Elon Musk confirms Tesla Model S battery swaps, demo coming this week
06-18-13, 12:08 PM
#1
Elon Musk confirms Tesla Model S battery swaps, demo coming this week
Elon Musk confirms Tesla Model S battery swaps, demo coming this week
For something as secret as a battery swap option in the Tesla Model S electric vehicle, we sure have heard rumors about it for years. Four (!) years ago, after all, we knew that the Model S was designed to accommodate battery swaps and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has talked about taking long-distance EV trips that included battery swaps, and Tesla's proprietary Supercharger network was supposed to have a battery swap component at one time. But then the discussion shifted to focus on that Supercharger network, and how, by stopping for lots of 20-minute sandwiches along the way, a cross-country EV road trip would be totally doable. And, for a while, the Tesla battery swapping talk disappeared.
Until, of course, Musk brought it back a month ago by tweeting: "There is a way for the Tesla Model S to be recharged throughout the country faster than you could fill a gas tank." That set off a fresh search for information, which we now know we will be cleared up later this week.
Yesterday, Musk tweeted: "Live pack swap demo on Thurs night at 8pm California time at our design studio in Hawthorne. Seeing is believing." He also tweeted that Better Place founder Shai Agassi "actually got the idea from a visit to Tesla. The idea is obvious (many things allow battery swap), but the technology is not."
We have so many questions about this new option: does it apply to all Model S vehicles? Will it be free, like Supercharging? Will the swap locations be at Tesla stores, Supercharger stations or at other locations? Why is Tesla thinking of battery swaps when it's also been so bullish on its fast-charging technology? We'll try to find answers to all of these questions when the first public swap is performed live on Thursday.
http://green.autoblog.com/2013/06/18...o-coming-this/
06-18-13, 01:41 PM
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For a long time I've talked about battery swapping being the only way I will ever take EVs seriously, and Tesla is now going to make it a reality? Simply amazing if they can pull it off. Go Tesla!!
06-18-13, 04:08 PM
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Wow, impressive.. between the extended miles per charge on their battery packs, the supercharging station network, and the ability to quickly swap out batteries, Tesla will successfully be able to quell the concerns that so many potential buyers have had about EVs. This is amazing news. I really hope they pull it off. Can't wait to see the demonstration on this! 
06-21-13, 12:07 AM
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Electric car maker Tesla unveils 90-second battery pack swap
(Reuters) - Tesla Motors Inc on Thursday unveiled a system to swap battery packs in its electric cars in about 90 seconds, a service Chief Executive Elon Musk said will help overcome fears about their driving range.
The automaker will roll out the battery-swapping stations later this year, beginning along the heavily-traveled route between Los Angeles and San Francisco and then in the Washington-to-Boston corridor.
"There are some people, they take a lot of convincing," Musk said at an event at Tesla's Los Angeles design studio. "Hopefully this is what convinces people finally that electric cars are the future."
Electric cars have been slow to catch on with consumers because of their high price, limited driving range and lack of a charging infrastructure. Tesla has been working to address some of those issues with fast-charging stations and now with the battery-swapping technology.
A battery pack swap will cost between $60 and $80, about the same as filling up a 15-gallon gas tank, Musk said. Drivers who choose to swap must reclaim their original battery on their return trip or pay the difference in cost for the new pack.
Musk demonstrated two Model S battery pack swaps in the time it took for a car on a screen above the stage to fill up with gas, about four minutes.
The stations will cost about a half a million dollars each to build. They will be located alongside Tesla's fast-charging stations, which take around 30 minutes to charge the car's battery.
Musk told Reuters earlier this week that the battery-replacement network would entail an investment of $50 million to $100 million.
In contrast to several traditional automakers that have rolled out electric vehicles that failed to live up to expectations, Tesla has sold thousands of its luxury electric cars. Investors have embraced the company's strategy and Tesla shares have nearly tripled this year.
The announcement comes a month after Better Place, an electric vehicle company whose business was centered around battery swapping, said it would liquidate.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...95K07H20130621
I think $60-$80 makes sense and is a fair price, though IMO I think it should be closer to $60 than $80. A regular car driving cross country will not need to stop for gas as often as a Tesla driver, so will not be filling up as often. However, with the labor involved in swapping out a pack, the higher $80 pricing also makes sense.
I think the idea of them allowing customers to take the new pack home with them and having customers pay the difference is interesting, but I wonder how they will calculate the "difference"?
(Reuters) - Tesla Motors Inc on Thursday unveiled a system to swap battery packs in its electric cars in about 90 seconds, a service Chief Executive Elon Musk said will help overcome fears about their driving range.
The automaker will roll out the battery-swapping stations later this year, beginning along the heavily-traveled route between Los Angeles and San Francisco and then in the Washington-to-Boston corridor.
"There are some people, they take a lot of convincing," Musk said at an event at Tesla's Los Angeles design studio. "Hopefully this is what convinces people finally that electric cars are the future."
Electric cars have been slow to catch on with consumers because of their high price, limited driving range and lack of a charging infrastructure. Tesla has been working to address some of those issues with fast-charging stations and now with the battery-swapping technology.
A battery pack swap will cost between $60 and $80, about the same as filling up a 15-gallon gas tank, Musk said. Drivers who choose to swap must reclaim their original battery on their return trip or pay the difference in cost for the new pack.
Musk demonstrated two Model S battery pack swaps in the time it took for a car on a screen above the stage to fill up with gas, about four minutes.
The stations will cost about a half a million dollars each to build. They will be located alongside Tesla's fast-charging stations, which take around 30 minutes to charge the car's battery.
Musk told Reuters earlier this week that the battery-replacement network would entail an investment of $50 million to $100 million.
In contrast to several traditional automakers that have rolled out electric vehicles that failed to live up to expectations, Tesla has sold thousands of its luxury electric cars. Investors have embraced the company's strategy and Tesla shares have nearly tripled this year.
The announcement comes a month after Better Place, an electric vehicle company whose business was centered around battery swapping, said it would liquidate.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...95K07H20130621
I think $60-$80 makes sense and is a fair price, though IMO I think it should be closer to $60 than $80. A regular car driving cross country will not need to stop for gas as often as a Tesla driver, so will not be filling up as often. However, with the labor involved in swapping out a pack, the higher $80 pricing also makes sense.
I think the idea of them allowing customers to take the new pack home with them and having customers pay the difference is interesting, but I wonder how they will calculate the "difference"?
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06-21-13, 11:25 AM
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A battery pack swap will cost between $60 and $80, about the same as filling up a 15-gallon gas tank, Musk said. Drivers who choose to swap must reclaim their original battery on their return trip or pay the difference in cost for the new pack.
Still it's a good step in the right direction.
06-21-13, 04:02 PM
#10
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Very cool!
