Friday, June 21, 2013

Tesla's battery-swapping solution fuels electric cars in 90 seconds

Earlier this year, Tesla Motors Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk launched a nationwide network of free super-fast charging stations to refuel the company's all-electric sedans on long-distance trips.

The downside is that they take about 30 minutes to put 200 miles' worth of charge back into the car, and although that is greatly reduced from original electric vehicle charging times, is long enough for critics of electric cars to argue that they're not practical or viable for long journeys.

Tesla challenged that perspective at an event in Los Angeles Thursday. In front of an audience of hundreds of Model S owners, Musk unveiled a new type of automated battery-swap system in which machines grab the flat battery pack from the bottom of the Model S and replace it with a brand-new, fully charged one.

During a live demonstration, Tesla managed to perform a battery swap on a Model S in one minute and 33 seconds, and then a second Model S in one minute and 36 seconds.

"There are people that take a lot of convincing," Musk said. "Hopefully, this is what will finally convince people that electric cars are the future."

For more of the Bloomberg story: businessweek.com

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