http://news.discovery.com/tech/alternative-power-sources/supersonic-electric-airplane-next-for-elon-musk-151017.htm Supersonic Electric Airplane Next from Elon Musk? Oct 17, 2015 // by Renee Morad
[images / STRINGER/Reuters/Corbis http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/06-future-airplanes-voltair-670.jpg Powered by two superconducting electric motors, the concept plane known as the VoltAir (get it?) is a proposed all-electric airliner out of Europe. The engines would draw from next-generation lithium ion batteries -- really big ones -- that would be simply swapped out between flights. / Airbus Group video https://youtu.be/PULkWGHeIQQ One-on-one with Elon Musk AeroAstroMIT Oct 31, 2014 MIT Aeronautics and Astronautics Department Head Jaime Peraire interviews SpaceX and Tesla CEO/founder Elon Musk, October 24, 2014, as the final session of the AeroAstro 1914-2014 Centennial Symposium. audio http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/marketplace/corner_office_marketplace/2015/10/12/corneroffice_20151012_64.mp3 ] Elon Musk speaks at SolarCity’s Inside Energy Summit in Manhattan. When Elon Musk isn’t mulling over self-driving cars or rocket launches, he has another thing on his mind: electric airplanes. In a recent interview with Marketplace, the Tesla Motors and SpaceX founder said he believed the future of transportation — including everything from cars to airplanes and ships — will be fully electric-based. Elon Musk Unveils ‘Charging Snake’ For Tesla Cars Musk is particularly keen on the idea of electric airplanes. In the Marketplace interview, he said he has a design in mind for a “pretty cool supersonic, vertical take-off and landing electric jet” that would be “really fun.” He also likes the idea of an airline company based solely on electric power. See the video here. This isn’t the first time Musk has expressed interest in electric planes. During MIT’s Aeronautics and Astronautics Centennial Symposium last fall, Musk briefly mentioned building an electric supersonic aircraft but said that as much as he would like to do it, he thinks “his mind might explode.” See video below. If Musk’s vision eventually does turn into a reality, it could help improve the air transportation industry, which, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), emits far more pollution than any other method of transportation. By their measure, every ton of cargo moved by plane adds over 4.5 times more particulate matter and nearly 25 times more nitrous oxides to the environment than if it were transported by ship. Musk has obviously been thinking electric for quite some time now, having devoted his time, energy and investments to Tesla Motors’ electric vehicles, such as the new sedan Model S and the first fully efficient SUV, the Model X. Tesla Chargers Move Into NYC Parking Garages At Tesla, he’s also working on the PowerWall, a home battery that uses electricity generated from solar panels for charging, powers homes in the evening and provides a backup electricity supply. Then there’s Tesla’s $5 billion lithium-ion-battery-producing Gigafactory in Nevada that’s currently under construction. Although Musk has a lot of interest in electric-powered transportation and homes, the rockets he’s developing for SpaceX are not driven by electricity. Even though rocket launches are rare, they’re harmful to the environment when they do blast off, with the reactive gases emitted causing ozone molecules to break apart. [© discovery.com] http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/corner-office-marketplace/tesla-ceo-elon-musk-future-runs-batteries Tesla CEO Elon Musk: The future runs on batteries Kai Ryssdal October 12, 2015 Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, unveils the dual engine chassis of the new Tesla 'D' model at the Hawthorne Airport October 09, 2014 in Hawthorne, California. Interview by Kai Ryssdal, Produced by Nancy Farghalli, Produced by Tommy Andres Monday, October 12, 2015 - 16:11 Musk is CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, with an interest on the side in getting people to Mars. Last week, we headed to the Tesla factory in Fremont, California for a chat with Musk about battery technology and the future of global transportation. http://news.discovery.com/tech/alternative-power-sources/supersonic-electric-airplane-next-for-elon-musk-151017.htm Supersonic Electric Airplane Next from Elon Musk? Oct 17, 2015 10:50 AM ET // by Renee Morad For EVLN EV-newswire posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/Supersonic-superconductor-Electric-Airplane-Next-from-Elon-Musk-tp4678340.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
