Fortune interviewed Dustin Grace, who for nine years was working on drivetrains at Tesla Motors, and earlier this year switched to electric bus maker Proterra by becoming their director of battery engineering.
Grace shared his opinion about the advantages of electric motors over internal combustion engines.
Tesla Model S Drivetrain
We listed some of the main topics, but full details can be found directly in the source Fortune article:
- Electric motors generate motion, not heat (high efficiency)
- They’re more powerful (high torque from zero rpm for great acceleration)
- They’re simpler (not many parts, no transmission needed in most cases)
- They’re (vastly) easier to service (less parts, smaller and lighter, fewer subsystems around the motor)
- They feed themselves (regenerative braking capability)
- They’re smarter (ultimate controlling accuracy, especially useful in AWD with two or even four motors controlled independently)
Source: Inside EVs