Model S sans battery

[Johann Koeber]

After having announced fast battery swapping,
I wonder if the next logical step might be a slight change in the business model.

Why doesn't TESLA offer the option to buy a model S without any battery.
Swap in as needed.
Pay as you go.
You would be charged for the swap
plus a time based fee for the use of the battery.

This would be similar to the Renault business model here in Europe (don't know about US). They will sell you the car and lease the battery to you.

This would solve all the problems people are having about battery ownership, e.g.

- returning 'your' battery after a swap
- unknown life of the battery (battery anxiety?)
- which battery size to choose (you could easily swith 60/85 kWh depending on current needs)

Tesla could offer an under 50.000 $ car long before the Gen III. Open up to new groups of buyers.

Unknown to me:
Would a Model S sans battery qualify for the tax incentives?

I believe this would be another step towards offering private transport as a service.

 

[mknox]

Would a Model S sans battery qualify for the tax incentives?

Canada and the US have a Free Trade Agreement, but the Model S I bought was subject to import duties because of the value of the battery pack and the fact that the cells come from Japan (not North American made). There is some percentage of North American content that has to be met before products are exempt from duties.

I was hoping that I could buy the car and the battery separately, and only have to pay duty on the battery pack, but that wasn't an option when I ordered.

 

[sub]

One issue I see with chargers that was mentioned above is cars being left "charging" while the owner is off doing whatever. Maybe the way to solve this is for Tesla to charge you if you leave your car plugged in after it is charged. We live in an extremely inconsiderate society (though I think Tesla owners would be less so) and I can see this being an issue. Thoughts?

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

One issue I see with chargers that was mentioned above is cars being left "charging" while the owner is off doing whatever. Maybe the way to solve this is for Tesla to charge you if you leave your car plugged in after it is charged. We live in an extremely inconsiderate society (though I think Tesla owners would be less so) and I can see this being an issue. Thoughts?

That's another reason to put them at rest areas. Unless you 're meeting afriend who's picking you up in their model S, it's not really likely you'll want to leave your car charging longer than you have to. Remember that Broder got so bored waiting that he preferred to run out of charge.

 

[mitch672]

Johan, so now you may have a car payment, and a battery lease payment...
Also who will be paying for these thousands of leased packs?
It's not like Tesla has a well established financing arms like GM, Toyota, and Nissan have.

I think overall it's a good idea, but the devil is in the details, it will likely cost more per mile for a leasing situation, than buying the pack outright, because they are likely to put some mileage / usage restrictions on it (to prevent it from being abused by limo & taxi companies)

Who knows, maybe they are planning for this, and that's why they announced the swapping now...

 

[Kaivball]

What bank would finance a non-functioning car...?

The car without the battery is practically useless.

 

[Mayhemm]

One issue I see with chargers that was mentioned above is cars being left "charging" while the owner is off doing whatever. Maybe the way to solve this is for Tesla to charge you if you leave your car plugged in after it is charged. We live in an extremely inconsiderate society (though I think Tesla owners would be less so) and I can see this being an issue. Thoughts?

Isn't there an option on the Tesla mobile app to have it text you when your car is done charging? If not, there should be.

 

[mknox]

What bank would finance a non-functioning car...?

The car without the battery is practically useless.

You mean like an ICE with an empty gas tank? :smile: (... I know, the "tank" is still there).

 

[brianman]

Isn't there an option on the Tesla mobile app to have it text you when your car is done charging? If not, there should be.

Some of the providers (Blink, Chargepoint, for example) can be set to do that for you. That helps for some of the time.

 

[Mayhemm]

Unfortunately, both Blink and Chargepoint are US-centric. Not a lot of help.

 

[mknox]

Unfortunately, both Blink and Chargepoint are US-centric. Not a lot of help.

Lots of Chargepoint stations in Ontario (I have and use a Chargepoint RFID card). Not sure about Blink.