Roadster battery insurance plan

[ViviV]

Does anyone have the details on the terms of the original Roadster Battery Insurance Plan?
I emailed Tesla customer service, gave them my VIN# and asked if the original owner of my Roadster had purchased battery insurance. Without this forum I would not have even known that there was such a thing as battery insurance (thank you). To my surprise (but not really because the previous owner purchased every other accessory that was available) the answer I got was that "The original owner did purchase the battery replacement insurance plan, it is transferrable as long as you bought the vehicle from a private party and not a dealership."

This is important information because it shows:
1) If you are going to purchase a Roadster it may matter where you purchase it from.
2) you can contact Tesla to check on the battery insurance if you have purchased a pre-owned Roadster

Two weeks ago (before I found out about the insurance), I put a deposit down on the battery upgrade. The next day I was contacted by my Service Center Advisor that it was ready to install by August 7th! I had no idea it would happen so quickly. I thought it would take months to get the upgrade. Therefore, I told them I wanted to hold off and get some questions answered before proceeding because I am concerned about some of the TMC posts about performance, range and stability of 3.0 battery. I am waiting for them to get me some answers to these questions since I am in no rush to upgrade. My CAC is 145 and on std range charges to 177 (which is decreased from 6 months ago when CAC was 151 and std range was 190) -- more than enough for my 50 mile daily commute.

So now I know that I have battery insurance, but I don't know the terms of the insurance and what impact that has on getting a 3.0 upgrade, if any. Any advice and additional information will be much appreciated.

 

[MileHighMotoring]

Oh friend do I have great news for you indeed.

The Battery Replacement Option allows you to do the 3.0 battery upgrade for only $6K! That's a $24,000 savings.

 

[ViviV]

Oh friend do I have great news for you indeed.

The Battery Replacement Option allows you to do the 3.0 battery upgrade for only $6K! That's a $24,000 savings.

Great news @MileHighMotoring -- Do you have that written in some document as proof of this or can you share a communication with Tesla that states this?

 

[hcsharp]

Does anyone have the details on the terms of the original Roadster Battery Insurance Plan?

It's not really an insurance plan although there are some similarities. They also sold an extended warranty which was much more like insurance. Like the first owner of your car, I also purchased the replacement option. I can't find it right now but the conditions are complicated enough that I can't remember them exactly. Basically you can exercise the option starting at 5 years but you have to pay $1,000 for each year before the 7th year. I think the 7th year there is no charge for a replacement 56kWh battery. If you wait until the 8th year (I think?) you get $1,000 back for each year beyond the 7th, up to $2,000. After 10 years you get nothing. No battery and no money back.

I don't remember reading anything in the contract about the plan expiring if you buy the car from a dealer. That sounds like BS to me. It does state that the plan transfers to the next owner and I would assume all future owners, but not sure.

 

[ViviV]

@hcsharp so what are your thoughts about what @MileHighMotoring said about the 3.0 upgrade in relation to the battery replacement plan pre-payment? Do you think current practice different that what is in the plan because at the time the plan was sold there was no such thing as a 3.0 upgrade? Since you have the replacement plan too -- what do you plan to do regarding upgrade to 3.0?

@MileHighMotoring is there any requirement on battery health to exercise this option to replace with an upgrade?

Anyone else with experience or knowledge on this?

 

[hcsharp]

@hcsharp so what are your thoughts about what @MileHighMotoring said about the 3.0 upgrade in relation to the battery replacement plan pre-payment? Do you think current practice different that what is in the plan because at the time the plan was sold there was no such thing as a 3.0 upgrade? Since you have the replacement plan too -- what do you plan to do regarding upgrade to 3.0?

@MileHighMotoring is there any requirement on battery health to exercise this option to replace with an upgrade?

Anyone else with experience or knowledge on this?

@MileHighMotoring is correct about Tesla asking only $6k for the 3.0 upgrade for those who exercise their replacement option at the same time.

The real question is what if I asked to exercise my option without paying anything to upgrade to the 3.0 battery? The plan requires that they give you a 53kWh (usable) ESS. The 3.0 is closer to 70 or 80kWh. The old cells are non-existent at this point. Building a one-off 53kWh pack with new cells would most likely be more expensive than just building a full 3.0 pack. There are 69 cells in a brick. In theory they could build bricks with fewer of the new cells to get 53kWh. They did something similar in one of the Model S batteries. In theory they could limit the capacity with software. But both of those options require engineering and validation. For example, can a 50 cell brick handle 700 or 900 amps (whatever it is) without too much heat or voltage sag or other unknown problems? A software limitation would take too much engineering resources at a time when they don't have any to spare.

I could be all wrong with my speculation. I really wish somebody with the replacement plan would ask for a new pack without paying anything so we could see what happens. To me it's well worth $6k to get the extra capacity above 53kWh. So I probably won't ask for a free replacement under the original terms of the plan because Tesla might call my bluff and actually give me a 53kWh battery. It's not worth the risk.