Fri Dec 08, 2023 11:57 am by cornbinder89
The reason it never got off the ground, is safety. Once you cross the Rubicon of a voltage platform that can enter the body, then why 48? why not 64 (72 operating) like trains, or 120?
True, we now have cars with much higher voltage, but there are lots of precautions to keep that high voltage away from the passengers.
As an electrician, you should know.
Try and arc weld with one 12 volt battery, almost impossible to strike and arc, 24 volts you can, 48 is much easier. they higher the voltage the more risks.
It comes down to advantages and dis advantages, So far those that detract from the high voltage outweigh those that support it.
Then add to that costs to make fuses, switches and relays among others to meet the design requirements of the higher voltage, all possible but worth it?
Just going from 12 to 24 volt, the solenoid contacts go from copper to silver,
32 and to a lesser extent 36 volt is used on ships where they wanted to keep well below voltage where skin resistance is enough to prevent shock.
Not saying Elon doesn't come up with some good ideas, but he has a lot of failures as well. His 1st good idea was Pay-pal and that was good enough to finance his meteoric rise.
In today's electric cars, the high voltage DC is isolated from the passengers and most of the rest of the car, it has safety disconnects that trigger along with air bags in a crash to limit the damage it can cause. Move to higher voltages out front, not only has backward compatibility problems, (how do you tow a trailer, for instance?) but increases the risk of fire and arc in crashes.
Tesla's "not ready for prime time" self driving is another example of his arrogance it pushing his ideas before they are proven safe and effective. .