When can S85 owners upgrade to the 90 pack, and will they get a 90 badge?

[Zapped]

..... A goodly number of the P85 signature owners around me upgraded to P85D, so they are no longer signature owners, ......

Had offers to buy it from me but I'll never trade-in or sell my Sig Red..

If such an upgrade occurs for an existing S85, will it come with a 90 badge aft .....

Never had the badge in 2012, so I'm still driving in Stealth Mode and always will. I suppose if it was available for the P85, I might go for it but no one will ever know.:wink:

 

[W0QR]

I'm with RDoc. 15% even isn't enough unless you're hitting empty regularly. 1/3 maybe if it's chemistry and not supplemental cells. We don't want the car to get any heavier. This increase is apparently chemistry..silicon anode. So that's the right direction. But a little over 5%? No way. Give me a supercharger in Nebraska and I'm happy with my 85. IMO, that's way more important than small incremental storage increases. Don't forget that at the same charge rate..say 100KWH rate..you'll be charging 5% longer at the SC. And that's true of any increase proportionally. Recall that the navigation algorithm only occasionally suggests you fill from empty to full. Usually it advises that you do NOT do this and save some time. So I'm not getting the importance of that announcement. That said, I am glad they're introducing newer technology. I'll be the 'battery guy' had something to do with the new anode chemistry. I'd like to read more about that.

As for me, I'm just going to sit back and not kick myself for not 'waiting' until the new technology came out. I got my S85D in June. My wait was just for the AWD and sensor array. That's way more important than range. RDoc, what do you say?

 

[apacheguy]

I'm with RDoc. 15% even isn't enough unless you're hitting empty regularly. 1/3 maybe if it's chemistry and not supplemental cells. We don't want the car to get any heavier. This increase is apparently chemistry..silicon anode. So that's the right direction. But a little over 5%? No way. Give me a supercharger in Nebraska and I'm happy with my 85. IMO, that's way more important than small incremental storage increases. Don't forget that at the same charge rate..say 100KWH rate..you'll be charging 5% longer at the SC. And that's true of any increase proportionally. Recall that the navigation algorithm only occasionally suggests you fill from empty to full. Usually it advises that you do NOT do this and save some time. So I'm not getting the importance of that announcement. That said, I am glad they're introducing newer technology. I'll be the 'battery guy' had something to do with the new anode chemistry. I'd like to read more about that.

Actually, no. With a larger pack, you can charge to less % SOC than you would have on a smaller pack. The taper will be better too on a 90 kWh compared to an 85.

For some the upgrade doesn't make sense. If I had a brand new 85D, I wouldn't consider it. But it absolutely does make sense for the rest of us.

 

[bxr140]

An urgent email to all sales staff, or a conference call at the same time the media call was happening could have fixed the communication issue.

Or even just blanket direction to not state something as fact if one doesn't know it is fact...

 

[LazMan]

I have an 85 kwh A pack and these are the questions I'm curious about:

The 90 kwh option is based on new chemistry (just listened to the conference call), therefore, would the upgrade mean replacing my entire pack?

If so, and I wanted to wait for a 20% improvement, that would be 5.7% for the extra 5 kwh and X % for the degradation of my old pack (currently 7 %).

I would imagine this would be an expensive upgrade. Also, what would I do with my old pack? Run my house?

 

[gizmoboy]

I don't see a problem with announcing the 90kWh pack option for new orders while they're still working out the pricing for upgrading existing cars. People can order a Model S today with the 90kWh battery. Existing owners can't upgrade today, so why should it matter that the pricing formula hasn't been announced yet?

This. They announced the option for new owners. There was mention of an upgrade option (in q&a, I believe) and while musk could have said "no comment at this time," he instead said yes. Could (and should) have added "we don't have those details fully worked out yet, but will in a few weeks," so there's still something to complain about, but not much in this message per se.

I've worked in large and small companies with public presence, and if you have sensitive information, a lot of the time your rank and file need to hear it at the same time as the media, and assume that any hand-Danny email you send out WILL get leaked.

 

[apacheguy]

If so, and I wanted to wait for a 20% improvement, that would be 5.7% for the extra 5 kwh and X % for the degradation of my old pack (currently 7 %).

I would imagine this would be an expensive upgrade. Also, what would I do with my old pack? Run my house?

Bingo. It's going to cost you an arm and a leg to add 20% capacity; you'd likely be better off getting a new Tesla. Even now just adding 5 kWh it's looking to be cost prohibitive based on what the SvC are saying. Tesla just isn't setup for pack upgrades despite what Elon says.

 

[Canuck]

That's the sort of thing that screams "bush league" to analysts.

Oh, so that's why the stock is down -- because the analysts share your comments about Tesla being "bush league".

Seriously, though, "bush league" is not the right word. I don't agree with how Tesla handled it but to say it's "bush league", as if major corporations are quick to inform customers of new products or changes, shows either a lack of knowledge of what "bush league" means, or a complete failure to understand the business practices of the most non-bush league companies in the world, like Microsoft, Facebook, Verizon, AT&T and I could go on and on. These companies have long histories of doing similar tactics as Tesla when it comes to changes or new product announcements (to the point the government has to enact legislation and also issue fines in some cases) and keeping customers informed is not their strong points, to say the least. Oh, and good luck even reaching a live person, without at least a very long wait, if at all, and I doubt it would be someone at a service center in your town, like Tesla. More likely it's someone in India who was never given the "FAQ for existing owners and a succinct heads-up email" (Ha!) you talk about in your post. What corporate world do you live in?! That's not how major corporations operate -- anyone in business knows that. The ironic thing is that only some smaller, and what would legitimately be called "bush league" companies, do. Once they get bigger (i.e. non-bush league) that all changes. Remember Apple's 1984 Superbowl ad and its shot at Microsoft? If that's before your time, look it up. Apple became the Microsoft they took shots at in that ad. If anything Tesla is growing up, and that's not necessarily a good thing. Bush league has it all backwards.

What happened was at best another missed opportunity and at worst poor and indefensible. Do this at a company with tens of millions of customers and heads *would* roll - with a quickness. Seen it. Done it.

I call BS on what I have bolded and underlined. Actually, all of it, but definitely the part I have emphasized.

I also find your remarks to Bonnie extremely rude.

 

[NoMoGas]

Thanks to those of you who responded constructively. The concern is not whether it makes sense to upgrade, but how and when and for how much for those interested. Also, it's that once again a message has been carefully planned and announced to the world with no supporting info or guidance for Service and existing owners. That's the sort of thing that screams "bush league" to analysts.

OR more like a public traded company that doesn't want to run afoul the SEC by closely guarding inside information... Also known as the standard practice done by virtually all companies that are publicly traded.

But hey, we have to find things to complain about.