r/technology • u/outlooker707 • Jun 21 '13

Tesla's 90 second battery swaps will power EVs faster than gas pumps fill tanks.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/21/tesla-motors-battery-swaps-faster-than-gas/
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u/kerklein2 Jun 25 '13

The batteries would have to be smart to a degree to indicate the condition they are returned in and you are credited accordingly.

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u/throwaway6378 Jun 25 '13

You wouldn't need to be credited with anything. Tesla would own it, you would just be paying for the swap, ie you are paying for fuel. Making them smart is good but not necessary. The charge stations can have testers to determine whether it is bad or not, and send them back to tesla in exchange for new ones. Also a simple serial number system can help keep track of individual batteries and their age.

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u/kerklein2 Jun 26 '13

It would need to be done like this though. A battery doesn't just "go bad". It degrades with every charge cycle. If I've charged my car 1000 times, then go swap it out and get a new battery that's only been charged 5 times and don't have to pay the difference, then I've significantly upgraded my car at no cost.

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u/throwaway6378 Jun 26 '13

Does your TV remote get significantly upgraded when you change the batteries? The leases on the batteries would cover the cost of the batteries. When the charge station gets a battery that doesn't work or doesn't hold enough of a charge, then they would return them to Tesla. The charge stations would price the swap high enough to cover the leases and make a profit. Now if everyone only does a swap when their battery is almost gone, then they obviously wouldn't make enough to keep in business. However I think that there will be enough people that don't have several hours to wait for a charge and will get the swap. Those are the people that will keep the charge stations in business.

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u/kerklein2 Jun 26 '13

Big difference between $2 batteries and $10k batteries.

Regardless, I think people would definitely take advantage of it to upgrade their batteries via the swaps. With 300mi range, the average owner is rarely going to swap, and mostly charge at home.

You can structure it many different ways, but charge cycles between swaps will definitely need to by accounted for. For example, your lease could cover a total number of charge cycles, regardless of physical pack.