The Tesla Model S was designed for the conservationist with a need for speed – after all, the car can make a 0-60 sprint that bests even some Porsches. But the ubiquitous need to recharge the Model S’s high-performance battery pack was slowing many owners down. Even with the advent of Tesla’s “Supercharger” charging stations that can administer nearly a full charge in about 20 minutes, customers still longed fora faster option.
Luckily, the resourceful Tesla CEO Elon Musk had foreseen such a dilemma. Tesla announced this week an alternative for fast-moving Model S owners: a complete battery pack swap that’s slated to be performed at Tesla charging stations nationwide. Musk claimed that Tesla owners won’t even need to leave their cars, with the entire operation happening via service pits underneath the vehicle. And, best of all, the battery pack swap will take a mere 90 seconds.
The swap will be a completely automated process. After the Tesla drives above the service pit, nut drivers will unscrew the pack from its housing before a pair of robotic arms lower the old battery into a storage facility. The arms then retrieve a freshly charged battery, secure it, and the driver continues on his or her merry way. Because Tesla battery packs are cooled by harmful liquids, the pit is designed to inhibit disconnect coolant flow throughout the swap, preventing any messy spills.
This newest Tesla service, however, doesn’t come without sacrifice from the company. Musk estimates that installing this capability will cost about $500,000 per station, but Tesla will see some kickbacks from the price of the battery swap, slated to come in at around the price of a tank of gas ($50) for each vehicle. Every station will keep 50 of the fully warrantied, ready-to-install batteries at hand, keeping the money flowing into Tesla’s pockets as well as providing the utmost convenience for those on-the-go Tesla customers.
Please enjoy this TFLcar  interview with Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
