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What price will Tesla charge for a straight upgrade to the ~400 mile Roadster pack?

What price will Tesla charge for a straight upgrade to the ~400 mile Roadster pack?

  • It will be free to all!

    Votes: 1 1.0%
  • $5,000 with trade-in of old pack in good condition (i.e., normal wear & tear)

    Votes: 5 5.0%
  • $10,000 with trade-in of old pack in good condition

    Votes: 30 30.0%
  • $20,000 with trade-in of old pack in good condition

    Votes: 37 37.0%
  • $30,000 with trade-in of old pack in good condition

    Votes: 16 16.0%
  • $40,000 or so, kinda regardless of trade-in

    Votes: 8 8.0%
  • Nothing, because there will be no upgrade...

    Votes: 3 3.0%

  • Total voters
    100
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pharma5

Roadster F#25, Model 3 #36xx
Nov 22, 2011
569
129
central NJ
We have a poll question already about timing for the announced Roadster pack upgrade. This question looks at cost.

To keep it simple, "straight upgrade" means choosing to swap out an older pack that is otherwise in good condition (i.e., "normal" wear & tear level of degradation for its mileage). It does not include swap in connection with a warranty claim or as part of a prepaid battery replacement agreement.

Thanks in advance for participating.
 
What price will Tesla charge for a straight upgrade to the ~400 mile Roadster...

When has any Roadster upgrade from Tesla ever been cheap? Price of double DIN and carbon fiber upgrades are prime examples.

For a 400 mile range, the pack will need to be about 90 kWh. Tesla is charging $280 per kWh as a price differential between the 60 and 85.

Model S Battery Pack - Cost Per kWh Estimate - Page 48

Using the same pricing as a benchmark puts the new Roadster pack around $25K. Plus with some extra to recoup R&D, labour to custom build the pack and installation costs, I think it will be $30-40K at a minimum.
 
The Nissan Leaf replacement packs come in at $5k, hopefully that puts some pressure on Tesla to have a lower price. They need to make a statement that its cost effective to own an electric car over the years and if they shoot the pack up to $25k-40k I feel that'll scare many soon to be electric car customers away. Issue is the cost to produce the pack can't be as economical sound as it could be since the G-plant isn't up and running. However Nissan did it already so why can't Tesla do it, offer an economical replacement and bring more customers on board though confidence and security.
 
How about a poll on "how much would you pay" for the upgrade right now?
In 5 years?

I think we could add one like that after getting through the current set. These are focused right now on what we think Tesla is going to do - first the timing question, now price.

In January I posted a question on reaction to a hypothetical 80 kwh pack to gauge relative importance of timing, cost, and circumstances of swapping. Those results are here:
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/25833-How-would-you-respond-if-an-80-kwh-Roadster-pack-were-available-in-2014
 
I am guessing the "400 mile" pack will be the identical 6831 cell design, but with model S cells.

(85 kWh)(6831 cells/7104 cells) = 81.7 kWh

I would guess that Tesla will have to charge about $30,000 to make a small profit after all fixed and per unit expenses.

Of course, Tesla may decide to subsidize the replacement packs, like GM's $3000 Volt pack or Nissan's $5-6,000 Leaf pack. This helps sell the cars, and they can make good money on the other parts without potential buyers being concerned.

GSP
 
Much smaller and lighter car though. Won't need anywhere near as much juice for the same range.

Yes, but that's already factored in to the range estimate. Roadster is 230 Wh/mi ideal, so would need about 92kWh to go 400 miles. The Roadster pack has less cells than the Model S pack - to get 92kWh out of a smaller pack they'll need to use higher capacity cells. Credit Suisse reported the Model X will use cells with 10% higher capacity, which fits well with the new Roadster pack estimate.
 
Don't forget that Tesla is now making money by charging for almost everything when you bring your car in for service, whereas in the past everything seemed to be included. Plus they have the Federal carbon credits plus many other incentives that has allowed them to exist and make a profit. I agree that perhaps it is wishful thinking that they will charge $5K or less but it is within the realm of possibilities unless they upgrade more than the pack. Perhaps depending on how old the pack is, how many miles driven on the pack, the health of the pack will be taken into consideration.
 
Don't forget that Tesla is now making money by charging for almost everything when you bring your car in for service, whereas in the past everything seemed to be included. Plus they have the Federal carbon credits plus many other incentives that has allowed them to exist and make a profit. I agree that perhaps it is wishful thinking that they will charge $5K or less but it is within the realm of possibilities unless they upgrade more than the pack. Perhaps depending on how old the pack is, how many miles driven on the pack, the health of the pack will be taken into consideration.
Upgrade to 400 mile pack is not a money making operation for tesla. There are so many other investments/research they could do with the money. Minimal number of cars with less than all to buy upgrade is not a business model. I for one am grateful they will do this. I am not claiming that they will give away pack but realize this is more a diversion for them at a critical time. This is Elons way of supporting those who supported tesla in early stages
 
Upgrade to 400 mile pack is not a money making operation for tesla...Minimal number of cars with less than all to buy upgrade is not a business model... This is Elons way of supporting those who supported tesla in early stages

Agreed. Realistically, over the next 10 years Tesla may sell less than 1,000 of the upcoming higher capacity Roadster battery packs. Hardly a revenue stream. I think it possible, even likely, that Tesla will offer them at cost. What Tesla's cost will be is unknown but it seems like it would be over $10K per pack.

In my dreams I see Elon personally subsidizing much of the cost as his way of thanking those first Roadster buyers for believing so strongly in Tesla and its goals that they were willing to spend over $100K on a completely new car from a brand new auto company.
 
One reason that Tesla may error on the side of affordability is to prove to the Model S and Model X people that batteries ARE replaceable and will not cost more than the purchase of a new car. The battery, life and cost are two of the most cited concerns against owning an EV. If the pack were to come out at $30,000 many argue, correctly so that $30,000 buys a LOT of gasoline. Enough to drive 200,000 miles here.