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If battery tech doesn't improve on the price any time soon, I'd like to see a slightly different financing option. I'd like to buy (or lease) the car, and then
by derekp7 13y ago
If battery tech doesn't improve on the price any time soon, I'd like to see a slightly different financing option. I'd like to buy (or lease) the car, and then lease the battery pack separately, so you pay for it by the charge. Currently, it cost about $6 to "fill up" a 300-mile range battery, vs. $50-$70 for gas. So as long as the electric cost plus battery lease per charge costs than the cost of a tank of gas, I believe that would go a long way to solving the up-front vehicle cost issues.
- qbrass 13y agoRenault is doing that with monthly leases on the battery in the Zoe. People started getting worked up about it because they can remotely disable the battery if you don't make the lease payments.
- derekp7 13y agoI'd actually like to see a communications link between the battery and the charger -- when you charge it in your garage, you swipe your credit card and get billed for that charge. As long as it is, say, half the price of a tank of gas, then all is good. But, I just ran the numbers -- a Tesla battery costs about 30 grand. If it lasts 10 years (120,000 miles), and gets 300 miles per charge, that is 400 charge cycles -- or about $75 a fill up. Adding in electric cost ($5 at the cheaper rates), and gasoline price of $3.60 per gallon, then you are looking at getting a car with the equivalent of 22 miles per gallon.