twinklejet
Member
I want to preface my comments with I'm an avid Tesla advocate, a Model S owner, an excited Supercharger user (come on Normal, IL), and a detailed process analyzer (not by trade, just personally).
My two cents:
The comparison to an Audi A8 is not as advertised. The Audi took in about 23.2 gallons of gasoline. It is capable of an average of 25 MPG. That means the car took on 580 miles of range in 4 minutes. That means it took in 145 miles of range a minute.
-It took Model S 1.5 minutes to get 265 miles of range or 176 miles of range per minute.
-So, the video would have you believe the Model S battery swap is 160% faster than an Audi A8 (1.5 minutes versus 4 minutes) based on time to fill one "tank". But the tanks aren't equivalent. When you compare miles of range added per minute Model S is only 21% faster.
-With the need for the Model S to stop 2.19 times to make an Audi A8's range in one fill up, we can say that any speed gains made by battery swap being faster than gasoline fill ups are lost by the extra time it takes you to get on and off the freeway for extra fill ups. Timing is probably all equal when you add the human factor to pull off the highway in either car for rest breaks.
In summary, I think expectations of battery swapping being definitely faster than gasoline fill ups needs to be tempered. I believe they're equivalent at this point. Without a doubt, I think battery swapping from Tesla helps answer doubters questions about Model S being a viable product just like Elon hoped.
Cheers,
David
They were clearly measuring based on time from CAR STOP to CAR GO. (and with the bill later, credit on file payment method, any argument about "What about having to spend time paying for it before driving off" is a moot point)