What is Tesla's upcoming 'under your nose' announcement?

[deonb]

Everything else is 3-5 years away. They're not going to announce something that far out.

Tesla has mastered robotics in their factories; this is not "rocket science" to them. Battery swaps are very practical and I hope it happens. It would be a game changer.

Couple of reasons why not:

a) "throughout the country"? Doesn't jive. A battery swap rollout would be much more expensive and much slower than a supercharger rollout, and we know how long that is taking.

Certainly not going to happen "throughout the country" within any reasonable amount of time. Also, there was actually a follow-up tweet that said "world-wide", but it's been deleted. But obviously someone thought it would be doable worldwide (but probably had to go through regulations first).

b) Battery exchange has nothing to do with "right under your nose". Frunk does.

 

[SteveG3]

any of you owners have any input about that recessed area in the back of the front... to me perhaps big enough to fit the metal air component in the Phinergy video (or fit a more refined version for commercialization).

Phinergy 1000-Mile Aluminum-Air Battery: On The Road In 2017?

 

[60TTuC]

How abouth this ?

You can charge wirelessly while driving if you have infrastructure in place.

 

[aaron0k]

If it's an metal-air battery in the frunk; I'll be very happy to be wrong. That is a better solution.

However, even Phinergy doesn't think it will be production ready until 2017. Why would they talking up an announcement of this nature if they can't deliver for 4 years? Nevermind... I forget how long we've waited for the Model S.

 

[SteveG3]

aaron when will any of the major automakers decide it's time to release a 200 mile battery car? Any of the several that now have 80 mile battery cars could have done it, they could be production ready, but they're looking at it. Another Phinergy article mentioned they have a deal with Nissan. Apparently Nissan thinks the best foot forward with an EV in 2013 is the 80 mile Leaf. Perhaps around 2017 they'll feel right about taking the plunge and releasing a 200 mile EV.

As another example look at what Musk has done with rockets that Boeing hasn't... it's just part of Elon's unique risk taker/genuine scientific chops combination.

 

[gregincal]

b) Battery exchange has nothing to do with "right under your nose". Frunk does.

Um, the battery is in fact right under your nose. Literally.

 

[Volker.Berlin]

Induction as you drive would recharge faster than anything you have to actually stop for.

Love this!

 

[TEG]

Said this 3-4 time in other threads, higher power SuperCharging combinded with a metal-air battery in the frunk (right under your nose-cone), this will net a 1,300 mile range in 15 minutes. A typical ICE driver would need 2 or 3 fillups for 1,300 miles of range.

Replacement one-time use metal-air cartridges and water will be dispensed from vending machines located at SuperCharger locations..

Would be awesome if it ends up being true.

 

[jeff_adams]

It would be even cooler if it turns out Elon has actually managed to get a workable super capacitor. Pick one up before your trip, drive until your battery gets low and then pull over and plug the capacitor into a port in the frunk (under your nose). Drive away and watch as your battery actually charges up as you are driving. Super cool and the envy of every car manufactor. Way faster then "gassing up". Game changer...

 

[aaron0k]

aaron, everyone else is 3-5 years behind with their EVs in general... isn't it possible Tesla has the same lead with commercializing metal air technology? Couldn't they be ready to announce and have operational within 6 months to a year?

Metal-air is a fairly new technology and untested; a replaceable battery with that much energy density would have to go through considerable major trials and safety testing. Tesla can be a nimble company, however to see them have it in production in a year would be quite a feat.

Tesla's core technology isn't that much ahead of other EV's (I consider the engineering in the Volt to be more adavanced than the MS). Tesla's superiority is in design and execution.

 

[mitch672]

Metal-air is a fairly new technology and untested; a replaceable battery with that much energy density would have to go through considerable major trials and safety testing. Tesla can be a nimble company, however to see them have it in production in a year would be quite a feat.

Tesla's core technology isn't that much ahead of other EV's (I consider the engineering in the Volt to be more adavanced than the MS). Tesla's superiority is in design and execution.

Metal-air batteries have been around for a while, here is a paper from October 2008 (some of the references are from the mid 90's):
http://www.e-kemsciences.com/Test/PDF/Brief_HistoryLithium_Air_Batteries.pdf

Remember, Elon likes to eliminate "barriers to entry", and have the best possible car (notice I didn't say "EV").
Name me a car that as a 1,300 mile range? No, you can't. Does.not.exist.yet. Best possible c a r, coming right up

 

[aaron0k]

Metal-air batteries have been around for a while here is a paper from October 2008 (some of the references are from the mid 90's)

Metal-air batteries cost money to produce; in both manufacturing energy and consumables. We have no idea yet. Considering it took Li-Ion >decade to achieve an economy of scale to be competitive (even w/subsidies).

 

[SteveG3]

aaron there's really no way to know on this one. fortunately, announcement is only a few weeks away. If Elon delivers what today's tweet suggests, whatever the technology to make it possible turns out to be I imagine we'll all be pretty pleased.

 

[mitch672]

Metal-air batteries cost money to produce; in both manufacturing energy and consumables. We have no idea yet. Considering it took Li-Ion >decade to achieve an economy of scale to be competitive (even w/subsidies).

Correct, and yet we have no idea what Tesla has been cooking up and testing with Panasonic (for example). We do know Tesla has filed a number of metal-air battery patents, recently.
Elon never fails to disappoint, I doubt he will with this 5th announcement either.

 

[raymond]

If it's an metal-air battery in the frunk; I'll be very happy to be wrong. That is a better solution.

A metal-air battery doesn't warrant a demonstration.

Elon: Look, here is an empty S, and look now it's super full again!
Crowd: (walks away disappointed)

 

[mitch672]

A metal-air battery doesn't warrant a demonstration.

Elon: Look, here is an empty S, and look now it's super full again!
Crowd: (walks away disappointed)

It's likely to be a non-rechargeable metal-air battery (at least, initially). You will have to pull the spent cartridge, replace it and add water. Plus when arriving to the SuperCharger site, they will be sure to show the range at 50 miles or something low, when leaving 15 minutes later it has a full rechargeable pack, and a new 1,000 mile cartridge & water fillup, it will then have a 1,300 mile range - not only the best EV range on a car, the best range of any car on the road without stopping. That's quite a demo.

 

[deonb]

A metal-air battery doesn't warrant a demonstration.

Elon: Look, here is an empty S, and look now it's super full again!
Crowd: (walks away disappointed)

It makes a great demo:

Open frunk. Take out old battery / plates. Put in new battery / plates. (Maybe fill up with water). Close Frunk. Show 300 miles or more gained.

In the backdrop, a video of a guy filling up gas at a gas station now at a neat 3 gallons filled during the same time. (Or 1 gallon if he went to an ARCO...)


You will double sales overnight with such a demo.

 

[Johan]

It's likely to be a non-rechargeable metal-air battery (at least, initially). You will have to pull the spent cartridge, replace it and add water. Plus when arriving to the SuperCharger site, they will be sure to show the range at 50 miles or something low, when leaving 15 minutes later it has a full rechargeable pack, and a new 1,000 mile cartridge & water fillup, it will then have a 1,300 mile range - not only the best EV range on a car, the best range of any car on the road without stopping. That's quite a demo.

I get tears in my eyes reading this. If it's even 10% this good I will jump with joy.

 

[Doug_G]

Man, you guys have all hyped this up to unbelievable levels such that any real announcement will seem like a disappointment.

It is sure to be some cool feature or other, but nothing on the order battery swapping or exotic new batteries!

 

[andrewket]

Won't be battery swap, guaranteed. I'll place money on it. Too many screws holding the pack to the chassis, too many hoses (cooling and battery). Not.going.to.happen.

The change in battery warranty terms could be linked with battery swap. How do I know the battery I'm receiving is as good as the one I give up? If the warranty covers everything then I don't care. Effectively, I own the right to a battery, not a specific one.