Is Tesla bringing back the 40 kWh?

[fuelsman]

On the Tesla Accessories Store in the listing for the CHAdeMO adapter there is a notice that 60 kWh can upgrade to use it but it is not available for 40 kWh. Is this for the few de rated 60 kWh Model S or are they considering bringing back the 40 kWh model.

 

[wormhole]

No, they produced some 40's early on, just a disclaimer.

 

[Vexar]

Technically, the 40kwh is a software-disabled 60kwh. I don't know if there is a difference other than that. Honestly, spending $10,000 to upgrade the battery later might work for some people. They get the 160 mile range to start, and then later when they have had a few thousand miles under their belt, and $10,000 in their pocket, they upgrade. A difference of $10,000 to get started with a Tesla makes the difference for some households.

 

[Rifleman]

Not likely, but I wish they would. My current plan is to try to pick up a used 60 when my volt lease ends in 2015, but if a new 40 was available, I would much rather go that route. A new 40 would stretch my budget, but a new 60 would break it. Maybee in a year or so, once production is caught up with demand, Tesla will come up with a way to bridge the price and time gap between S60 and GenIII.

 

[Lump]

I understand the 40kWh only got 4% of sales but now that Superchargers are opening weekly I would think there would be greater demand especially in California, soon you will be able to travel from the Bay area to San Diego using only Superchargers with the 40's 160 mile range.

The 40kWh might not have the same profit margins compared to the 85 P+ but wouldn't it make sense to offer it & watch people upgrade like we witness daily? Removes a lot of the "rich mans car" remarks & brings more into the family.

 

[Brandonm]

I don't think supercharging was ever available on the 40, at the very least it's not available on the "40"'s that are out in the wild now (have to upgrade to 60 before you can turn on the supercharging hardware).

 

[Lump]

I don't think supercharging was ever available on the 40, at the very least it's not available on the "40"'s that are out in the wild now (have to upgrade to 60 before you can turn on the supercharging hardware).

Oops, I totally forgot about that small detail, oh well.

 

[martinwinlow]

I, too, wish Tesla would re-consider their decision to abandon a 40kWh version of the Model S. Especially for the European markets where there is not quite such a call for high range capability. With a comprehensive SuperCharger network installed, 160 mile range would suit 99% of car journeys in the UK and probably most other European countries too. That said, if there is some technical reason why you can't SuperCharge the original design of 40kWh pack, then it wouldn't work anyway. I suspect, however, the original plan to not allow 40kWh S' to use the SuperChargers was more to do with marketing than physics.

Offering a 40kWh S in Europe would probably double their potential customer base - if it really was $10k cheaper. Like Rifleman, as things stand, I will be looking for a 'used' 60kWh S in 18 months or so. MW

 

[RobStark]

I, too, wish Tesla would re-consider their decision to abandon a 40kWh version of the Model S. Especially for the European markets where there is not quite such a call for high range capability. With a comprehensive SuperCharger network installed, 160 mile range would suit 99% of car journeys in the UK and probably most other European countries too. That said, if there is some technical reason why you can't SuperCharge the original design of 40kWh pack, then it wouldn't work anyway. I suspect, however, the original plan to not allow 40kWh S' to use the SuperChargers was more to do with marketing than physics.

Offering a 40kWh S in Europe would probably double their potential customer base - if it really was $10k cheaper. Like Rifleman, as things stand, I will be looking for a 'used' 60kWh S in 18 months or so. MW

160 mile range suits 99% of car journeys in the USA too. But only 4% of American customers wanted that model. It is not only range but performance that suffers. People that don't care about 200 mile plus range nor performance tend to go for the Nissan Leaf and save some money.

On the 85kwh model you have to go much slower charging the last 20% of capacity. It takes as much time to charge the last 20% as the first 80%.

For long battery life you don't want to make a habit of draining the battery below 20% capacity. This diminishes the advantages to supercharging for the 40kwh model.

 

[vfx]

I don't think supercharging was ever available on the 40, at the very least it's not available on the "40"'s that are out in the wild now (have to upgrade to 60 before you can turn on the supercharging hardware).

Is there an official statement on this?


BTW the range on the 40 is 140, not 160 as stated three times above.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

I, too, wish Tesla would re-consider their decision to abandon a 40kWh version of the Model S. Especially for the European markets where there is not quite such a call for high range capability. With a comprehensive SuperCharger network installed, 160 mile range would suit 99% of car journeys in the UK and probably most other European countries too. That said, if there is some technical reason why you can't SuperCharge the original design of 40kWh pack, then it wouldn't work anyway. I suspect, however, the original plan to not allow 40kWh S' to use the SuperChargers was more to do with marketing than physics.

Offering a 40kWh S in Europe would probably double their potential customer base - if it really was $10k cheaper. Like Rifleman, as things stand, I will be looking for a 'used' 60kWh S in 18 months or so. MW

The 40kWh was going to use an older (presumably cheaper) chemistry but as I see it, it simply didn't generate sufficient demand to be profitable. I'm sure Tesla was thinking it would be a larger chunk, but it turned out either people weren't buying or were going for the 60kWh.

My view is that the decision not to allow 40kWh Supercharging was not marketing, it was business. Smaller batteries have shorter range and charge more slowly in miles per hours, leading to a much higher charge:drive ratio. 40kWh with Supercharging would more than quadruple the required number of Superchargers due to decreased range and increased charger congestion.

Once you take away Supercharging the vehicle becomes more limited and given a base cost that already puts the car well into the luxury segment, I think it meant buyers either didn't buy or paid the incremental cost of 60kWh and Supercharging.

I'm sure Tesla is happy not to sell a 40kWh Model S at low margin and instead and sell the currently disappointed buyers a high-margin loaded Model E.

 

[Man_Utd]

Is there an official statement on this?


BTW the range on the 40 is 140, not 160 as stated three times above.

As a 40 owner, it's 140. That's what I tell everyone.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Oh and back directly to the topic, the answer is no, they aren't.

However, there are 40s (60s in disguise) out there so they put "Not available for the 40kWh", likely meaning, if you want CHAdeMO you need to upgrade to your 40 to the 60 and then buy it. Basically, no 60, no DC.