If a battery is replaced (or upgraded if available), will the car still have Supercharging? If it was previously capped, will a better battery remove the restriction?
Supercharging isn't affected by our replacements. We've done many many upgrades and replacements already for customers over the years without issues. In full disclosure, we can't predict what Tesla themselves will do in the future (for example, they already remotely reach into salvage vehicles and disable all DC charging without the owner's permission), but in the case of clean title vehicles I don't foresee any issues.
As for speeds, we can be sure they won't be any
worse than before, but we can't change any firmware restrictions Tesla places on the BMS firmware without potentially incurring their wrath down the road. It is possible you'll end up with a better or higher capacity pack during a replacement, just with any such repair, but we can't guarantee that of course.
Do you plan to have any renewal discounts? You'd have continuous data about the pack for 2+ years, so it should make it easier for you to anticipate degradation right? So a renewal discount for existing customers will be very beneficial for all.
Possibly. Keep in mind that the youngest pack will be 10 years old by the time it's up for renewal. It's more likely that the added risk of continued coverage will negate any discount we could offer for already having the BMD... but, we won't really have enough data to make such a determination.
At some point we'll probably have to draw some lines as to what renewals will even be permitted, but as of now, our plan is for renewals to be whatever the current "out of warranty" price is for your model/year/etc at the time, with a small discount for already having the BMD.
The monitoring device - is it connected to the OBD port or the port below the MCU?
- If OBD: Will removing it temporarily in certain cases: e.g. users who use add-ons like the HDMI input box that uses OBD during supercharging / yearly inspections etc. cause any issues? i.e. will it reset the monitoring and we'll have to drive 50-100mi again?
- If MCU: Do users have to take out panels to reach under the MCU to connect it?
It connects to the Tesla-specific CAN diagnostic port below the MCU.
Any time the device is disconnected, service plan coverage is suspended until it's re-installed and everything is re-confirmed. This is to keep everyone honest, mainly, and is pretty much a non-negotiable part of this service. If you plan on using other devices that require the CAN diagnostic port, we'd suggest using some kind of splitter. (We've considered selling one.)
I don't think an HDMI input box would need the CAN diagnostic port...? That seems weird to me.
Most users will only have to pull down the MCU cubby to install the unit, which is extremely low effort. Users with retrofitted center consoles and such may have a harder time, but it's still not a terrible process.
If we are local / near to your Hickory location, can we drive by to collect the device instead of waiting for it to be shipped? Will your team be able to help us with connecting it (if underside the MCU)?
We can definitely install the unit for you if you come by, sure!
While it may seem dumb, we'd still prefer to ship it first for tracking and accountability purposes, however, and to keep everything streamlined.
Edge case - I'm assuming it is negligible, but any idea how much power it uses? Any visible reduction in miles / estimated range due to this? I've done some long road trips where I've been very close to empty by the time I reach a supercharger. So would like to know if anything affects the estimated range in any meaningful manner. Do I need to even worry about it?
Our beta variant uses an obscene amount of power for such a tiny device... and still wasn't even noticeable on range loss. The production version uses roughly 25 Wh/day absolute max (generally less), which would be something like 0.1 miles of range per day. We're actively tweaking the firmware, so, will likely be even less over time.
Either way, it's pretty negligible.
What do you anticipate the estimated turn-around time be like in case of failures considering the interest you've seen in the service? Again, would it help if someone is local and can limp the car to your shop haha ;-)
Turnaround is going to vary depending on our workload at the time of the failure, and the exact nature of the issue. Our turnaround time for repairs/replacements/upgrades varies from a week to about 8 weeks worst case right now, and we're actively working to improve that. We don't anticipate times to get any worse regardless of interest in our service plan program, since we're already improving this all around and the program is helping us to do so even more.
If you're local, we've got no issue with you getting the car to us yourself. Depending on the failure, though, you might not be able to limp all the way here on public roads. That said, if you're local and the BMD predicts a failure, you should probably get the car to us as soon as possible while it's still fully functional so that we can investigate.
Hope this helps!