Tesla Motors has introduced a system that allows battery packs in electric vehicles to be swapped in roughly 90 seconds.
At an event last week, the electric car company’s CEO Elon Musk said that the system provides an alternative to charging EVs, helping to convince consumers they are “more convenient than a gasoline car.” Musk gave a demonstration of the new technology on stage, switching out two Model S battery packs in less time than it took for a car on a video screen to fill up with gas, which took about four minutes.
Battery pack swaps will cost between $60 and $80, according to Reuters. Based on current gasoline prices, this is about the same a 15-gallon gas tank. The stations will each cost about $500,000 to build and will be placed alongside Tesla’s fast-charging stations. The free fast-charge stations take about 30 minutes to charge a battery.
“The only decision you need to make when you come to one of our Tesla stations is do you prefer faster or free,” Musk said.
Reuters reports Tesla will gradually introduce the battery swap technology this year, beginning between Los Angeles and San Francisco and then in the Washington-to-Boston corridor.
Last month, Tesla announced a significant expansion of the Tesla Supercharger network, which enables Tesla Model S drivers to travel long distances, for free. The company says it plans to triple the number of Tesla Supercharger stations by the end of June, including additional stations in California, coverage of the northwest region from Vancouver to Seattle to Portland, and also Texas, Illinois and Colorado. There will also be four additional eastern seaboard stations, expanding the density of the network to provide for more convenient stopping points.
Within six months, the company says the Tesla Supercharger network will connect most of the major metro areas in the US and Canada, including expansion into Arizona, additional stations in Texas, Florida and the Midwest, stations connecting Ottawa to Montreal, and across North and South Carolina into Georgia.
A year from now, the Tesla Supercharger network is expected to stretch across the continent, covering almost the entire population of the US and Canada.
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Founder & Principal Consultant, Hower Impact
Mike Hower is the founder of Hower Impact — a boutique consultancy delivering best-in-class strategic communication advisory and support for corporate sustainability, ESG and climate tech.
Published Jun 23, 2013 3pm EDT / 12pm PDT / 8pm BST / 9pm CEST