Probably Mark, but I wouldn't hold my breath for any benefit to Australia.

And why not?
Elon surely shall do all he can to make it work.
Because his efforts are not purely based in philanthropy, of course.
At some point, I am sure he expects to profit from the venture.
But if he can succeed in making the technology perform as he intends it to, I am sure it would end up being a net benefit to those in Australia who are currently suffering from the lack of electricity.

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"Time is simply the mechanism that keeps everything from happening all at once."

Probably Mark, but I wouldn't hold my breath for any benefit to Australia.

Actually those lucky to take part in the original trail here Chris have reported to be very pleased with them and the huge reductions in their power bills (if they get any at all).

A TV report here last month reported on a family of 5 (3 teenagers) living in a McMansion here with all the mod cons whose yearly power bill went from over $3K down to just $198 with a payoff of well within 8yrs for the original Powerwall.

No more blackouts or brownouts to contend with either as it's a super UPS and sunshine is something that we're not short on down here. ;-)

Cheers.

...you have loads of sun, which is something we in the Old Country lack - if only a 3-5kW installation in this country had a payback of 8 years I'd be a very happy chappy. That said the small installation on my boat has reduced my winter power bill from about £20 per month to less than a tenner since October - and has carried me quite comfortably through a couple of long power-outs - long enough for neighbours to have "issues" with their fridges.

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

i'm not a fan of the sun, i associate it with skin cancer

of course i just traded my car in for a convertible, and i've yet to go top down

i like coupes better for lower cost/weight/complexity and increased rigidity but on the used car market the selection can be rather limited so if i see a deal the decision is really whether to take it or leave it

as far as the convertible, it's a hard top so it can't be slashed, i once spent $2k to replace a soft top that was slashed(it was totaled after getting rear ended not long after that)
but the convertible hard top has a lot of moving parts, it wouldn't surprise me if it failed, gives me that much more reason not to use it

Mine is a simple removable top. 2 latches then it slides behind the seats. No fancy gizmos. It's a hard top so you can't cut it either. Once the doors are locked it's as secure as a hard top.

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i would call that a targa, as opposed to a convertible

but in all my time driving convertibles i was top up over 99% of the time. socal is ideal convertible weather, but i don't live there

Or you could perhaps tell me where we next are supposed to be going.

Always the given story for such a thing, of course.

My car is much older. 1980. I have replaced the leather upholster twice, engine once, stripped to bare metal and re-painted once and who knows how many sets of brakes and tires. I have put much more into maintenance that what I paid for the car.

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neither cars nor computers are necessary

that too

be a bum

nothing wrong with being a bum

never said you were a bum

My car is much older. 1980. I have replaced the leather upholster twice, engine once, stripped to bare metal and re-painted once and who knows how many sets of brakes and tires. I have put much more into maintenance that what I paid for the car.

I know the story well.
My car is nothing as nice as yours.
A 1990 Olds Cutlass Ciera with the classic Iron Duke 4 banger.
But I came to like the model owning a 1992 version, which was doomed from the start by road salt rust.
When my mechanic found this one back in 2011 with just 47,000 original on the odometer, I paid about $3,000.00 for it.
A premium price, but it was in very good shape.
I replaced the gas tank first, as this was a weak point in that model due to rust. Brakes with new drums and rotors all around. And last year I replaced all of the rubber hoses and one iron transfer tube with new original parts.
I also got lucky and found an instrument cluster from a v6 car that had the full gauge package, complete with tachometer. And it only had about 8,000 showing on the odometer....shows 29,000 now. The harness and connectors are all the same. I did have to get an adapter to adapt the tach from 6 cylinder to 4 cylinder to read properly.
Last fall, I installed a new heavy duty starter and the biggest Odyssey battery made that would fit. The starter is the same part number for the 6 cylinder, so it has plenty of oomph for the 4. I also changed the oil out to 5w20 synthetic. All that to ensure no problems though the cold spells we sometime get here up north. I'll go back to 5w34 or 40 for the summer.

Named him 'Toothless' after I saw the 'How to Train Your Dragon' movies, as he is my trusty dragon....LOL.
This summer I am planning on an all new exhaust, front to back, stainless if I can get the parts made. Probably have to get a muffler shop to custom bend the pipes. I know I can get a stainless cat and muffler.
And, he deserves a new set of premium tires this summer as well. I have always bought the from the bargain bin on tires, but not this time.
My baby. Age is kicking in, and due to the fact that it is my daily driver, I have to subject it to the demons of the dang road salt here in the Wisconsin winters. So, some rust is starting to appear. If I have enough spare cash after the more important mechanical thingys, I may get some body work done before it gets too cancerous.
Why bother with the body? Because of that engine. The Iron Duke. A very special engine. My '92 had 125,000 on it when I had to retire it due to the rust problems. And it was still running strong, with little oil usage. With only about 75,000 on this one, it is barely broken in.

Meow meow, Toothless.

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"Time is simply the mechanism that keeps everything from happening all at once."

i'm afraid of keeping my car more than three years

i'm afraid of keeping my car more than three years

Depends on what you buy and what you put into it in maintenance.
I was taught the importance of maintenance by my Father many years ago.
You can take something and put nothing into it, run it into the ground.
Generally, you are FAR further ahead putting a little money into it here and there, and avoiding bigger problems. I am much more comfortable putting some money into a car I know like the back of my hand than simply ditching it and acquiring another with unknown problems.

I cannot currently remember the newest car I ever owned, but it was never more than ten or fifteen years of age when it came into my possession. But I always shopped carefully when looking for my next ride. Did the last owner care well for it? Not hard to tell if you pay attention to a few details.

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"Time is simply the mechanism that keeps everything from happening all at once."

i'm operating under the assumption that after three years my expected maintenance/repair costs will rise to the point that it may make more sense to get a different car

I have bought cars off the show room, but generally my daily driver will be 2-3 years old when I buy it. The I tend to keep them about 5-8 years beyond that. The furrie does not get out much. A couple of times a month. Certainly not if there is salt on the road. But in CA they don't use salt very often. I like to drive it up to Big Sur. Too bad the road to Big Sur is gone.

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i'm operating under the assumption that after three years my expected maintenance/repair costs will rise to the point that it may make more sense to get a different car

Depends.
That $300.00 part may seem expensive, but if you buy something else used, you are paying for the owner's expected profit, the dealer's expected profit, and taxes, title transfer, etc...........

You are sometimes, as I stated, better off putting a bit more into something you know.
I am sure at times, a car reaches the 'black hole' stage. But then it is just worn out.

Depends on the overall condition of what you have in hand. There is a knife edge.

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"Time is simply the mechanism that keeps everything from happening all at once."