New Roadster Goodies for 2014

[bonnie]

Well, y'know ... doug sent me to Moderator School.

 

[bobinfla]

Kermit is back in the shop, and it's the battery. Fortunately for me, the battery is the only piece of the car that's under warranty at the moment. Unfortunately, when I tell them they can replace it with the new 400 mile battery, they just pat me on the head and smile tolerantly.

 

[Doug_G]

Way to take charge. You rock Bonnie!

Well, y'know ... doug sent me to Moderator School.

And this isn't even her section. Thanks for stepping up. :biggrin:

 

[kennethcwilbur]

Tesla Roadster To Get Replacement Battery, 400-Mile Range: Musk

This made my day:

Tesla Roadster To Get Replacement Battery, 400-Mile Range: Musk

No price announced yet though.

Now I just need Elon to retrofit the roadster for the supercharger network.

 

[kennethcwilbur]

We're getting new battery options!

This made my day:

Tesla Roadster To Get Replacement Battery, 400-Mile Range: Musk

No price announced yet. Now we just need to get retrofitted for the supercharger network.

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

latest update on my Tesla battery warranty issues over here and I suggest everyone reviews the legality of their Tesla warranties (IMO they are worthless).

 

[duquerr]

What about the new battery packs announced in July? 400 miles.... Sounds pretty good, particularly of it means access to Supercharger stations. I didn't see what the timeline is though; any ideas?

- - - Updated - - -

What about the new battery packs announced in July? 400 miles.... Sounds pretty good, particularly of it means access to Supercharger stations. I didn't see what the timeline is though; any ideas?

Article: http://cleantechnica.com/2014/08/06/tesla-roadster-400-miles-range-battery-pack-upgrade/

 

[Mitrovic]

This weekend I was on a car show in Luxemburg and happened to talk to a Tesla representative from the Netherlands. He seemed to be knowledgeable and said that the new battery pack will be available really soon and that the pricing will be astonishingly attractive, so that every roadster owner will want to replace the old battery….

 

[bonnie]

That will be news to the people in California .

 

[Mark77a]

This weekend I was on a car show in Luxemburg and happened to talk to a Tesla representative from the Netherlands. He seemed to be knowledgeable and said that the new battery pack will be available really soon and that the pricing will be astonishingly attractive, so that every roadster owner will want to replace the old battery….

Ohhhh I SO hope this is true and i guess Kevin Sharpe will too (he should be nominated as 1st Guinea Pig, err New battery recipient :smile: ) ... a much more positive step than locking horns legally with Tesla, IMHO conflicts rarely work, and Tesla has form.

 

[hcsharp]

That will be news to the people in California .

Ohhhh I SO hope this is true and i guess Kevin Sharpe will too (he should be nominated as 1st Guinea Pig, err New battery recipient :smile: ) ... a much more positive step than locking horns legally with Tesla, IMHO conflicts rarely work, and Tesla has form.

Bonnie's comment was another way of saying "That guy in Luxemburg didn't know what he was talking about." We would all be very happy if it was available soon but don't hold your breath. Unless you can hold it for several months.

 

[Botbldr45]

I think the idea of the improved battery pak is something that Elon would like to deliver. It would test new battery chemistry in the real world with a group of owners who have already proven willingness to step out of a comfort zone. I also think that the battery engineers collectively started taking Tums when he said it, the production team probably headed to the restrooms to yak a few lunches and the Board needed to stick their heads in paper bags to negate their hyperventilation!!!:scared:

I believe the Cosmic Tumblers ARE turning but I think it will take a lot of time for us to see this miracle.:crying:

 

[JRP3]

Unless they are giving owners the new pack for free I can pretty much guarantee they will not be "testing" anything new in these packs that hasn't already been tested in the real world. I'm also still inclined to think it will simply be the current crop of S cells that will be used, as previously stated up thread.

 

[Botbldr45]

Unless they are giving owners the new pack for free I can pretty much guarantee they will not be "testing" anything new in these packs that hasn't already been tested in the real world. I'm also still inclined to think it will simply be the current crop of S cells that will be used, as previously stated up thread.

Yea you are probably correct.

 

[dhrivnak]

Unless they are giving owners the new pack for free I can pretty much guarantee they will not be "testing" anything new in these packs that hasn't already been tested in the real world. I'm also still inclined to think it will simply be the current crop of S cells that will be used, as previously stated up thread.

The S cells will not get us to the 400 mile mark so it needs to be a generation newer. And it does not have to be "free" for a bunch of beta testers to jump on board. I bet even if the price was $15K most Roadster owners would jump on it and gladly test.

 

[Jackyche]

The S cells will not get us to the 400 mile mark so it needs to be a generation newer. And it does not have to be "free" for a bunch of beta testers to jump on board. I bet even if the price was $15K most Roadster owners would jump on it and gladly test.

Very few will do it "now" because very few need the range NOW. I'll wait until my current battery range is down to 120 miles.

Question: is there any motivation/incentive for Tesla to get these old cells off the streets ASAP? If not, I don't see any reason to low ball the price other than out of goodness of Elon's heart.

 

[JRP3]

The S cells will not get us to the 400 mile mark ....

Not a problem since there is no "400 mile mark" to reach. Elon's remarks included the words "probably" and "around" when describing the range. Then throw in some "Tesla range math" and you'll see that the current Model S cells can reach the criteria actually laid out by Elon, which was not really "400 miles".

 

[WarpedOne]

simply be the current crop of S cells that will be used, as previously stated up thread.

Not "current" as in "current MS" but current as in "current MX".

Powertrain Costs: At start of Model X production, Tesla will be using a next-gen Drive Unit and battery cells that are 10%+ more energetic per cell. These improvements will back-fill to Model S as well.

This is not a rumor, it is an internal plan.

A selfquote:

Tesla Roadster uses 6831 cells, MS85 uses 7104 cells.
Roadster has 2000mAh (53kWh/6831) usable/cell, MS85 has ~2900mAh (77kWh/7104) usable per cell.
How did elon got to 400? Elon-speak?
Not necessarily:
Powertrain Costs: At start of Model X production, Tesla will be using a next-gen Drive Unit and battery cells that are 10%+ more energetic per cell. These improvements will back-fill to Model S as well.



350 miles * 1,1 = 385 EPA miles
350 miles * 1,15 = 402 EPA miles

 

[JRP3]

Powertrain Costs: At start of Model X production, Tesla will be using a next-gen Drive Unit and battery cells that are 10%+ more energetic per cell. These improvements will back-fill to Model S as well.

Certainly possible, but where did you get that information?

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Question: is there any motivation/incentive for Tesla to get these old cells off the streets ASAP? If not, I don't see any reason to low ball the price other than out of goodness of Elon's heart.

ASAP? No, but there may come a point where it makes sense.
a) The current Roadster cells are sooooo 2000s so cells have to be sourced separately
b) There aren't many Roadsters; replacement would be quite sporadic
c) Extra range would up the value.

They could offer at cost just so they can have batch manufacturing.