I'm not complaining, if this does come to pass, but don't underestimate the value of that frunk to some of us trying to use the S as a family car. being able to remove the extended battery when you need the space more than the range would be important. I have been getting SUV like sport utility out of the S lately and the frunk is a key component. this weekend I went out to Orcas Island, my mother's day present to the wife was taking the dog and two kids for the weekend while she had a girls weekend with some friends on Widbey island accept that we are also dog sitting for a neighbor so make that two dogs. I was able to comfortably fit two kids, two dog crates, a cooler, ten pieces of firewood and various gear throughout the car. Part of what sold me on the S is that it's pretty darn close in utility to the hybrid highlander it replaced and the frunk is an important part of what makes that doable. take the frunk away and it becomes less extraordinary as a family car, IMHO.
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Citizen-T
Active Member
You guys are really serious about this aren't you? You are all going to be as disappointed as you were with the financing announcement.
I have no idea what else it could be given the hints. I don't think its this, but then again, do you have another plausible explanation? Although, just note that he said that there is a way to charge your car faster (which we know is true), and that there is a 5th announcement as well (which we know is true as well). This doesn't directly mean that the 5th announcement is about fast charging, he could just be messing with us.
First get your units straight
Second, Metal-air battery range extender could, should and would work all the time except when the battery is full and car is Off.
Hence ~15kW is more than enough. Average speeds hardly exceed 50 mph, 250 miles takes ~5 hours in which you get 75 additional kWh.
Don't forget that spirited driving is not sustainable - internals overheat and power gets limited.
The best is the worst enemy of the good enough.
i must have missed it, which unit did I get wrong?
It's kwh if you are talking about energy, I was talking about power or what kind of driving experience, the aluminum-air battery should be able to discharge at a rate that is not a trickle charge but supports the full driving experience of the vehicle. If aggressive typical driving (like 85 mph for an hour) is available now in the Model S it should be available until the metal-air battery is used up as well.
In other words a 250 kWh aluminum-air battery range extender in a Model S should be no different driving experience to the driver than a 335 kWh li-ion pack.
Babylonfive
Power12
CT is just ticked we aren't all over in the 'swapping rechargeable pack' group drinking the koolaide. He's the one who's going to be disappointed. 8 \
jeff_adams
Member
I know this sounds a little nuts, but is there any chance something like a Stirling Engine could work in the Frunk? The electric motor in the Tesla creates heat. That's all a Stirling engine needs to make power. Perhaps the heat from the convertor and the motor could be used to run a small Stirling Engine and feed power back into the pack to extend range? It's a closed system, no pollution and maybe bleeding heat off the electric motor will allow more power (I know, not like the S needs more HP). I don't know how much heat a Stirling Engine needs to create power, but I do know they can be solar powered (but that takes a large parabolic dish).
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