Of jugaad for power: Anand Mahindra impressed with Honda-powered Tesla

Tesla and electric cars it makes promise to usher in a new age of automotive mobility, one in which petrol and other fossil fuels may have no space at all. But it may not be quite the right time to write off petrol yet and a hilarious video shared by Anand Mahindra shows just why.

In the video shared by Mahindra, a man is seen explaining how he used a Honda generator which makes use of gasoline (petrol) to charge his Tesla vehicle. The generator uses the fossil fuel to become a mobile charging point for the EV and Mahindra was clearly impressed with what he saw. ""And we thought jugaad was purely an Indian talent! Hilarious. A Honda-powered Tesla..." he wrote on the micro-blogging site.

Using a gasoline generator to charge an EV when a regular charging point may not be available appears like an extremely innovative idea but it has raised questions about EVs and the purpose they serve. Operating cost of an EV is only a fraction when compared to a conventional vehicle but charging it using a petrol-powered generator may defeat this purpose. And the larger idea of reducing dependence on fossil fuels is also negated, apart from the possible impact on the environment.

There are still, however, range-related questions that plague EVs. Tesla cars are not immune to this. While companies are working overtime to improve range of EVs per charge and make batteries last longer, the need to develop infrastructure is also as crucial, if not more, to truly popularize EVs across the globe.