5 minute battery change?

Eldictator said:

Hi everyone I'm new to the forum and showing some love for the great model s

I've seen this 5 minute battery change figure banded around, I'm a little confused by it.
1, Does this mean complete mechanical noobs like me can just undo a few cables and manually lift out the battery and replace it/remove it?

2, will better batteries be available in say 5 years that we can replace our old s ones with, with better charging times and range or will it be similar to a mobile phone, where you get stuck until 3 years later when the new model has a better life

Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum!
1. Here is the thread on the 5 minute swap in the Model S:
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/tesla-model-s-whitestar/2496-removable-swappable-pack-options.html

In general, I don't think there are details yet. However, because the battery pack is quite heavy (the one is the Roadster is 900lbs), I don't think Tesla intends battery swapping to be done at home

A big backer of battery swapping is Project Better Place (PBP). In this case, the idea is battery swapping is a replacement for quick refueling a vehicle (done in less than 2 minutes) and the battery swapping is done by robotics. You can see a video demonstrating battery swapping in the link below, and the thread goes into discussion on PBP:
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/electric-vehicles/635-project-better-place-14.html#post28187

PBP is based on a subscription model, where you buy miles and you don't own the battery (the car is also subsidized like a cellphone). This is different from what Tesla is doing (you own the car and the batteries). I think the only model of battery swapping that Tesla can do is to rent out bigger battery packs for longer trips (the Model S has 3 sizes) and when you come back from the trip, you can get your original battery pack back.

2. Tesla is already offering an option of the prepaying a replacement battery for the Roadster. I expect something similar for the Model S. And Tesla so far is using laptop cells, which come in a standard size, so they should be replaceable.

If you have any other questions, you can always try the search button (and search for posts instead of threads for more accuracy). That's how I dug up the older threads on battery swapping. You can also look at the stickies for the subtopics (Tesla Model S in this case). Usually it'll have a lot of the general topics that people are interested in.

Eldictator said:

Hi everyone I'm new to the forum and showing some love for the great model s

I've seen this 5 minute battery change figure banded around, I'm a little confused by it.
1, Does this mean complete mechanical noobs like me can just undo a few cables and manually lift out the battery and replace it/remove it?

2, will better batteries be available in say 5 years that we can replace our old s ones with, with better charging times and range or will it be similar to a mobile phone, where you get stuck until 3 years later when the new model has a better life

Click to expand...

1. Maybe, if you have access to a forklift or something like that to lift the battery out. But you're not supposed to. They propose a solution where a robot will swap batteries for you.

2. That would be a side effect, if and only if the car makers decide to provide improved batteries to owners of existing cars. They might, and they might not.

But I really can't see this battery swapping idea succeed. You would need twice as many batteries, chargers and high power outlets, plus they will have to haul those batteries around to make sure they are where they are needed, plus all car makers will have to standardize the size, shape and position of the battery.

Who's going to pay for all that? The customer, obviously. I think most people will just quick charge while having lunch.