Tesla Pickup Unveil

[wsuffa]

Sounds like this: Bonanza! Cirrus! Mooney! No, Cirrus! No, Bo!

 

[flyingcheesehead]

The high cost of entry; it is not just the vehicle cost. One of the main EV selling points is the convenience of "refueling at home", which requires an additional up-front capital cost to purchase and wire in the recharging station.

That's overkill for most people. Someone driving under 20,000 miles/year likely spends enough of that time at home to get away with plugging the included charge cord into a standard 120-volt wall outlet, provided the driving is spread out relatively evenly (ie, not driving 200 miles on Monday and Tuesday and 2 miles Wednesday-Friday).

The lack of common standards; standards for gasoline work for any vehicle manufacturer. If you own a Tesla and your spouse desires an EV from another manufacturer, does that mean two different charging station standards at your home?

No.

Basically, every modern EV except Teslas have an SAE J1772 socket; Teslas include an adapter for J1772. The only EVs that cannot charge from a J1772 plug are the earlier, circa-2000 ones (1st-gen Toyota Rav4 EV, Ford Ranger EV, GM EV1, etc).

For fast charging, there are three standards in use in the US: Tesla Superchargers are the most widespread and are usable only by Teslas. The other manufacturers have split between the SAE-CCS and CHAdeMO. Most non-Tesla fast-charge stations have one plug of each, so compatibility isn't really an issue - The bigger issue there is the lack of a nationwide, planned charging network like the Supercharger network, so there are MANY places you can't take a road trip unless you have a Tesla. This is probably Tesla's biggest competitive advantage at this point.

The greatest impediment to more rapid adoption is the lack of any obvious tipping point catalyst. Every successful new technology moves from early adopter to mass acceptance phase, with an exponential increase in the number of units being purchased every month/quarter/year, because the perceived value proposition of owning the technology exceeds the cost of entry (some of the other grey hairs here will recall the classic early case study of this phenomenon is the fax machine).

Some think the EV catalyst will be a certain density of available public charging stations. Others think it's going to be massive numbers of shared autonomous vehicles, so nobody needs to own one themselves.

I am sceptical, and don't see an obvious catalyst. And if that is the case the adoption rate will be driven more by vehicle scrappage and EV substitution over time as EVs compete for market share. Anybody here see what might drive the tipping point; I'm curious.

I think it's going to be simple organic growth: We're getting past the early-adopter phase already, and as good EVs become more mainstream, an increasing number of people will be exposed to them and begin to buy them, exposing yet more people...

A big impediment to this is crappy EVs. Nissan's first-gen Leaf did not have very good BMS and was air-cooled, and had a battery chemistry that was very sensitive to heat. As a result, they had to replace a fair number of batteries under warranty, longevity isn't great on the others, and many early Leafs are down to 50-60 miles of range at full charge. Tesla has not experienced any of these issues, but a lot of people ask about battery longevity for other EVs because of it.

There are plenty of other potential missteps that OEMs can make that create a poor user experience, and if that happens on someone's first EV, they may think that all EVs are that bad, and tell their friends, who will then be less likely to adopt.

 

[tspear]

Some specs I saw, but did not confirm:
16in ground clearance; largely because no transmission.
This is much higher than many other trucks. In fact the F150 only has about 9in below the transmission box.

Can anyone confirm?

Tim

 

[tspear]

For fast charging, there are three standards in use in the US: Tesla Superchargers are the most widespread and are usable only by Teslas. The other manufacturers have split between the SAE-CCS and CHAdeMO. Most non-Tesla fast-charge stations have one plug of each, so compatibility isn't really an issue - The bigger issue there is the lack of a nationwide, planned charging network like the Supercharger network, so there are MANY places you can't take a road trip unless you have a Tesla. This is probably Tesla's biggest competitive advantage at this point.

GM and Bechtel announced they have a network in development. I do not recall any of the details; except that it was supposed to be open. GM views this as a future revenue source; same as OnStar has become.

Tim

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Some specs I saw, but did not confirm:
16in ground clearance; largely because no transmission.
This is much higher than many other trucks. In fact the F150 only has about 9in below the transmission box.

Can anyone confirm?

Yes, that figure was mentioned during the reveal.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

BTW, surprise of surprises: A friend of mine who has no interest in EVs ordered one. I thought he was messing with me when he sent me a screenshot of the confirmation email the other day. Talked to him today, and it's for real.

He likes off-roading, currently has a Jeep. And he likes the look.

Huh. Maybe Elon is on to something.

 

[GRG55]

That's overkill for most people. Someone driving under 20,000 miles/year likely spends enough of that time at home to get away with plugging the included charge cord into a standard 120-volt wall outlet, provided the driving is spread out relatively evenly (ie, not driving 200 miles on Monday and Tuesday and 2 miles Wednesday-Friday)...

That works fine for the miserable range EV owners have had to live with so far. A dedicated charging circuit that is something more than a 110 v, 15 amp is probably going to be necessary to charge 300 mile, 400 mile, 500 mile range vehicles if EV owners are actually using them as serious transportation substitutes for ICE.

I only know 4 people with EVs (3 Tesla S, one Leaf). All of them have dedicated charge circuits in their garages for their cars; 220 volt circuits I think for the Teslas. Maybe they just wasted their money on that? Or maybe just a GFI plug run in by their local electrician for convenience.

 

[Larry in TN]

49961 is the destination from 49512

That's a good one!

The Upper-Peninsula of Michigan is definitely lacking in charging infrastructure! Give it a year, or two. Most of the USA doesn't face that problem. Here's an interactive Supercharger map. https://supercharge.info/map

When I ran it the route planner took a ferry across lake Michigan. Gotta give it credit for creativity!

A dedicated charging circuit that is something more than a 110 v, 15 amp is probably going to be necessary to charge 300 mile, 400 mile, 500 mile range vehicles if EV owners are actually using them as serious transportation substitutes for ICE.

Definitely. A 120v outlet charges a Model 3 at about 3 miles per hour. i.e. it adds 30 miles of range in ten hours of charging. Unless you have charging at work, that isn't going to be enough for most people.

All you need is a 240v 14-50 outlet. Basically the same thing you have for an electric dryer. That will give you 30-37 miles added per hour of charging. 0% - 100% in a little over ten hours.

 

[SoonerAviator]

The Robo Cop car was just a modified Ford Taurus. Not very futuristic.

The Tesla truck looks like they had some left over sheet metal lying around and decided to build a truck out of it. It’s different but bland. Like the in the first drive vid, they designed it that way for function but also to save money. I’d rather not drive a vehicle that sacrificed looks to save money. Function interferes with practically sometimes as well, as in this case requiring a video rear view mirror because the visibility out the back is so poor.

Everyone makes the Delorean comparison but that car actually had a combination of futuristic stainless steel angles with rounded lines and complimentary trim / highlights. It is pleasing to the eye. While it stood out, it wasn’t a complete departure from a typical sports car. In fact, it looked like a Lotus Esprit. Probably has something to do with the designer and later on, the engineer, all coming from Lotus. This Tesla truck is a complete departure from any mass produced truck today. As Musk stated in the presentation, truck design hasn’t changed much through the years. The artist renderings were a nice styling upgrade from typical designs without getting too radical. Why he didn’t go with something similar is mind boggling.

This is styling that I could get behind.

https://2020truck.com/2017-chevy-colorado-zh2/

If Tesla had rolled out a truck that resembled the Colorado ZR2, I doubt too many people would have balked. I still don’t care for the Avalanche/Ridgeline slanted panel behind the cap limiting access to reach into the front corners of the bed, but that’s not going to sway most from considering it. CyberTruck is just too much “edginess” with little substance behind the design. I’m sure the functionality of the truck for pavement pounders will be fine (as that same demographic could probably get by with a Model S/X just the same).

To those who think the onboard air compressor is going to be capable of doing much more than airing up a flat tire, I’ve got some sad news for you. Even the on onboard air compressors on semi trucks doesn’t have the CFM to do much of anything other than air up a tire or very brief spurts with an impact gun. No cut off wheels or grinders, no air hammers, etc. it’s probably good enough to provide 100psi @ 3-4CFM for 10 seconds or so. It’s not like it’s going to have a 20 gallon air tank on it, so reserves are minimal.

 

[Shuswap BC]

Another high amperage 240 volt plug is more than the current panel can take in many homes, especially older ones.
And running the equivalent of a dryer 10 hours a day is a lot of electricity used.

 

[Lachlan]

What’s the real-world at-home utility bill actual dollars cost to daily charge a Tesla right now? I’m guessing it’s a lot more than drying a couple loads of clothes in a dryer. Multiplied daily, what’s an honest annual $$$ bill to keep a Tesla rolling in electrons?

 

[deonb]

I only know 4 people with EVs (3 Tesla S, one Leaf). All of them have dedicated charge circuits in their garages for their cars; 220 volt circuits I think for the Teslas. Maybe they just wasted their money on that? Or maybe just a GFI plug run in by their local electrician for convenience.

Sure but it's just a 220V outlet, not a charger. I've installed my own - was maybe $50 for the breaker, outlet and 10ft of 6/3 romex.

Even if an electrician installs it it will be under $500.

No need for GFI on a Tesla at least - it comes with a GFI contraption that plugs into the outlet and has a bunch of interchangeable plugs on it for 5-15, 5-20, TT-30, 6-30, 6-50 and 14-50 outlets.

 

[deonb]

What’s the real-world at-home utility bill actual dollars cost to daily charge a Tesla right now? I’m guessing it’s a lot more than drying a couple loads of clothes in a dryer. Multiplied daily, what’s an honest annual $$$ bill to keep a Tesla rolling in electrons?

$8 for a full charge for me. About $330 per 10000 miles.

 

[chartbundle]

No need for GFI on a Tesla at least - it comes with a GFI contraption that plugs into the outlet and has a bunch of interchangeable plugs on it for 5-15, 5-20, TT-30, 6-30, 6-50 and 14-50 outlets.

15 or 20A 120V outlets in garages or outside always require GFCIs(breaker or outlet). It appears that in places that have adopted the newest electrical code they are now required for 240V outlets used to charge cars as well. The doo-dad that Tesla has does not count as GFCI protection for the outlet as required by code.

 

[Shuswap BC]

 

[FastEddieB]

Our Clarity plugged into 120v draws 12A and charges at about 4 EV miles per hour.

At our TN home we have a 240v 30A circuit for the hangar door. In GA, we have a 240v 50A RV receptacle.

Some brave soul discovered that if you make an adapter and plug the stock 120v charging cord into 240v, it works with no drama, drawing about the same current but charging just over twice as fast - about 10 EV miles per hour. With some apprehension, I made two adapters and it works. Whether that would work for any given situation is anybody’s guess, but overnight charging for 80+ miles EV range will work for a lot of folks right now, and when EV range exceeds 300 miles, it’s unlikely that you’d be charging an “empty” battery that often, more often just “topping off” after a typical day’s use.

 

[Velocity173]

If Tesla had rolled out a truck that resembled the Colorado ZR2, I doubt too many people would have balked. I still don’t care for the Avalanche/Ridgeline slanted panel behind the cap limiting access to reach into the front corners of the bed, but that’s not going to sway most from considering it. CyberTruck is just too much “edginess” with little substance behind the design. I’m sure the functionality of the truck for pavement pounders will be fine (as that same demographic could probably get by with a Model S/X just the same).

To those who think the onboard air compressor is going to be capable of doing much more than airing up a flat tire, I’ve got some sad news for you. Even the on onboard air compressors on semi trucks doesn’t have the CFM to do much of anything other than air up a tire or very brief spurts with an impact gun. No cut off wheels or grinders, no air hammers, etc. it’s probably good enough to provide 100psi @ 3-4CFM for 10 seconds or so. It’s not like it’s going to have a 20 gallon air tank on it, so reserves are minimal.

Well to be fair, the engineering has function. The problem is, you don’t have to sacrifice design for function. If they tweak some things here and there so it has more personality than a stainless steel fridge, I would think about getting one. I’m not a truck guy but it’s hard to turn down utility if the $$$ is right. Fairly certain they won’t make the price point though.

 

[Velocity173]

If you charge at home, the increase in electricity per month is more than made up for in gas savings. A typical gallon of gas in my area is over $2.40. That’s 2 charges for me or 70 miles. You’re not gonna get 70 miles per gallon in an full ICE car. Now these Tesla charge stations, you’re not saving much if anything.

 

[Huckster79]

It certainly may not replace every work truck out of the gate but the fact that the technology is knocking at our door says the paradigm shift could be closer than we think... As mentioned before the deep change can take a long time to come to fruition but the visible change can snowball quickly...

I don’t care for the style but I love the excitement of the fact that it’s not a big stretch to see this technology being part of a normal daily life in our lifetime.

My basic old Cessna 140 may seem like antiquated rudimentary technology- but when we realize she took to the sky just 43 years after Orville and Wilbur figured out how... it’s pretty amazing to think about how far we went in very little time once the ball got rolling...

 

[MIFlyer]

What’s the real-world at-home utility bill actual dollars cost to daily charge a Tesla right now? I’m guessing it’s a lot more than drying a couple loads of clothes in a dryer. Multiplied daily, what’s an honest annual $$$ bill to keep a Tesla rolling in electrons?

Our bmw i3 is $20 a month for my wife’s daily commute. Tesla would be about double for same usage. We also pay a few hundred bucks per year for road taxes during registration to make up for not paying gas tax, and I think that’s fair

Understand that unleaded is $3.40 here and electricity is 10 cents per kWh


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[MIFlyer]

That works fine for the miserable range EV owners have had to live with so far. A dedicated charging circuit that is something more than a 110 v, 15 amp is probably going to be necessary to charge 300 mile, 400 mile, 500 mile range vehicles if EV owners are actually using them as serious transportation substitutes for ICE.

I only know 4 people with EVs (3 Tesla S, one Leaf). All of them have dedicated charge circuits in their garages for their cars; 220 volt circuits I think for the Teslas. Maybe they just wasted their money on that? Or maybe just a GFI plug run in by their local electrician for convenience.

To give you a real example.

Our i3 only has a 17KWh battery. we charge it via a free adapter that came with the car in one of the existing garage outlets (20A 120V). I recall it draws around 12A (designed not to pop a 15A circuit). So it can "charge" at about 1.5KWh/h 12 hours from stone dead, but since the thing gets 4-5 miles per KWh of usage, for a typical 30 mile driving "day" of going to work, running an errand/etc it's used about 7 KWh of energy (70 cents total cost) and will recharge in about 4-5 hours. We just plug it in when we pull into the garage each night.

The teslas use a lot more energy per mile, so will have higher usage, but you can also, for a small charge, put a 14/50 outlet in the garage (my panel is in the garage) and supply 50Ax240V = 12,000 Watts of charging energy per hour.

so (making up numbers) if the truck uses say 1 kWh/mile (4X what the i3 does). And I drive it on my commute of 40 miles round trip. I'd have used 40 KWh ($4). this is pretty high vs what real life will be. The 50A circuit I mention above would be able to recharge me in 3-4 hours, so again, typical night, no big deal to just plug in when I get home and it's easily recharged on household current.

If I take a 250 mile round trip (down to parents' and back), I'd need 20 hours to charge at the preposterous consumption rate of 1 KWh/mile driven.

 

[Larry in TN]

The teslas use a lot more energy per mile

I had not heard that before. The i3 is a smaller car, of course, which is going to improve efficiency regardless of powertrain.

A quick search produced the following comparison between an i3 and Model 3 AWD long-range.
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/compare/BMW-i3-vs-Tesla-Model-3_d2263_d2475

Fuel Economy, City
124 MPG i3
120 MPG Model 3

Fuel Economy, Highway
102 MPG i3
112 MPG Model 3

Shows a slight (3.3%) advantage to the i3 for city driving and a slightly larger (9.8%) advantage to the Model 3 on the highway. (I think the split is due to the Model 3's better aerodynamics at higher speeds)

They're comparing to the Model 3 AWD long-range (322mi range) which is not the most efficient Model 3 due to the extra weight from the AWD. The standard range (250mi range) Model 3, which also has a single motor like the i3, is more efficient.

From these data, it seems like the Model 3 is ahead on efficiency, particularly when you consider that it is a larger car with a significantly longer range (I'm seeing 114mi for the i3?). I'd be very interested in seeing other data. I don't have an EV (yet?) but am quite interested in the technology.

 

[Salty]

Our Clarity plugged into 120v draws 12A and charges at about 4 EV miles per hour.

Could you say that in English? Or maybe it’s a typo? You have to charge for 24 hours to go 96 miles?

 

[MIFlyer]

I had not heard that before. The i3 is a smaller car, of course, which is going to improve efficiency regardless of powertrain.

A quick search produced the following comparison between an i3 and Model 3 AWD long-range.
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/compare/BMW-i3-vs-Tesla-Model-3_d2263_d2475

Fuel Economy, City
124 MPG i3
120 MPG Model 3

Fuel Economy, Highway
102 MPG i3
112 MPG Model 3

Shows a slight (3.3%) advantage to the i3 for city driving and a slightly larger (9.8%) advantage to the Model 3 on the highway. (I think the split is due to the Model 3's better aerodynamics at higher speeds)

They're comparing to the Model 3 AWD long-range (322mi range) which is not the most efficient Model 3 due to the extra weight from the AWD. The standard range (250mi range) Model 3, which also has a single motor like the i3, is more efficient.

From these data, it seems like the Model 3 is ahead on efficiency, particularly when you consider that it is a larger car with a significantly longer range (I'm seeing 114mi for the i3?). I'd be very interested in seeing other data. I don't have an EV (yet?) but am quite interested in the technology.

Sorry, I have to catch up on current models. The model s was what I was thinking of when I mention Tesla efficiency. What’s the consumption per mile on like the x and we can assume the truck will be worse due to larger tires and more wind resistance


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[weilke]

Anyone seen Musks 'explanations' on the cracked windows and weird shape ?

The man has a future in politics !

 

[deonb]

Could you say that in English? Or maybe it’s a typo? You have to charge for 24 hours to go 96 miles?

4 mph (or 96 miles/24 hours) sounds right for a standard 120v/15A outlet.

7 mph if it happens to be a 120v/20A outlet.

There is something called a Quick220 that will convert two 120v outlets (on separate legs of the breaker panel) to one 240v outlet. That will give you 11mph from 15A's, or 15mph from 20A's.

It's useful if you stay at a relative for Thanksgiving and want to overnight charge at their place. At home, rather install a 240V outlet if 120V is not fast enough for you - 240V/50A gives you 37 mph.

 

[Salty]

I knew it was bad, but I didn't realize it was that bad. That means you have to have a 220 to make an EV even remotely practical.

 

[JOhnH]

I knew it was bad, but I didn't realize it was that bad. That means you have to have a 220 to make an EV even remotely practical.

That is fairly common knowledge. 120V charging is only for very very light drivers or emergency situations. My wife could get buy with it because she only drives to work once or twice a week (semi retired) and few other errands. Most of the rest of the time she rides with me when we go places. When I get my Tesla Truck I'm going to have the biggest charger I can afford (or my panel can handle) installed.

 

[Salty]

That is fairly common knowledge. 120V charging is only for very very light drivers or emergency situations. My wife could get buy with it because she only drives to work once or twice a week (semi retired) and few other errands. Most of the rest of the time she rides with me when we go places. When I get my Tesla Truck I'm going to have the biggest charger I can afford (or my panel can handle) installed.

I thought I remembered reading you could get 90 miles in 10 hours from 110, which isn't great, but is workable for some people. 40 miles with an overnight charge isn't enough for anybody that drives anywhere every day.

 

[deonb]

I knew it was bad, but I didn't realize it was that bad. That means you have to have a 220 to make an EV even remotely practical.

Obviously depends. I used 120V for years when I "donated" my 240V outlet to the RV. I drive about 300 miles/week. It got 30-40 miles overnight on weekdays and 150 miles on the weekend. It worked out just fine.

It also depends on your battery size. On a small battery you can't "average out" usage over the course of a week.

 

[JOhnH]

I thought I remembered reading you could get 90 miles in 10 hours from 110, which isn't great, but is workable for some people. 40 miles with an overnight charge isn't enough for anybody that drives anywhere every day.

That surprised me too when I first realized that. Since then, I have never even considered getting and EV without an upgraded electric circuit. My friend that owns a Tesla bought a hangar home that was wired for a 220V/50Amp welder. He adapted it to charge his car. Works great.

 

[deonb]

I thought I remembered reading you could get 90 miles in 10 hours from 110, which isn't great, but is workable for some people. 40 miles with an overnight charge isn't enough for anybody that drives anywhere every day.

Actually 40 x 365 = 14'600 miles. That over the average yearly mileage (13'500). If the battery is big enough to smooth over the spikes it should work out fine for most people. Put another way, the average commute length per day is 32 miles.

So 120V is fine for "most" people. Not like in 99% of people, but 50.1% of people. It was for me anyway.

But installing 240V is so cheap, you might as well. If you happen to already have a 120V dedicated circuit in your garage, you can upgrade it to 240V/20A for under $20 - just swap out the breaker and outlet. That will give you 150 miles in 10 hours.

 

[Salty]

Actually 40 x 365 = 14'600 miles. That over the average yearly mileage (13'500). If the battery is big enough to smooth over the spikes it should work out fine for most people. Put another way, the average commute length per day is 32 miles.

So 120V is fine for "most" people. Not like in 99% of people, but 50.1% of people. It was for me anyway.

But installing 240V is so cheap, you might as well. If you happen to already have a 120V dedicated circuit in your garage, you can upgrade it to 240V/20A for under $20 - just swap out the breaker and outlet. That will give you 150 miles in 10 hours.

Always looking at the best case scenarios doesn't fly with me. 99% of people use their cars for more than just commuting. 32 miles a day is nowhere near adequate for the average person.

 

[FastEddieB]

Could you say that in English? Or maybe it’s a typo? You have to charge for 24 hours to go 96 miles?

No, that’s right. Full charge is roughly 40-50 miles and is easily achieved overnight. Faster chargers can be bought to drop that down to 3 hours or so with the right home wiring.

Remember, we’re talking plug-in hybrid, so once the EV range is exceeded, you just continue in hybrid mode. Just got back from a round trip to N Knoxville where maybe the last 10-15 miles was using gas. At current gas prices, no big deal.

 

[EdFred]

Actually 40 x 365 = 14'600 miles. That over the average yearly mileage (13'500). If the battery is big enough to smooth over the spikes it should work out fine for most people. Put another way, the average commute length per day is 32 miles.

So 120V is fine for "most" people. Not like in 99% of people, but 50.1% of people. It was for me anyway.

But installing 240V is so cheap, you might as well. If you happen to already have a 120V dedicated circuit in your garage, you can upgrade it to 240V/20A for under $20 - just swap out the breaker and outlet. That will give you 150 miles in 10 hours.

AND if you have extra breaker space. To get 240, you need both sides of your panel. It's not just putting in a 20A breaker in a 15A spot, and you better hope the wiring you've got is rated as well. If your breaker space is full, then you are going to be doing a bit more than $20 worth of work. I have 0 extra breaker space in my main panel. I have 1 extra breaker space in a sub panel - but that panel doesn't go to the garage. I do have oodles of breaker space in the detached garage. But then I have to walk outside in the rain or crap weather to get into the car, defeating the purpose of an attached garage.

 

[tspear]

Actually 40 x 365 = 14'600 miles. That over the average yearly mileage (13'500). If the battery is big enough to smooth over the spikes it should work out fine for most people. Put another way, the average commute length per day is 32 miles.

So 120V is fine for "most" people. Not like in 99% of people, but 50.1% of people. It was for me anyway.

But installing 240V is so cheap, you might as well. If you happen to already have a 120V dedicated circuit in your garage, you can upgrade it to 240V/20A for under $20 - just swap out the breaker and outlet. That will give you 150 miles in 10 hours.

That is a good way to start a fire. Not only does it likely violate building codes, it is really dangerous.

Tim

 

[MIFlyer]

AND if you have extra breaker space. To get 240, you need both sides of your panel. It's not just putting in a 20A breaker in a 15A spot, and you better hope the wiring you've got is rated as well. If your breaker space is full, then you are going to be doing a bit more than $20 worth of work. I have 0 extra breaker space in my main panel. I have 1 extra breaker space in a sub panel - but that panel doesn't go to the garage. I do have oodles of breaker space in the detached garage. But then I have to walk outside in the rain or crap weather to get into the car, defeating the purpose of an attached garage.

well, you don't want one anyway, but there are slim breakers available for most panels. you could replace a couple of full width breakers with a double slim to create room, assuming your panel and feed are OK https://images.homedepot-static.com.../square-d-tandem-breakers-qo1515c-64_1000.jpg

 

[EdFred]

well, you don't want one anyway, but there are slim breakers available for most panels. you could replace a couple of full width breakers with a double slim to create room, assuming your panel and feed are OK https://images.homedepot-static.com.../square-d-tandem-breakers-qo1515c-64_1000.jpg

Still gotta run new wire to the garage since 240 is going to need to 12-3 or 10-3 and the existing wire is 14-2 or 12-2. Unless you're suggesting to use black and white as hots and the copper as common. I always run a common, because if I'm going to have 220 somewhere, I want to make sure it will run everything that needs 220.

 

[chartbundle]

Still gotta run new wire to the garage since 240 is going to need to 12-3 or 10-3 and the existing wire is 14-2 or 12-2. Unless you're suggesting to use black and white as hots and the copper as common. I always run a common.

And add $100 for the GFCI breaker.

 

[MIFlyer]

That is a good way to start a fire. Not only does it likely violate building codes, it is really dangerous.

Tim

And add $100 for the GFCI breaker.

what GFI breaker for 240V?

Yes, you need to run new wire, if your panel isn't in the garage like 1/2 of them are. If I was doing this. I'd go ahead and pull a big enough wire to have a 60 or 80 A subpanel in the garage to cover other things I might want to do over time. Without consulting the tables, I think you need 8/3 wire, unless the length is far.