The difference is not so much the car, it is the production process and probably battery. Never underestimate routine as a major force to lower cost. Larger numbers will help too.

Are the cheaper telephones, computers, televisions of today technically inferior to those of 10, 20 years ago?

Free street lights, that was my first thought too.

I really hope they launch it in Europe too.

+1 Read your reaction only after posting my response.

The design flexibility is my main point too. It will prove irresistible.

Model S will not be very popular for many Europeans. They want small, easy-to-park cars. They will very much like the space inside the vehicle that is freed up by wheel motors.

The most water sensitive part of the motor are the ball bearings, and all cars have these. No difference there.

The other parts of the motor can be coated to withstand the water. Or made of materials that are not ruined by (salt) water.

We need to remember that all technlogy becomes cheap once mass produced. This motor will be no exception, and the risk associated with the more exposed location of the motor will prove a minor thing.

The upside is that you free up space inside the vehicle and get a lot of freedom in designing the car. No drive shafts and motors will have to be accommodated. Design freedom works like a magnet. That reason alone will make the wheel motor a guaranteed hit.

"safe in the knowledge Nissan will swap in a new battery in the event yours dies or drops any significant range."

What is the basis for this sentence? Doesn't Nissan warrant the battery in either case? What is the supposed advantage of renting then?

That hybrids are complex is actually an ignorant assertion (sorry to put it so bluntly, because it is only said by people who never studied hybrid technology).

The most sold hybrid drivetrain is the Toyota HSD. It is a wonder of simplicity. It has no clutch and no gearbox. Instead, there is a fixed planetary gearset that is connected to the two motor/generators and ICE without any clutches. A modern car has two motor/generators too, but each only serves 1 function. And the starter motor is not continuously connected to the ICE either, but has a sort of clutch of its own - anohter failure point.

So compared to a standard car you lose the immensely complex gearbox and clutch, notorious for their high failure rate and repair costs.

I remember Detroit Electric first wanting to put an electric drive train in a non-descript Chinese-made glider a la Coda. They changed strategy in time, handily filling the void left by the Tesla Roadster. A bit too expensive, (with a shorter range than the Roadster). The gearbox does not make sense in my view.

But I wish them well. Let's hope they fare better than Coda.

I approve of this calculation. ;)

(Realistically, even 1 kWh on a good day would be great).

Solar panels go on the roof of your house and you use that magic thingy called 'the grid' to transport it to your car.