a car with no large SUV or pickup truck available.  I'd be renting trucks 10-15 times per year.  Not too mention road trips.  How does a family of 4 (and maybe bringing one of the kids' friends or even two) go on a trip with 4-6 people and luggage if all you have is a car?

 

It will be a while before you have an electric vehicle the size of a Sequoia/Expedition/Suburban, so any electric car would be a second car used for commuting, day trips, around town, etc, for me, but any ICE vehicle the size and shape of a car would be as well.

 

EDIT: I should probably have said that the electric car would be a 1st car, but a larger car is still required for a 2nd vehicle.  Just as I currently drive my Hyundai Elantra much more than my Sequoia, I'll be driving the Model 3 much more as well.  My Elantra is driven about 25K miles per year, where the Sequoia is only driven about 5K miles.  So it is really the SUV that is the second car.

 

 

 

[rmitz]

Sure but I would say that about any car.  If I could only have one vehicle I would have to stay with my Toyota Sequoia (or something of similar size Ford Expedition maybe).  I can't count the number of times, just in the last 3-6 months that I've needed to take all the seats out of my Sequoia to carry large items.  I don't know how any homeowner can have only a car with no large SUV or pickup truck available.  I'd be renting trucks 10-15 times per year.  Not too mention road trips.  How does a family of 4 (and maybe bringing one of the kids' friends or even two) go on a trip with 4-6 people and luggage if all you have is a car?

 

We don’t bring along friends kids, but we’re a family of four and just went for vacation for a week in our small sedan (Nissan Sentra).  It’s not a big deal.

 

I’m also a homeowner and don’t haul stuff around.  I get stuff delivered if it’s really big, but most simple things aren’t really that hard to make do with, especially compared to the cost of another car.

[rkbabang]

Sure but I would say that about any car.  If I could only have one vehicle I would have to stay with my Toyota Sequoia (or something of similar size Ford Expedition maybe).  I can't count the number of times, just in the last 3-6 months that I've needed to take all the seats out of my Sequoia to carry large items.  I don't know how any homeowner can have only a car with no large SUV or pickup truck available.  I'd be renting trucks 10-15 times per year.  Not too mention road trips.  How does a family of 4 (and maybe bringing one of the kids' friends or even two) go on a trip with 4-6 people and luggage if all you have is a car?

 

We don’t bring along friends kids, but we’re a family of four and just went for vacation for a week in our small sedan (Nissan Sentra).  It’s not a big deal.

 

I’m also a homeowner and don’t haul stuff around.  I get stuff delivered if it’s really big, but most simple things aren’t really that hard to make do with, especially compared to the cost of another car.

 

I guess everyone has different needs.  I'm constantly doing home improvement projects that require truck loads of stuff, I know other people just hire people for things like that.  When we go on vacation we like to rent a house or a cabin, so we are bringing a lot more than just clothes (beach stuff, food, bicycles, beddings, etc...).  And my kids are both teenagers, in a few years when they are out of the house my needs to carry lots of people will probably change.  I think the Tesla cars are capable enough for anyone that needs a car of that size.  For me, I would also need a truck as a second vehicle, but for many the Tesla could probably be the only vehicle.  I doubt that could be said for most of the other electric vehicles on the market today.

 

[CorpRaider]

> $325 million floated now.

[merkhet]

> $325 million floated now.

 

Have to admit. Pretty brilliant financing move.

[boilermaker75]

why do we keep comparing a car that is 35k to a car that is 90k. i can say the same about the escort and 911.

 

also volt 0 to 60 is 7.1 second, its not sports car fast, but its pretty respectable.

 

 

Here is the cover story from IEEE Spectrum on Top Tech Cars 2016.

 

http://spectrum.ieee.org/transportation/advanced-cars/2016s-top-ten-tech-cars

 

There is a discussion of the Volt. The Volt's performance is better than I had thought and much improved in 2016.  IEEE Spectrum and GM both get a 0-60 of 8.4 seconds for the Volt. (Your 0-60 MPH performance is from MotorTrend's test.) Still that is better than I thought; the 0-30 MPH performance is good at 2.6 s.

 

My first priority these days when looking at a car is safety. It is going to be impossible for an ICE to beat an EV.

 

The Tesla Model X is discussed in the article linked above.

[oddballstocks]

there is a product for every niche

 

i personally would not buy a EV right now especially as the "only" car, for the enthusiast, the early adopter sure ... go nuts. but waiting 30 min to fill up (charge up) just a pain (i am sure this is true for most people). as the only car, EV is not there yet, I don't want to wait 30 min and have detour on my trip to get to the chargers.

 

what is the percentage of people buying model3 or bolt are using them as their only car? i would think its below 50%, then again that is my guest, anyone with this type of data.

 

its funny how people talk about these limitations and issue, yet GM has a product call VOLT that eliminate them all, sure its not as sexy, sure its not "as" efficient as a pure electric. But if you use the VOLT as pure EV most of the time and use the Gas for long trip (i can fill up in minutes pretty much anywhere), its DAMN efficient.  BUT its not a tesla not as sexy, or cool, its Government Motors, etc. etc.

 

I would only consider EV as a "second" car, and would only use it as daily commute/city driving, that is just me.

 

 

Sure but I would say that about any car.  If I could only have one vehicle I would have to stay with my Toyota Sequoia (or something of similar size Ford Expedition maybe).  I can't count the number of times, just in the last 3-6 months that I've needed to take all the seats out of my Sequoia to carry large items.  I don't know how any homeowner can have only a car with no large SUV or pickup truck available.  I'd be renting trucks 10-15 times per year.  Not too mention road trips.  How does a family of 4 (and maybe bringing one of the kids' friends or even two) go on a trip with 4-6 people and luggage if all you have is a car?

 

It will be a while before you have an electric vehicle the size of a Sequoia/Expedition/Suburban, so any electric car would be a second car used for commuting, day trips, around town, etc, for me, but any ICE vehicle the size and shape of a car would be as well.

 

EDIT: I should probably have said that the electric car would be a 1st car, but a larger car is still required for a 2nd vehicle.  Just as I currently drive my Hyundai Elantra much more than my Sequoia, I'll be driving the Model 3 much more as well.  My Elantra is driven about 25K miles per year, where the Sequoia is only driven about 5K miles.  So it is really the SUV that is the second car.

 

Have a Sequoia and Tacoma, both are HEAVILY used for projects.  Yesterday took about 2,000 lbs worth of concrete in the pickup to a gravel yard.  This was from a wall that was falling down in our driveway.  I guess I could have paid someone $200 to do it, but it was a 20m trip.  Load up the blocks, drive, throw them in a pile, come home.

 

The Sequoia is packed out for us, we're a family of five.  But we like to go camping and we travel 200-300 miles regularly.  What do we take?  Kids bikes, baby items, scooters, strollers etc.  In the winter we'll have it loaded with skis.  I mean in theory you could jam skis in a Sentra, but it would only fit one person.  We have a trailer we tow as well, the Sequoia is great for that.

 

What I really want is for someone to put an electric drivetrain in a pickup or large SUV.  The torque those things can produce is incredible.  Battery tech needs to improve and range needs to improve.  I can't imagine how long a 1,500 mile trip to Florida would take in an electric car.  I guess we'd have to stop every 200 miles to charge for a few hours?  That'd be about eight stops, so eight extra hours of sitting around at stations each way, that'd be rough.  Regardless, one day I can hope to have something that produces 400-500 ft lbs of torque on a solid frame pickup/SUV that seats five.

 

Do they have electric 4x4 vehicles yet?  The off-road capabilities of both of our trucks is impressive.  Granted most people driving 15 miles to the cube don't need it, but we're an exception.  We are at home all day, do some light shuttling and haul/travel/adventure with the vehicles.  I can't imagine driving an electric car through a stream on a dirt road...

[rkbabang]

there is a product for every niche

 

i personally would not buy a EV right now especially as the "only" car, for the enthusiast, the early adopter sure ... go nuts. but waiting 30 min to fill up (charge up) just a pain (i am sure this is true for most people). as the only car, EV is not there yet, I don't want to wait 30 min and have detour on my trip to get to the chargers.

 

what is the percentage of people buying model3 or bolt are using them as their only car? i would think its below 50%, then again that is my guest, anyone with this type of data.

 

its funny how people talk about these limitations and issue, yet GM has a product call VOLT that eliminate them all, sure its not as sexy, sure its not "as" efficient as a pure electric. But if you use the VOLT as pure EV most of the time and use the Gas for long trip (i can fill up in minutes pretty much anywhere), its DAMN efficient.  BUT its not a tesla not as sexy, or cool, its Government Motors, etc. etc.

 

I would only consider EV as a "second" car, and would only use it as daily commute/city driving, that is just me.

 

 

Sure but I would say that about any car.  If I could only have one vehicle I would have to stay with my Toyota Sequoia (or something of similar size Ford Expedition maybe).  I can't count the number of times, just in the last 3-6 months that I've needed to take all the seats out of my Sequoia to carry large items.  I don't know how any homeowner can have only a car with no large SUV or pickup truck available.  I'd be renting trucks 10-15 times per year.  Not too mention road trips.  How does a family of 4 (and maybe bringing one of the kids' friends or even two) go on a trip with 4-6 people and luggage if all you have is a car?

 

It will be a while before you have an electric vehicle the size of a Sequoia/Expedition/Suburban, so any electric car would be a second car used for commuting, day trips, around town, etc, for me, but any ICE vehicle the size and shape of a car would be as well.

 

EDIT: I should probably have said that the electric car would be a 1st car, but a larger car is still required for a 2nd vehicle.  Just as I currently drive my Hyundai Elantra much more than my Sequoia, I'll be driving the Model 3 much more as well.  My Elantra is driven about 25K miles per year, where the Sequoia is only driven about 5K miles.  So it is really the SUV that is the second car.

 

Have a Sequoia and Tacoma, both are HEAVILY used for projects.  Yesterday took about 2,000 lbs worth of concrete in the pickup to a gravel yard.  This was from a wall that was falling down in our driveway.  I guess I could have paid someone $200 to do it, but it was a 20m trip.  Load up the blocks, drive, throw them in a pile, come home.

 

The Sequoia is packed out for us, we're a family of five.  But we like to go camping and we travel 200-300 miles regularly.  What do we take?  Kids bikes, baby items, scooters, strollers etc.  In the winter we'll have it loaded with skis.  I mean in theory you could jam skis in a Sentra, but it would only fit one person.  We have a trailer we tow as well, the Sequoia is great for that.

 

What I really want is for someone to put an electric drivetrain in a pickup or large SUV.  The torque those things can produce is incredible.  Battery tech needs to improve and range needs to improve.  I can't imagine how long a 1,500 mile trip to Florida would take in an electric car.  I guess we'd have to stop every 200 miles to charge for a few hours?  That'd be about eight stops, so eight extra hours of sitting around at stations each way, that'd be rough.  Regardless, one day I can hope to have something that produces 400-500 ft lbs of torque on a solid frame pickup/SUV that seats five.

 

Do they have electric 4x4 vehicles yet?  The off-road capabilities of both of our trucks is impressive.  Granted most people driving 15 miles to the cube don't need it, but we're an exception.  We are at home all day, do some light shuttling and haul/travel/adventure with the vehicles.  I can't imagine driving an electric car through a stream on a dirt road...

 

I have a small trailer as well for my Sequoia which I use all the time.  We moved last summer and the 4 of us moved everything from our entire house (3900sqft house + 3car garage + 5500sqft 3-story barn) with the Sequoia and the trailer.  It took us a 3 weeks doing full days on the weekends plus doing a load or two every night after work.  Battery technology is the only thing stopping trucks/SUV/ and even tractor trailers  from being electric.  You'd need a lot of capacity and the ability to put all that charge into it in a reasonable amount of time.

 

 

[boilermaker75]

 

Do they have electric 4x4 vehicles yet?  The off-road capabilities of both of our trucks is impressive.  Granted most people driving 15 miles to the cube don't need it, but we're an exception.  We are at home all day, do some light shuttling and haul/travel/adventure with the vehicles.  I can't imagine driving an electric car through a stream on a dirt road...

 

The Model X is a big step in that direction,

 

 

[oddballstocks]

 

Do they have electric 4x4 vehicles yet?  The off-road capabilities of both of our trucks is impressive.  Granted most people driving 15 miles to the cube don't need it, but we're an exception.  We are at home all day, do some light shuttling and haul/travel/adventure with the vehicles.  I can't imagine driving an electric car through a stream on a dirt road...

 

The Model X is a big step in that direction,

 

 

Very interesting, the comments are even more interesting.  They can put a motor per wheel and electronically lock them.  You simulate lockers with software.  Very cool stuff.  Wonder how these things work in extreme operating conditions?  Caked in mud etc.  They'd have to waterproof the cars for stream crossings.  How do electric cars work in the winter?  Is range destroyed?

 

The video had a picture of someone pulling an RV with the car.  Wonder what that does to the range?  I'd love to pull our RV with an electric vehicle, but the point is the range.  Most RV's kill gas mileage, would it do the same to battery range?  A 200 mile range is really 85 miles with an RV?

 

One of these days battery tech will catch up and we'll have some incredibly powerful vehicles.

[Liberty]

Second video that I see of a Model S autopilot avoiding a collision:

 

http://electrek.co/2016/04/09/tesla-autopilot-avoid-collision-video/

 

It'll be neat when all cars on the road have autopilot-like safety features that help avoid accidents or mitigate them by braking much faster than a human could before a collision. Safer roads for all.

[ERICOPOLY]

Second video that I see of a Model S autopilot avoiding a collision:

 

http://electrek.co/2016/04/09/tesla-autopilot-avoid-collision-video/

 

It'll be neat when all cars on the road have autopilot-like safety features that help avoid accidents or mitigate them by braking much faster than a human could before a collision. Safer roads for all.

 

I wonder when the feature creep will occur... it won't be long before the debate rages on whether cars will be required to brake in school zones, to brake for red lights...  to brake for the speed limit!

 

[Liberty]

Second video that I see of a Model S autopilot avoiding a collision:

 

http://electrek.co/2016/04/09/tesla-autopilot-avoid-collision-video/

 

It'll be neat when all cars on the road have autopilot-like safety features that help avoid accidents or mitigate them by braking much faster than a human could before a collision. Safer roads for all.

 

I wonder when the feature creep will occur... it won't be long before the debate rages on whether cars will be required to brake in school zones, to brake for red lights...  to brake for the speed limit!

 

I'm sure that will become an issue at some point, with vigorous debate on both side (who will be the next Ralph Nader?).

 

Maybe at some point it'll go too far, but then again, sometimes people are just afraid of change but in the end, it's for the better (there was a lot of resistance to seat belts and then air bags...).

[rkbabang]

Second video that I see of a Model S autopilot avoiding a collision:

 

http://electrek.co/2016/04/09/tesla-autopilot-avoid-collision-video/

 

It'll be neat when all cars on the road have autopilot-like safety features that help avoid accidents or mitigate them by braking much faster than a human could before a collision. Safer roads for all.

 

I wonder when the feature creep will occur... it won't be long before the debate rages on whether cars will be required to brake in school zones, to brake for red lights...  to brake for the speed limit!

 

 

At least on highways where pedestrians aren't an issue, do speed limits even make sense for autonomous vehicles?  Reaction times for the autonomous driving systems are much quicker than for human beings.

 

[ERICOPOLY]

Second video that I see of a Model S autopilot avoiding a collision:

 

http://electrek.co/2016/04/09/tesla-autopilot-avoid-collision-video/

 

It'll be neat when all cars on the road have autopilot-like safety features that help avoid accidents or mitigate them by braking much faster than a human could before a collision. Safer roads for all.

 

I wonder when the feature creep will occur... it won't be long before the debate rages on whether cars will be required to brake in school zones, to brake for red lights...  to brake for the speed limit!

 

 

At least on highways where pedestrians aren't an issue, do speed limits even make sense for autonomous vehicles?  Reaction times for the autonomous driving systems are much quicker than for human beings.

 

Under the banner of energy conservation they make sense.  And noise reduction for the communities alongside the roadway -- tire noise.

[rkbabang]

Second video that I see of a Model S autopilot avoiding a collision:

 

http://electrek.co/2016/04/09/tesla-autopilot-avoid-collision-video/

 

It'll be neat when all cars on the road have autopilot-like safety features that help avoid accidents or mitigate them by braking much faster than a human could before a collision. Safer roads for all.

 

I wonder when the feature creep will occur... it won't be long before the debate rages on whether cars will be required to brake in school zones, to brake for red lights...  to brake for the speed limit!

 

 

At least on highways where pedestrians aren't an issue, do speed limits even make sense for autonomous vehicles?  Reaction times for the autonomous driving systems are much quicker than for human beings.

 

Under the banner of energy conservation they make sense.  And noise reduction for the communities alongside the roadway -- tire noise.

 

Energy conservation is a personal choice.  Energy costs money, you choose how much of it you wish to buy.  You should be able to set your vehicle to stay in the right lane and go slow if you wish to save energy or go faster if you wish to save time.  And noise, if you buy a home near a highway you know what you are buying.  Again money solves the problem.  If you wish to live in a quieter neighborhood then it will cost a little more to buy a home.  Or neighbors could get together and have sound barriers installed to help shield their neighborhood from the noise.

 

[Picasso]

I think networked cars operating in specific lanes, like the carpool lane, will work very well with partially autonomous cars like a Tesla.  They can move in sync together as a sort of rapid lane during heavy traffic.  The carpool lanes in California are almost useless these days.  You don't need speed when you're already moving 30x faster than the rest of traffic.

[rkbabang]

I think networked cars operating in specific lanes, like the carpool lane, will work very well with partially autonomous cars like a Tesla.  They can move in sync together as a sort of rapid lane during heavy traffic.  The carpool lanes in California are almost useless these days.  You don't need speed when you're already moving 30x faster than the rest of traffic.

 

True, and I'm sure so much more fuel is burned today while barely moving in traffic jams that energy savings will already be significant regardless of the speed.