What are the prospects for a battery upgrade for the P85D

[P85Dave]

So half of me loves our P85D and want to own it for ever (especially now that the car has already gone through the biggest hit in depreciation), the other part of me wants to get a P100D or equivalent as soon as the interior update comes out, and then there is another part of me wanting to keep our current P85D but upgrade the battery.

Does anyone have any thoughts about when we might see a battery upgrade for the P85D? I'd love to upgrade to a P100D or P130D or whatever will be the largest battery pack especially if that comes with a Ludicrous Power upgrade.

Would we ever see such an option and any guess as to how much it would be?

 

[pedriscoll]

So far Tesla has not offered to upgrade any batteries, so I would not hold your breath. While I would like to upgrade my 85D as well, I just don’t see it happening. Tesla would rather we buy a new car.

 

[Chaserr]

There are battery upgrade services on ebay. They're aimed at 60 owners right now, but it's a matter of time before 100 pack upgrades become aftermarket available too, wizkid did it to his 85++, it's a p100++ now.

 

[Saghost]

Elon has talked about offering upgrades "in a few years" on various occasions. I'm not really sure if Tesla will get around to offering them or not. As chaserr said, third parties are already starting to step up, and presumably it'll become more frequent in the future, as long as Tesla keeps to a compatible pack format.

 

[Nosken]

If they ever have excess battery capacity from the Gigafactory, then they might offer it. Until then, all battery capacity is dedicated to new cars and Tesla Energy.

 

[P85Dave]

If they ever have excess battery capacity from the Gigafactory, then they might offer it. Until then, all battery capacity is dedicated to new cars and Tesla Energy.

So, this will never happen then

 

[whitex]

Elon has talked about offering upgrades "in a few years" on various occasions.

That's Elon time, "few years" means "hopefully some time before next century". "3 months probably, 6 months for sure" means "some time within a decade and not for old hardware". " sooner than anyone thinks" means "sooner than people who think never", etc, etc. In Elon's mind, everything is straightforward and quick to do - not quiet in touch with reality.

 

[Electricious]

That's Elon time, "few years" means "hopefully some time before next century". "3 months probably, 6 months for sure" means "some time within a decade and not for old hardware". " sooner than anyone thinks" means "sooner than people who think never", etc, etc. In Elon's mind, everything is straightforward and quick to do - not quiet in touch with reality.

But we are still grateful to him for bringing us the future so I certainly understand the time dilation effect with some of the predictions

 

[Tech_Guy]

Seeing how my p90d - p100d upgrade went I’d imagine the real hold up is on the safety / cash test data side. I say this because when I got my upgrade I was surprised that they also upgraded my seats. When I asked why I was told that the heavier battery was crash tested with the new seats and thus they had to be upgraded as well.

 

[whitex]

But we are still grateful to him for bringing us the future so I certainly understand the time dilation effect with some of the predictions

That WAS true until Elon started taking today's money for features he will some day deliver to other people. For example, I paid him over $20K for 691hp car, which he delivered eventually but only to those who bought P100D. I got 463hp and an excuse that the car is capable but not the battery or the wiring. I also don't believe my AP1 car will "just find me" anywhere on private property, though I do think that AP3 or AP4 car eventually will. And yes I know, my AP1 car is totally capable, but not the software or the sensors or whatever else it is that will make it so the car will never so what Elon sold us on.

 

[LVSP85D]

Also hoping battery upgrade will be option for P85D owners.

 

[Gt1948]

Would be interested in upgrading my 75 also.

 

[P85Dave]

I doubt we will see a meaningful upgrade option for years...

 

[d-bone]

Your best bet in my opinion is wk057 (HSR Motors is his company). I am definitely interested in upgrading my P85D+ to a PXXXDL+ (whatever the biggest battery is in a few years), once my battery and drive unit warranty is gone...

 

[kev1n]

im not sure about other models under the P85D but the P85D has the motors to handle an upgrade to say 100 pack, its only a matter of when they will offer an upgrade, if they dont. im sure there will be aftermarket options by the time warranty runs out.

 

[Rifleman]

I am certainly interested in upgrading one of my classic 60's. I very likely will be hitting up wk057 once one of my cars is completely out of warranty.

 

[gaswalla]

to be fair, back in 2014 I inquired for an upgrade of my classic 85 to 90 ... I received a call from HQ that it would be 21,500 plus the current battery. I believe a few folks received the offer, but I don't know of anyone who took them up on the lame offer.

 

[drklain]

im not sure about other models under the P85D but the P85D has the motors to handle an upgrade to say 100 pack, its only a matter of when they will offer an upgrade, if they dont. im sure there will be aftermarket options by the time warranty runs out.

My recollection is that @verygreen indicated that the connectors on the 100KWH battery pack are different than all the previous battery packs (not sure if it was the electrical connectors of the cooling fluid connectors. He may chime in on this, but if that is the case, then upgrading to a 100KWH battery pack (or larger) likely requires hardware modifications to the car as well. It is certainly possible (as he did it to his car) but it is not as simple as a battery pack swap out and software update like in the pre-100D cars...

 

[verygreen]

that certainly was not me, I don't really deal with hardware. But I think I heard about a different connector that is retrofittable in the car, so should not pose any problems.

 

[No2DinosaurFuel]

What I would like more is motor upgrade. The Model 3 motor is more efficient. Its gets 120 mpge on highway vs 102 mpge of the Model S 100D. Even if you factor in weight saving aero wheels, etc , you are probably still looking at 110 mpge for the Model S with Model 3 motors. This is still around 10% better efficiency compared to the current induction motor. 10% of 294 miles is around extra 30 miles.

All in all, if Tesla offers

1) motor upgrades: ~ extra 30 miles

2) Aero Wheel similar to model 3: ~ extra 15 miles (5%)

3) 100KWh battery upgrade: ~ extra 35 miles

You are looking at 80 miles extra or around 370 miles Model S without buying a new car.

Refilling will be faster too because you recover more miles faster than if you were less efficient.

A man can dream can't he?