can't wait for the next seekingalpha/ Wall st journal drivel about how this gives tesla a MUCH larger carbon footprint than driving a Dodge Charger with the HEMI engine coast to coast. Or, of course, this was only possible to the massive and unique government subsidies given to tesla that is in no way similar to anything available or given to any other US/ foreign car manufacturer.
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callmesam
Member
Elon says that pack swap is "NOT a brilliant idea"
This is a dead giveaway that what is coming down might be the rechargeable swap Al + water.
It definitely is NOT going to be a regular swap since he wouldn't submarine his own 6/20 Announcement by calling it "not brilliant"
I disagree with your interpretation. What Elon said was that he didn't consider a pack swap to be a particularly brilliant idea since it's been done for so long and we do it so routinely on other things like laptop computers and phones. He also said he's strongly in favor of optionality. I do not think he's discounting the idea of pack swapping at all; instead, he's simply saying that pack-swapping was already a common idea before they suggested it for the Model S, and so there was no brilliance involved in coming up with it.
ShortSlaver
Member
There's just so many other issues associated with swapping the battery. The battery is the most expensive part of the car. What's the liability in just swapping them out? How do you know the battery you're getting is as good? How does Tesla know they're getting a good one back. Who or what monitors this process?
It isn't really practical at this scale.
It isn't really practical at this scale.
Now you sound like the people who have not believed in everything else Tesla has been doing. "The batteries aren't good enough", "people don't want EV", "EVs are too expensive", etc.
Let Elon surprise you (if swapping it is).
Swapping the battery as Elon referred to it probably (although one never knows exactly what Elon is thinking) refers to the ease of replacing a battery. It is not intended as an alternative to charging. That doesn't dismiss the possibility of a swappable battery in addition to the primary unit, but the Tesla maintenance people do not share the belief in swapping the existing unit. As with every idea tossed around, there are pros and cons and only Elon can settle the challenges.
ShortSlaver
Member
I just think it's a dead end. Battery capacity is only going to improve making swapping even less relevant. It's just a patch and one that isn't needed. I'm more interested in improving the charging network (great progress!), making the charging times faster (more great progress) and making batteries with more and more range (in-progress). Why invest in swapping when it has so many edge cases to figure out, risk and cost?
I love what Tesla is doing and don't see a reason to swap batteries for mainstream vehicles.
Benz
Active Member
I actually do agree with you, but I would say it slightly differently:
Battery swapping will not be needed. Maybe only on a smaller scale for business fleets situations. But even that is not very likely, in my opinion. But technically it's very much possible and doable. So, that's not the issue at all. More like, would people want to have this option. And if this option will result in more Tesla EV's getting sold, than it will be made possible. No doubt about that. But I do not see this happening before GEN III is sold in the hundreds of thousands per year. So, it's more like a long term option with not a high priority.
bollar
Disgruntled Member
Yes!
20 minutes charging every three hours is really close to that tipping point for me. If I'm traveling with the family, we're stopping at least that often anyway.
I hope that fact along with Elon saying that every future Tesla will have supercharging capability enabled indicates things will never get worse this this from here on out. That is a huge catalyst for mass adoption. If Tesla can make money by creating a nation-wide charging network that can have you rolling again in under 30 min, that's the bar any other enterprising individual or company must clear in order to be competitive.
Without sounding too fanatical, things are destined to change in a big way in the next few years. Even if charging times are only reduced incrementally, they've already hit the tipping point where an EV is just as viable as an ICE to the average joe.
Come to think of it, I wouldn't mind seeing a Malcolm Gladwell do a bit on Tesla.
Benz
Active Member
This Supercharger announcement was just awesome.
There is one little tiny miny thing that I would have liked to see changed. And that is about the map with all the Supercharger dots on it. I would have liked if we would have been able to zoom in to get a more precised look at the new Supercharger locations. Does anyone agree with me on this?
There is one little tiny miny thing that I would have liked to see changed. And that is about the map with all the Supercharger dots on it. I would have liked if we would have been able to zoom in to get a more precised look at the new Supercharger locations. Does anyone agree with me on this?
bollar
Disgruntled Member
Yeah, a metal-air booster swap in the frunk is the only proposal that seems to make any sense to me - it could be understood as complimentary to supercharging until the next generation of battery technology allows you to recharge in say 5-10 min - maybe another 5-10 years out. If it is simple and cost effective enough it would kill off that last bit of range anxiety/impatience argument that some people still make. Then the naysayers will only be left with the argument that a Tesla is too costly/elitest, but that will be answered with Gen III. Regardless, whatever the "recharge faster than a gas station" announcement comes out June 20, I'd suggest given Musk's penchant for media flair, that he do it upon finishing a cross-county trip with his 5 rugrats and significant other (fits 7!) and shows documentation of the whole trip to demonstrate how easy it is.
I have no range anxiety, but I'd still love to see that metal-air booster in frunk. Would be fantastic for those very few long-range trips.
moltenfire
Member
Hmm, I wondered about why Musk took so much time to talk about his upcoming road trip with the kids. At the time I thought I don't give a damn what he's going to do on his vacation, but if he'll be using his vacation as a documentary showcasing this new tech, that could be a reason why.
On the other hand, I haven't listened to many of his conf calls. Does he talk about his kids often, or is it somewhat out of character for him to mention his family/kids?
The time for a roadtrip would also explain why the announcement has been pushed back to June 20. Regardless, I'd like to think the free supercharger network + a faster-than-gas-station recharge unleashes a renaissance of the great american roadtrip - it's diminished over the last 50 years from the price of gas, collective environmental guilt, and the fact that most cars suck to drive.
not on quarterly reports of course- but yes on other more casual events he talk about them a lot- even his frustration with I5 traffic getting home before they are asleep; He mixes his personal and professional life with ease.
Benz
Active Member
All I meant was that I would have liked it if there was a zoom in functionality on the map, so that the upcoming location can be seen more precisely.
I know that they are not finalized yet, and only a few more will be finalized in the upcoming months.
The map is just a forecast for what is going to be reallised in the next months/years.
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What about Alaska and Hawai?
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How is Tesla Motors going to announce when which Supercharger location has gone live?
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