5 ms·

Used batteries will be big business: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29090924 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29090924 I'm also willing to bet that

Used batteries will be big business: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29090924 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29090924 I'm also willing to bet that this will become a high value item for property theft.

esturk 5y ago
Unlike a catalytic converter which is lightweight and easy to steal, the battery of an EV is neither. Heck, even a PHEV like the Prius has a battery that weighs 150+ lbs. And as the range on these vehicles increase, so too will the weight.
minetest2048 5y ago
I don't see any way to steal electric car battery without actually stealing the car. Its big, heavy, scary (and actually dangerous), and highly integrated with the car
- zardo 5y ago
  Unless the car is designed for fast battery swaps. It's still a big heavy item to steal, but it's conceivable to drop it on a skate and hoist it into a van.
  - senectus1 5y ago
    i doubt this will be a big issue, the safety requirements around this will match the price of the damned things.
  - zelon88 5y ago
    When I first read the top-level comment I initially thought the same thing. After reading your comment I'm thinking that we'll eventually see start seeing YouTube videos crop up of three guys with sawzalls and angle grinders cut out a battery onto a skateboard and hoist it into the back of a truck in minutes.
- withinboredom 5y ago
  People don’t seem to have any issues stealing 600lb motorcycles
  - FuckButtons 5y ago
    600lb motorcycles aren’t usually integrated internally into a several tone vehicle and mostly don’t discharge high voltage dc into anyone trying to steal them.
    - exhilaration 5y ago
      These are merely operational details. With some training and a little bit of Darwinian selection, I could easily see the same guys that mastered stealing catalytic converters in 2 minutes [1] shifting their focus to EV batteries. It might take them longer, say, 5 minutes, but the payoff is far higher. [1] https://www.edmunds.com/auto-insurance/in-under-two-minutes-catalytic-converter-theft.html https://www.edmunds.com/auto-insurance/in-under-two-minutes-...
      - ecpottinger 5y ago
        Ah, yes, darwin selection. Should go to the Darwin Awards page to see what happens to people trying to steal from high voltage systems.
- desktopninja 5y ago
  Definitely not the current versions of batteries but those will drop in size over a short period of time. Maybe instead of stealing the battery itself the energy from it would be illegitimately transferred off ... "siphoned off" if you will
  - fedreserved 5y ago
    100 kwh at California peak pricing of 45 cents per kwh gets you a shopping .$4.50
catlikesshrimp 5y ago
I think the big bussiness opportunity is bankruptcy. Lease some land, build a cheap warehouse, stock batteries for profit. Go bankrupt Put batteries in a ship, dump them in international waters. Go bankrupt. Sell them abroad as "refurbished" stock. Go bankrupt. This one actually works for expired batteries, you can buy them on ebay.
- ecpottinger 5y ago
  Contact RV, off-the grid people, people with projects that need the batteries - PROFITS! Only the dumb people can't make a profit off selling BEV batteries.
willvarfar 5y ago
As thieves steal cars and trucks and boats and things, I’m guessing car batteries or stealing vehicles for their batteries would be a thing.. except for DRM. I think it’s highly likely that batteries will be like printer cartridges and a battery taken from one car won’t just work in another etc.

esturk 5y ago

Unlike a catalytic converter which is lightweight and easy to steal, the battery of an EV is neither. Heck, even a PHEV like the Prius has a battery that weighs 150+ lbs. And as the range on these vehicles increase, so too will the weight.

minetest2048 5y ago

I don't see any way to steal electric car battery without actually stealing the car. Its big, heavy, scary (and actually dangerous), and highly integrated with the car

zardo 5y ago
Unless the car is designed for fast battery swaps. It's still a big heavy item to steal, but it's conceivable to drop it on a skate and hoist it into a van.
- senectus1 5y ago
  i doubt this will be a big issue, the safety requirements around this will match the price of the damned things.
- zelon88 5y ago
  When I first read the top-level comment I initially thought the same thing. After reading your comment I'm thinking that we'll eventually see start seeing YouTube videos crop up of three guys with sawzalls and angle grinders cut out a battery onto a skateboard and hoist it into the back of a truck in minutes.
withinboredom 5y ago
People don’t seem to have any issues stealing 600lb motorcycles
- FuckButtons 5y ago
  600lb motorcycles aren’t usually integrated internally into a several tone vehicle and mostly don’t discharge high voltage dc into anyone trying to steal them.
  - exhilaration 5y ago
    These are merely operational details. With some training and a little bit of Darwinian selection, I could easily see the same guys that mastered stealing catalytic converters in 2 minutes [1] shifting their focus to EV batteries. It might take them longer, say, 5 minutes, but the payoff is far higher. [1] https://www.edmunds.com/auto-insurance/in-under-two-minutes-catalytic-converter-theft.html https://www.edmunds.com/auto-insurance/in-under-two-minutes-...
    - ecpottinger 5y ago
      Ah, yes, darwin selection. Should go to the Darwin Awards page to see what happens to people trying to steal from high voltage systems.
desktopninja 5y ago
Definitely not the current versions of batteries but those will drop in size over a short period of time. Maybe instead of stealing the battery itself the energy from it would be illegitimately transferred off ... "siphoned off" if you will
- fedreserved 5y ago
  100 kwh at California peak pricing of 45 cents per kwh gets you a shopping .$4.50

catlikesshrimp 5y ago

I think the big bussiness opportunity is bankruptcy. Lease some land, build a cheap warehouse, stock batteries for profit. Go bankrupt Put batteries in a ship, dump them in international waters. Go bankrupt. Sell them abroad as "refurbished" stock. Go bankrupt. This one actually works for expired batteries, you can buy them on ebay.

ecpottinger 5y ago
Contact RV, off-the grid people, people with projects that need the batteries - PROFITS! Only the dumb people can't make a profit off selling BEV batteries.

willvarfar 5y ago

As thieves steal cars and trucks and boats and things, I’m guessing car batteries or stealing vehicles for their batteries would be a thing.. except for DRM. I think it’s highly likely that batteries will be like printer cartridges and a battery taken from one car won’t just work in another etc.