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Published on October 17th, 2014 | by Christopher DeMorro

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First Tesla Battery Swap Station Online Soon

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October 17th, 2014 by  

tesla-battery-swap

Originally posted on GAS2

Buried in last week’s exciting announcement of the Dual Motor Drive Tesla Model S was an interesting nugget of news buried at the bottom of a story by Automotive News. Elon Musk apparently told AN that Tesla will bring online its first battery swapping station in the next two months after remaining mum on the subject since last year’s debut.

Tesla’s battery swapping technology rolled out last summer as a response to a possible California mandate requiring fast-filling technology for alternative fuel vehicles. That mandate never made it into law though, and battery swapping seemed to be put on the back burner as Tesla focused on the Model X launch and the all-wheel drive system. For all the fanfare that came with Elon’s battery swapping announcement, all talk of the system seemed to disappear this year.

The first battery swap station is scheduled to come online between San Francisco and Los Angeles within the next two months, though unlike the Supercharger system it won’t be free. Rather, owners will be charged for the electricity, and either have to return and pick up their original battery or pay for the brand new battery based on the mileage of their original pack. For the trade off of about the same cost as a full tank of gas, they’ll be able to get a full EV charge in half the time it takes to fill up an equivalent luxury sedan.

Meanwhile Tesla has exceeded 200 Supercharger stations across the world, including more than 100 in the United States alone. While a few strategically-placed battery swap stations might not be a bad idea. As Project Better Place showed though, basing your whole company around battery swapping stations is a recipe for disaster.

But between free Superchargers and cheap home charging systems, are battery swap stations necessary? I reckon no, but Elon Musk may have other ideas.

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About the Author

A writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs, can be found wrenching or writing- or esle, he's running, because he's one of those crazy people who gets enjoyment from running insane distances.


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  • Rob

    Late flash! Scientists from a Singapore University have developed a new battery that can be recharged up to 70 % in 2 minutes and has a 20 year life span! If it works I guess that would smash the last barrier to mass up-take of electric vehicles. Maybe Elon Musk knows this and realizes such a battery would make battery swapping stations obsolete. Bring it on!

  • Rob

    The point I was trying to make is that Elon Musk ( God bless his cotton socks! ) wants people to buy electric cars. I assume that Elon would be very happy for there to be a huge demand for his Teslas. At the moment, and I’m speaking from an Australian perspective, to own a model S in Australia costs about $100,000. This makes it a luxury car that only a relatively small number of people can afford to buy. It is out of reach for most people. You would also have to assume that anyone who can afford 100 grand on a car would probably have off-street parking and would therefore be able to have a home charger. This makes a huge difference! Without a home charger, you have no alternative but to sit in a charging station for about half an hour every time the car needs charging. Whilst this is something I’m sure one could adapt to there are times when it would be incredibly inconvenient. However, seeing as how most people who currently buy Teslas ( ie: the model S ) probably have home chargers this does not rate as an issue.
    But if the model 3 Tesla hits the market at say $40,000 or less, you will have a lot more people able to afford a Tesla. But a lot of them may not be able to use a home charger because their circumstances do not allow the use of a home charger. They will only have one alternative. The fact that its free to recharge at a Supercharger is of course a big incentive to find the time, but I think the time factor will be a barrier for a lot of people.
    Teslas have been proved to be a fantastic car. The Tesla company has so far proven itself to be a fantastic company in the way it treats its customers. Teslas have more than enough range. Why wouldn’t you want to buy one? I maintain that if the model 3 is in the above price range, the only barrier to huge sales and uptake of the model 3 will be the issue of recharging. At the moment the only answer to that is battery swap stations. So Elon, get on with it mate!

  • EdwardInFlorida

    Geez people! First, the complaint is about the “long time” it takes to charge an EV which Tesla proved is really not that much especially with the free superchargers. Then the complaint centered around the fact that you can still refuel a gas powered car in less time. Musk then announces and demonstrates a battery swap option. Then the complaint was that Elon “lied” about this only to “toot his own horn” and that this was all a hoax. And now it is going to come to fruition, and many of you are STILL COMPLAINING! What a bunch of LOSERS! And it’s not that I have some vested interest in Tesla as I don’t own one of their cars, nor do I have any stocks in that company. But you who are still chronically complaining are the kind of people that represent a liability to progress and that’s not good from any perspective. What the heck do any of you or me know how Tesla plans to manage the battery swap operation? How can we possibly know at this stage how many Model S owners will use it? I bet there are a number who have not yet even plugged into a supercharger. To those who say that this is somehow redundant, I say BS! The more options available for EV owners to assure that their trip won’t be interrupted for a significant span of time, the better. Let Tesla do what it needs to and stay out of the way!

    • AltairIV

      Funny, I don’t see a single complaint on this page outside of the one I’m responding to. I see some interesting discussion and speculation, but no “complaining”. It seems to me that the posters here are for the most part trying to realistically analyze the pros and cons and predict whether this battery swapping scheme will be viable or not.

      Yes, it is clear that a good number of us, including me, are fairly skeptical about it at this time, not because we don’t like the idea in principle (I personally love it), but simply because we don’t think there will actually be that much demand for such a system. In any case nobody has yet said that Tesla shouldn’t be making the attempt, because the only way to know for sure is to try it and see what happens. I’m sure we’d all love to be proven wrong.

      • EdwardInFlorida

        OK maybe I overshot with the use of the word, “complaining”. But in other comment sections I’ve read, I would say it’s an UNDERSTATEMENT. That said, I think it’s great that people have the chance to express their opinion…don’t get me wrong. Healthy skepticism is also good except that in this case, I strongly believe, the skeptics will be proven wrong AGAIN. I am NOT a “Tesla fanboy” but I’ve learned so far that betting against Elon Musk is a losing proposition. Lastly, anyone who feels that my previous post doesn’t apply to them, should not even be responding to it. Peace.

        • Philip W

          So you think, people will use battery swapping regularly? That´s interesting, could you elaborate on that?

          • EdwardInFlorida

            I never said that I think people will use the battery swap stations “regularly”. If you go back to my original comment, I questioned the train of thought of those who believe they know everything about how this new program is going to play out when in reality, we, and myself included do not. That was my point though I did state that the greater number of charging options for Tesla owners are available, the better it will be. That’s it!

          • Philip W

            You kinda implied it, when Altair said that he thinks there isn´t much demand and you answered that sceptics will be proven wrong. Demand means that people will use it regularly.
            Oh and you didn´t question anything, you called people losers. Also apparently there are now people here that think they know everything. I didn´t read a single comment suggesting that.

            This will be my last comment on this subject, you´re way too much after beef. (If not you might wanna check your articulation and refrain from getting personal)

          • EdwardInFlorida

            @Phillip W. Yes I did imply that when Tesla starts to build these battery swap stations, they will get used. And while I don’t have any empirical data to provide, I do “lurk” in the Tesla forums, and read the comments by some of the members in which they express their desire for Elon’s company to provide that option.

            Second of all, if you read my second post, I did back pedal on my initial response and over reaction. I don’t know about you, but you have to be a GROWN UP to admit a mistake.

            And again, I admitted that my comment was a bit over the top, but if you read some of the other forums and comment sections of other articles and videos, you would see that my description of “know it all” and “losers” is quite befitting.

            Regardless, I will say it one last time. If my remarks do not apply to anyone, then they don’t need to respond to me in order to DEBATE the issue. When people do that, it makes them look overly defensive and self incriminatory. I welcome constructive dialog that actually ADDS to the discussion. I have no problem with that, and enjoy it very much.

            Sorry if you felt I was attacking you but that was not the intention.

            Have a good day!

    • Philip W

      AltairIV said it perfectly. Nobody here is complaining except you. I´m actually a Tesla fanboy, but that doesn´t change what I already wrote above.

  • dogphlap dogphlap

    The only way to know if battery swap stations are wanted by Tesla owners is to build one. I doubt it will get much business but it is one way to shut up the shills that go on about Musk allegedly taking money for the equivalent of a very fast charge without actually providing the option. It would also neutralize a prime argument of the hydrogen lobby.

    If it is permitted (I don’t know that it is) to get an 85kWh battery as a temporary replacement for a 60kWh battery they might do a few more swaps. To do that would require the car to adopt the operating parameters appropriate to traction battery size, not a huge technical problem I’d guess.

    I expect that so few people will use this station it will enable Mr. Musk to legitimately say owners just don’t want them (so he can limit the role out to just the one). I suspect most of the people that think this is needed don’t actually own a Tesla (or are ever likely to).

    Or as a wild speculation if a change in cell design/chemistry was to make say 120kWh batteries an upgrade option these station(s) could see a sudden upswing in permanent swaps.

    Best regards.

  • Rob

    If you don’t have off-street parking, or you rent, or whatever, and therefore can’t install your own home charger, you only have the option of going to a Supercharger station. The charging time on these will still be considered too long for a lot of people considering the time constraints people can be under these days. So if you are unable to have your own home charger and don’t have the time to sit in a charging station for the time it takes to re-charge, you probably won’t consider buying one. However, a battery swap station solves both these problems. You don’t need a home charger and you don’t have to wait for any longer than it takes to re-fill a fossil fuel car. It seems the only problem is the cost but I’m sure this could be creatively resolved. When the Model 3 arrives, if it is competively priced, a whole new demographic will be able to afford a Tesla. The only unresolved issue preventing the mass up-take of this model will be people’s ability, under all scenarios, to conveniently “re-fuel”.

    • Philip W

      If you can afford an EV you can most likely afford a home charger. EVs are still pretty expensive after all.

      • Will E

        battery swap is the way to go. the battery packs can be loaded on Solar panel Power and Wind Power when stored at the station. swapping is fast and easy and the battery packs are a big storage for Solar and Wind energy.
        EV will be cheap cheap cheap for all in near future.
        and we had hurricane in India Japan Hawai and Bahamas in one week
        time to go all electric.

        • Philip W

          Battery swapping technology is awesome, but I still don´t think a lot of Tesla owners will use it. People will probably prefer free charging. We´ll see when the first station comes online.

  • Matt

    I guessing this is the way Tesla will have you trade in you old pack for a new one. When we get some 100k-200k Teslas, or whatever point you feel your range has dropped enough to want to upgrade to what is available then. Pull in and BAM! upgraded range. Tesla then reconditions them from stationary applications.

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