Will upgrading battery be a possible option in the future?

[sandler312]

Hey All,

I just sold my 2013 P85 and buying a P90D with ludicrous. I could not justify spending $30-$40,000 more on the 10KW range upgrade.

That got me thinking if going from a 90-100 or even if someone has a 70 going to 100 would that ever be an option by just replacing the batteries?

What does everyone think about this?

 

[jaguar36]

Tons of discussion all over the place on this. Its not going to happen any time soon though. Tesla wis much happier selling you a new car and taking the old one in as a trade in rather than upgrading your pack.

Personally I think it will never be commonplace. By the time battery prices drop enough to make a significant upgrade worthwhile the rest of the car will have worn out. Why spend $25k to upgrade the pack on a car that's only worth $50k?

 

[sandler312]

I wonder if a third party vendor will come into play and offer upgrades making the price cheaper

 

[Chaserr]

Yes. It's been done factory, and the Model S / X battery pack was designed to be swapped in minutes.

It may never again be a factory upgrade option, but it's already an ebay option and WK has documented it here.

Prices on battery packs are falling precipitously; the retail pricing of the model 3, Roadster 2020, and most telling of all the 1MWh Semi really show how cheaply upgrades are about to become in the next few years. I suspect for that reason a new platform of Model S and X will be announced, if only to use a new pack footprint so the new batteries aren't simply and easily dropped in an old car. As Jaguar points out, this would sell more cars than offering upgrades would... but upgrades for older cars will still become available, in the same way they already are, and in the same way aftermarket ICE industries have become a huge economy unto themselves.

 

[BigD0g]

I’m betting hsrmotors will do this service for you? @wk057

 

[demundus]

I wonder if a third party vendor will come into play and offer upgrades making the price cheaper

There are people here who will sell you this as a service... the above post references one.

 

[sandler312]

I just went on Ebay this is AMAZING!!! So as long as I love my P90D Ludicrous, I can possibly upgrade in 3-4 years to a P100 or P150 w ho knows. I guess as long as it has the performance motors and capacitors for ludicrous I may be able to increase range and keep performance.

 

[zer0cool]

Highly unlikely. As with pretty much all cars, significantly modifying a car (e.g., changing the engine to a more powerful one) is often more expensive than trading-in and getting a new car.

 

[demundus]

Highly unlikely. As with pretty much all cars, significantly modifying a car (e.g., changing the engine to a more powerful one) is often more expensive than trading-in and getting a new car.

Not true, suprising affordable to upgrade. In some cases (voiding the heck out of your warranty) the solution is as simple as unlocking features that are laying dormant within the car (battery pack expansion on 60's etc)

 

[ev-now]

Highly unlikely. As with pretty much all cars, significantly modifying a car (e.g., changing the engine to a more powerful one) is often more expensive than trading-in and getting a new car.

For an ICE I think that is very often true - different engine means all sorts of potential changes. If the MS upgrade were for range, not performance - then I can see no reason this would be cost prohibitive - and certainly not close to the bath Tesla give you on trade-in value.

There are enough MS/MX out there on the current platform that it seems inevitable that there will be more third party options over time. Of course with a longer range comes a heavier battery, and that battery costs you every day in additional weight to lug around. I was very surprised how much more per mile the MX 100D I was driving the other week cost compared to the MS 60 RWD - literally 50% more energy consumed in same conditions, on same roads - loaner, so speed limited and not flooring it.

This is why I am so disappointed the 'battery-swap road-trip' turned out to be a Elon dream, not reality. Driving a lighter, more efficient car on the regular 20-0 mile days that so many people do and then swapping for a 'range battery' so I could actually use the Supercharger network would have been cool. But hey, it was a future - not a feature ...

 

[kiwiguy]

I speculate that when Full Self Drive and the Tesla Network (ride sharing) become available, that a battery upgrade will be offered to offset the increased mileage incurred. You might get an upgrade when you reach a certain mileage of automated ride share (e.g. 25K or 50K miles). It will be part of the reimbursement scheme to encourage participation.

Battery upgrades will be used as an incentive program, since it's all technically possible.

 

[alloverx]

I recall the capacity (of some?) 90 batteries is suspect via other threads. Not sure if you have committed to the 90 purchase yet.