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Plus the obvious problem that it presumes all automotive batteries will be electrically and mechanically identical... or at most there could be a small number o
by bodyfour 13y ago
Plus the obvious problem that it presumes all automotive batteries will be electrically and mechanically identical... or at most there could be a small number of variants that they keep in stock. If all the world's a Model S it could work, but if electric cars become the future it seems likely there will be variation for different body styles, price ranges, etc.
Battery swapping might have a niche future for urban fleet applications (taxis, police cars, ...) where battery ownership and vehicle diversity aren't issues. Maybe Tesla is trying to make moves there?
- CamperBob2 13y agoIf all the world's a Model S it could work, but if electric cars become the future it seems likely there will be variation for different body styles, price ranges, etc. Funny, this isn't a problem in consumer electronics, where thousands of different devices from flashlights to ghetto blasters use one of a very small number of battery sizes. Don't think of it as swapping one monolithic battery... think of a Ferrari that runs on two 'AAA' cells, a Buick that runs on two 'AA's, a FedEx truck that runs on four 'C's, and an eighteen-wheeler that takes sixteen 'D' cells. Service stations would only need to stock a few discrete sizes.
- jdeibele 13y agoIt seems like an electric car could be made with two sets of batteries: one swappable and one not. Use the swappable one more or less where the gas tank is and use custom sized batteries elsewhere. You'd have to swap batteries more often on a long trip but I could see the swapping easily taking the same amount of time as filling a gas tank.