Comment by reactordev

1 month ago

Oh you mean like the Aptera or the Hyundai Ioniq 5? They do have solar panels built in. Prius Prime as well. These aren’t powerful enough to charge the main drive though, not enough surface area and voltage.

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reactordev

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SideburnsOfDoom  1 month ago

The Aptera vehicle is vapourware and likely always will be. It's not a practical vehicle that is on sale.

Solar roof on Ioniq 5 and Prius is an option, not standard. And it's rare. In fact, I've never seen it or even heard of it until I looked up what you were saying. And for the Ioniq 5 solar roof, it seems that it's not even offered at all in some countries.

The Prius one is "Offered as an option on the range-topping XSE Premium trim". Far from standard. This roof literally adds up to 4 of miles of range on a good day. (1) So it's a high-end gimmick that has niche use at best on a car, when compared to a fixed solar / battery installation situated where the car is parked.

It won't be any more useful on a boat.

1) https://www.reddit.com/r/electricvehicles/comments/13w5cb1/o...

cush  1 month ago

The Aptera has been in development since the 90s and still hasn't shipped. The Ioniq 5’s solar option is a total gimmick - the panels capture a negligible amount of energy. Literally months of perfect sunlight to charge the battery. Nobody is producing solar vehicles at any scale.

  • SideburnsOfDoom  1 month ago

    > The Ioniq 5’s solar option is a total gimmick

    I see many Hyundai Ioniq 5s on the roads in London UK. Exactly 0 of them have a solar roof - it's not even offered as an option here. It's a gimmick and there's no demand for it.

victorbjorklund  1 month ago

But why not put it on a Tesla if it will be so much more efficient than putting the same panels on your roof of your house and charge your Tesla with that?

  • reactordev  1 month ago

    Because they want to sell you the cheapest car possible for the most money possible, sell you a home charging unit, sell you solar shingles, sell you a new power plant for your home to go with those shingles. They are not in the business of making their cars efficient, only making the cash flow efficient.

    • cush  1 month ago

      > sell you a home charging unit, sell you solar shingles, sell you a new power plant for your home to go with those shingles

      I don’t think you’re listening. This entire argument would lead to there being an expensive solar option for Teslas. There isn’t. It’s a terrible idea because the yield is bad. Solar panels are big flat panels that point at the sun. Cars are made of curved shapes.