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Toyota Replies To Fuel Cell Vehicle Critics: Tesla's Elon Musk Not Excluded

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Toyota continues to go full-throttle on fuel-cell vehicles. Even calling out critics in its latest promotional video this past week.

In a not-so-veiled reference to Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his comment about fuel-cell vehicles, Toyota captions the video, "Fueled by Bullsh*t | Presented by Toyota Mirai."

In the introduction, the narrator, citing fuel-cell critics, says that "some have even gone so far to call it bullsh*t."

That would be Elon Musk.  He made comments way back in October 2013 in this video.   At the 29:00 mark he said: "Fuel-cell is so bullsh*t.  The only reason fuel-cell is big...it's a marketing thing. But the reality is, you take the best-case for a fuel-cell vehicle...the cost of the fuel-cell system, it doesn't even equal the current state-of-the-art in lithium ion batteries."

Musk, in the video, goes on to talk about distribution system challenges for hydrogen fuel and claims that it's only suitable for rockets.

Toyota disagrees of course.  Toyota sees the hydrogen-powered Mirai as the future of the clean-emission car.  Toyota executives have stated that pure electric vehicles are suitable for short-distances but are not the answer to long distance travel because of the limited range of the battery packs and inefficient use of the power grid.  Toyota has even gone so far to say that it will abandon its 20-year effort to create viable electric-motor vehicles, as Automotive News reported last year.

Sales of the Mirai fuel-cell vehicle will begin in California later this year, "with sales areas expanding as infrastructure develops. Infrastructure development is underway in the Northeast and we expect to see sales in that area in 2016," Toyota said in response to an email query.

The Mirai went on sale in Japan in late December 2014.

And, of course, until the fuel-cell vehicle future arrives, Toyota continues to back hybrids (like the Prius) and plug-in hybrids.

So, who how big of a threat is the fuel-cell Mirai to Tesla? I asked John Voelcker of Green Car Reports, who immediately referred me to:  "10 Questions On Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Cars To Ask Toyota, Honda & Hyundai."

Some of the biggest challenges for fuel cell technology include:

--While hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, it "takes a large amount of energy to extract pure hydrogen from the other elements to which the atoms are tightly bound," according to Green Car Reports.

Voelcker, in his 10 questions, also cites:

--Distribution system challenges (a nascent system exists in California)

--Mass-market appeal (currently a much greater challenge than electrics)

--The increasing range of electric cars.

Toyota is undeterred.  (See Toyota's -- and Hyundai's -- response to the 10 questions here.)  The Japanese car maker plans to boost fuel cell vehicle production due to stronger than expected demand in Japan.  Demand for the Mirai has been strong from municipalities, businesses and affluent consumers, according to Toyota.

And the Japanese government is firmly behind the technology.  Examples in Japan include massive subsidies -- up to 3 million yen (about $25,500) in some areas for consumers (because of a sticker price in the neighborhood of $60,000), support for the creation of hydrogen filling stations, and easing regulations related to fuel cells.

In a fuel cell vehicle, hydrogen and oxygen are pulled into the fuel cells (in the FC Stack) and electricity is created through a chemical reaction. Only water is emitted out of the tailpipe.