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Battery Swap Now in Beta

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MrClown

Autosteer Beta Tester
Oct 3, 2014
225
51
Denver
Elon tweeted: Pack swap now operating in limited beta mode for SF to LA route. Can swap battery faster than visiting a gas station. Tesla blog out soon.

Good to see this finally coming to fruition; an exciting development for sure. I hope the blog post has good details.
 
The more interesting bits:

"Starting next week, we will pilot a pack swap program with invited Model S owners."
"available by appointment and will cost slightly less than a full tank of gasoline for a premium sedan."
"More time is needed to remove the titanium and hardened aluminum ballistic plates that now shield the battery pack, so the swap process takes approximately three minutes."
 
Well, bummer, the blog post didn't really say the thing I was most curious about, which is how they're going to deal with the fact the car no longer has the same battery. What happens to the warranty? Do you have to swap back? If you have to swap back, what if you crash before you swap back? Are A/B/C/D/E/F packs interchangeable or are you out of luck if it doesn't have your variant? Can you swap 60->85?

I'm far more interested in the logistics of how they'll manage the swaps than in the technical aspect itself. Not that the technical aspect isn't cool, but it was already a known quanity.
 
Well, bummer, the blog post didn't really say the thing I was most curious about, which is how they're going to deal with the fact the car no longer has the same battery. What happens to the warranty? Do you have to swap back? If you have to swap back, what if you crash before you swap back? Are A/B/C/D/E/F packs interchangeable or are you out of luck if it doesn't have your variant? Can you swap 60->85?

I'm far more interested in the logistics of how they'll manage the swaps than in the technical aspect itself. Not that the technical aspect isn't cool, but it was already a known quanity.
Much of that was answered at the initial unveiling. You are expected to return and pick up your original pack on the return trip, the warranty is unaffected, and if you want to keep the new pack, you must pay the difference in value between the two (this could be a significant amount)
As for your other questions:
A/B/C/D/E/F packs are likely interchangeable (no guarantees, but we've seen no reason they can't be, and some people who have had batteries replaced on warranty have ended up with a different revision than they started with
60->85 appears to be technically feasible, but no idea if they will allow it.
What if you get in an accident? Seems obvious to me that you are considered to have "kept" the new pack (at price differential) and let the insurance company sort it out.
 
For those that believe Supercharging is a sufficient solution, I don't entirely disagree with you on a personal level.

Now that Tesla has come along, I see only two remaining hurdles to widespread adoption of EVs...as in killing the ICE (as far as automotive applications are concerned) for good. Electric performance is better. Efficiency is better. Safety is better. Noise levels are lower. Reliability is better. Emissions are lower. Fuel is cheaper. Motors are smaller. There are only 2 remaining hurdles:

1. Range. Think of the most common question you get from non-owners. It is most likely "how far can it go on a charge?"
2. Cost. EVs are currently too expensive for the masses.

The P85D should drive a stake in the heart of any remaining fools questioning EV performance :). Regarding cost, the Gigafactory and time will take care of this.

As far as range is concerned, there will always be people who say "yeah but I don't want to stop for 40 minutes every 220 miles". Although most of us owners realize stopping for Supercharging is not usually a big deal, the alternative of a 5 minute gas stop will always be preferable to a not-insignificant portion of the masses (as silly as it is. You know the fuel at Superchargers is free, right folks? What price do you put on your time?)

The reality is that swap stations drive a stake through the heart of hurdle 1. Even a "slow" 3 minute battery swap (fast enough for now, Tesla!) is faster than you'll ever get at a gas station. AND you don't have to leave your car.

With swap stations, a 5 minute fuel stop in which you get out of the car into the weather and stand at a dirty pump sniffing fumes now looks like (and is) the crappier of the two options. With hurdle 1 knocked out and hurdle 2 dwindling over the next few years, there are really no arguments left to stick to ICEs.

If the battery swap stations are implemented, Then within 5-10 years you'd have to be a fool NOT to get an EV.
 
I wonder if 60's will be eligible? I doubt they will have 60KWh batteries for swapping. If they allow a temporary swap to an 85, that will hinder 85 sales and thus SuperCharger funding because 60 owners can do swap stations for long trips and never pat the SC access fee.
 
I wonder if 60's will be eligible? I doubt they will have 60KWh batteries for swapping. If they allow a temporary swap to an 85, that will hinder 85 sales and thus SuperCharger funding because 60 owners can do swap stations for long trips and never pat the SC access fee.
99% of us don't live within range of a swap station, you'll still see sales of 60KWh cars.
 
I wonder if 60's will be eligible? I doubt they will have 60KWh batteries for swapping. If they allow a temporary swap to an 85, that will hinder 85 sales and thus SuperCharger funding because 60 owners can do swap stations for long trips and never pat the SC access fee.

Assuming the cost for a battery swap is $60 (and it's likely going to be higher than that), at your 34th "swap" you will have paid over $2,000, which I believe is the cost of Supercharger access for 60's. I don't think that's going to hinder 85 sales.