Tesla unveils battery pack swapping

now if they can only get 500 miles on a 85kWh battery I'd be sold...

 

It depends on whether the car can 'see' the full kWh of the battery. The 40kWh cars they did produce have a 60kWh pack, but are programed to only use 40kWh. An owner of a 40kWh can now opt to gain access of the full battery for a fee.

For swapping for more performance to work all depends on where the software controlling the use of the pack's kWh is physically at. In the pack, no problem. In the car, you might be stuck at the pack 'size' that came with the car.

 

Elon although an innovator still gets challenged in NC and now NY. Amazing how people try and put him out of business

 

The informal discussion with someone at Tesla indicates that when you swap at the supercharger you will get the full functionality of the loaner battery, as well as an net invoice for the upgrade, and then when you swap back to your original you will get a net credit for the downgrade, plus a net ~$80 fee for the swap/energy.

What becomes an interesting option is that if you get the 85kWh option and then realize you are rarely using the capacity, you can also downgrade after the initial purchase.

With this recent development I can see a renewed interest in a 40kWh base model.

 

Yep. Better Place went bankrupt. Posted about it Better Place anyone? | Page 2 | PriusChat.

Funny thing is that supposedly Musk said each swap station is $500K. That is coincidentally the same amount as the cost of Better Place's stations... I'm unclear how widespread Tesla really plans on making these swapping stations outside the initial areas. Seems like a huge money pit to me.

edit: Fixed my post. Had a total brain fart earlier on the cost and was off by orders of magnitude.

 

Time will tell. I'm sure they did some market research but my gut says this is more PR than a profit center for the company.

 

So, the title and vehicle registration said you have 60kWh model but you actually have 85kWh battery pack. The weight of the vehicle would differ too. I wonder if that will cause any issue with DMV.

That include 50 battery packs available to swap. So, $10k per 85kWh pack? The cost of the swapping equipment must be pretty cheap.

 

When it comes to engine swaps in Pa, the only condition is that the replacement engine by the same year or newer than the vehicle. That's to prevent dirtier equipment from being put into a cleaner rated vehicle. Since engine swapping is somewhat common among the various mod crowds. I don't think the requires for the DMV are much more onerous than Pa's. I don't see a DMV caring what size the actual battery in the car is. The only ones that might raise an issue are insurance companies.

 

That's really interesting.
But at that cost and then having the responsibility of returning to reclaim my original battery pack? I think I'd rather just hang out for 30 minutes and recharge at the supercharge station.

 

I think most owners would agree with you. I think Tesla is just offering this to counter the 'charging takes too long in case of emergencies' arguement.

I wonder if the stand by batteries will be put to other uses while waiting for someone to swap with, like peak shaving.

 

I believe battery capacity is software switchable by Tesla. If you purchased a 60KW and they swap in a 85 the software will only govern to what you purchase

 

Ack! I screwed up. I meant each station is $500K, not $500 million.

I need to go back and fix my post. No, I doubt the $500K includes any pack costs.

Tesla answers questions about battery swap announcement has some answers and also mentions $500K per site.

 

Well ... the DMV didn't say anything when I added a second 20 gallon fuel tank to an F250.

 

And how long will those packs just waiting at the swapping station be there full of charge? That can't be good for the packs, can it?

 

Tesla has been very good with pack management.
I strongly suspect the swap stations will also be the stations that have energy storage on site.
I would guess that packs will be rotated into and out of the 'energy storage group' so few of the packs are 'full' at any one time and no single pack remains at 'full' for very long.

However, this is pure speculation based upon my experience with Tesla packs.
Your speculative question about the health of the batteries in storage is just as valid.
However, Musk seems to know what he is doing.

 

BYD in China, likewise, evaluated swappable packs and decided against it. An interesting concept with limited cost-effective practicality, after reading the fine print.

 

I would completely agree for a business focused only on battery swapping.
With the interplay of solar/grid storage/supercharging/battery swapping/BEVs I think it may just work as every part supports every other part.

 

At least you admitted it. That takes Integrity

 

Ah, so *this* was the previously announced demonstration showing a quick battery charge. A little misleading but a good option to have since Elon and Tesla are still bound by physics.

 

That makes me grin, too.
.