Poll: What is the 'something special' for Roadster owners from Tesla in 2014?

[Morlaixjam]

As a Roadster and a Model S owner in Europe (France).
I will really appreciate to have the possibility to control my roadster like the Model S via an Android or Apple cell phone application.
To have standard socket Type 2 (car side) to be able to charge at 70A with an AC 22kW charging station even using one phase (100 km per hours).
I think the nicer gift Tesla Motors could offer to the Roadster is to be able to update for some $ the PEM for accepting DC current on SuperCharger.

Hope, hope can become reality

 

[PatP]

As a Roadster and a Model S owner in Europe (France).
I will really appreciate to have the possibility to control my roadster like the Model S via an Android or Apple cell phone application.
To have standard socket Type 2 (car side) to be able to charge at 70A with an AC 22kW charging station even using one phase (100 km per hours).
I think the nicer gift Tesla Motors could offer to the Roadster is to be able to update for some $ the PEM for accepting DC current on SuperCharger.

Hope, hope can become reality

Bonjour du Quebec.
Great suggestions. As for controlling your Roadster from your mobile phone, there's a great inexpensive third party solution that works well:
OVMS Module for 2.x Tesla Roadsters | Open Vehicles

 

[wycolo]

Maybe not this go-around, but whenever the battery technology significantly improves, Tesla should build a replacement pack that is Supercharger capable (to the same extent the MS battery pack contains SC enabling devices). Then develop an SC module and charge port to be installed with the new pack. SC charge rate will be less than an MS of course, but the R has a smaller battery.

> Changing the pack takes much more time and effort and will require major testing for homologation. [PRJIM]

Denver Service showed me a new R battery in crate and they said it could be installed almost as quick as an MS. Why would replacement components need homologation??

Allowing Roadster access to SCs could be addressed in this fashion.
--

 

[PRJIM]

Maybe not this go-around, but whenever the battery technology significantly improves, Tesla should build a replacement pack that is Supercharger capable (to the same extent the MS battery pack contains SC enabling devices). Then develop an SC module and charge port to be installed with the new pack. SC charge rate will be less than an MS of course, but the R has a smaller battery.

> Changing the pack takes much more time and effort and will require major testing for homologation. [PRJIM]

Denver Service showed me a new R battery in crate and they said it could be installed almost as quick as an MS. Why would replacement components need homologation??

Allowing Roadster access to SCs could be addressed in this fashion.
--

I have seen a Roadster pack being installed, it takes several hours to install. Unless something has changed in the past 18 mos or so with regards to the method used to change the Roadster battery it is still a labor intensive process. By 2016 chances are there will be a new Roadster available that will be technically superior to our Roadster in almost every way. I do not think Tesla would invest a tidy of sum of money improving our "old tech" Roadsters.

 

[PokerBroker]

I have seen a Roadster pack being installed, it takes several hours to install. Unless something has changed in the past 18 mos or so with regards to the method used to change the Roadster battery it is still a labor intensive process. By 2016 chances are there will be a new Roadster available that will be technically superior to our Roadster in almost every way. I do not think Tesla would invest a tidy of sum of money improving our "old tech" Roadsters.

I think 2019/2020 is a more realistic date for a new Roadster. With the Model E slated for 2017 they will have their hands very full.

 

[Doug_G]

At Teslive Elon stated quite emphatically that Supercharging is not in the cards for Roadsters.

 

[PRJIM]

The more I think about this the more I am convinced that Tesla will be offering lower capacity packs. As Roadsters come out of warranty there will be a need for a cheaper alternative to the 53kwh pack. I know a few people that have had sheets replaced out of warranty and the costs were about 30% of what a new pack would cost. If a warranted 30kwh pack was available, I would imagine the take rate would be higher compared to an equal cost repair of the 53kwh pack. A lot of Roadster owners are Model S owners and mainly use their Roadster as a weekend fun car. I am not sure if this is relevant to the cool tweet but it would make sense for Tesla to offer a lower cost alternative to the 53kwh pack.

 

[hcsharp]

The more I think about this the more I am convinced that Tesla will be offering lower capacity packs. As Roadsters come out of warranty there will be a need for a cheaper alternative to the 53kwh pack. I know a few people that have had sheets replaced out of warranty and the costs were about 30% of what a new pack would cost. If a warranted 30kwh pack was available, I would imagine the take rate would be higher compared to an equal cost repair of the 53kwh pack. A lot of Roadster owners are Model S owners and mainly use their Roadster as a weekend fun car. I am not sure if this is relevant to the cool tweet but it would make sense for Tesla to offer a lower cost alternative to the 53kwh pack.

I might have to disagree with that. I don't know a single person who would buy a lower capacity pack. It would also suffer from lower performance, shorter life and slower charge rates. It would take more engineering and development time for Tesla than a larger capacity pack so I'd be surprised if they could even offer it for a lower price. Remember the 40kWh pack in the Model S? Almost nobody ordered it. It was costing Tesla more to make it than a 60kWh pack.

 

[Doug_G]

I would also have to disagree. No one is going to want to reduce the capability of the vehicle. I sure wouldn't.

 

[dsm363]

I would definitely not want a smaller pack. Even though it is a weekend car for many it would eliminate any road trips as you can't supercharge it. Bigger pack is needed actually.

 

[ChadS]

Now that I've got the Model S for road trips, I would definitely buy a cheaper, smaller pack for the Roadster. I would assume between fewer cells and more power-dense ones, they could keep the performance the same (though heck, I'd probably buy it even if performance drops a little).

However, the problem with that is (as noted here) that not everybody would want it - and they sure they heck aren't going to make a variety of replacements packs. If they make one at all (I'd rather they just sell a future replacement at reduced cost now; actual pack to be delivered later), I would think it would be a compromise to give everybody a little of something: a little cheaper, a little lighter, a little more range, a little more power.

 

[smorgasbord]

I don't know a single person who would buy a lower capacity pack. It would also suffer from lower performance, shorter life and slower charge rates.

+1

As WarpedOne said a bit upthread, they could offer a somewhat larger and somewhat lighter pack - so tasting great and less filling. Between more capacity and less weight the range would be better (maybe a Model S challenging 300 miles?). I don't know what limits on performance there are outside of the battery - the PEM and motor would need to be able to handle it. As a non-sport owner I hate to say it, but perhaps only the Sport model could really get the performance advantage a more powerful battery would have?

But, this isn't what Elon has in mind for Roadster owners this year.

 

[WarpedOne]

Tesla Roadster uses 6831 cells, MS85 uses 7104 cells.
Roadster has 2000mAh (53kWh/6831) usable/cell, MS85 has ~2900mAh (77kWh/7104) usable per cell.

Transplantation of MS' cells into roadster battery pack should yield about 53 kWh * 2900/2000 = 77 kWh usable, improvement of 45%. This would result in ~350 EPA mile range.

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