User Swappable Battery

Closed

Description

Redesign the concept of electric driving so that the owner/driver can switch the battery/batteries himself. Put the discharged batteries in an external charging station, and put the charged batteries back in the Tesla.

Change the Superchargers so that an external battery can be charged at the same time as the car.

Competitive/Pricing/Notes

This would have many advantages:

– Double the range (if you go for a long ride, you can take extra charged batteries in the trunk)

– Charge battery during the day (e.g. with solar energy) while this is not possible now (arriving home when it’s dark)

– Easy to replace batteries in case of battery issues

Moderator: Interesting idea, but not too practical with 1300 lbs of batteries. Dividing it into 20 sub-batteries still means 65 lbs per battery – more than most owners can deal with every day. Making the weight lighter requires even more sub-batteries. Each sub-module needs safety switches both in the car and the module adding significant costs. Then the plumbing (for heat/cooling) becomes more complex with 40 liquid valves in the car and two in each battery sub-module. Enhanced connectors are also required to allow multiple removal/insertions.

Status

Because it’s rather impractical, we’re going to close this one.