Gigafactory

Quote: Fleastiff

Charging a car will be a matter of an "ultraflash charge" or it will mean swapping in a new battery pack which will only take a few minutes. Range increases, versatility increases and the "inner city runabout" designed for commuting and shopping becomes a go anywhere car with a stay off the grid for as long as you like vehicle.

I don't see the swapping the battery pack thing ever being able to work. No matter how many idealized videos Musk makes, I have worked in too many cars and seen how hard parts get to change over time to buy it.

I think the "ultraflash charge" is the most likely scenario. On a long drive, emptying the bladder will take more time than topping off the battery.

Quote: AZDuffman

I don't see the swapping the battery pack thing ever being able to work. No matter how many idealized videos Musk makes, I have worked in too many cars and seen how hard parts get to change over time to buy it.

Too many different battery packs from too many suppliers. How many would an exchange station have to stock at several grand a pop. Not going to happen. This isn't even considering what an owner with his brand new lectric car and battery pack is going to think having to give it up for one of unknown age and condition which he will never see again.

Quote: Fleastiff

I think the "ultraflash charge" is the most likely scenario. On a long drive, emptying the bladder will take more time than topping off the battery.

If they can get that going. I will need to see it work in cell phone before I buy the viability.

Quote: kenarman

Too many different battery packs from too many suppliers. How many would an exchange station have to stock at several grand a pop. Not going to happen. This isn't even considering what an owner with his brand new lectric car and battery pack is going to think having to give it up for one of unknown age and condition which he will never see again.

True, but even if this could be overcome parts wear out when you keep swapping them. Bolts break and strip. Banging big, heavy batteries around bumps things. Mud, dirt, salt all over things.

It will have to be fast charging.

Quote: AZDuffman

I don't see the swapping the battery pack thing ever being able to work. No matter how many idealized videos Musk makes, I have worked in too many cars and seen how hard parts get to change over time to buy it.

I probably changed my battery packs out thousands of times on two commercially made electric bicycles, and they were much more exposed to elements and wear than these cars would be. True they were only 12 to 15lbs each.

Rain heat sand and dust, not an issue. I ran the Panasonic bike for 4 years until the battery was nearly dead. The issue with the EZee was the power from the starting out broke the inner plastic gearing inside the hub motor into its second year. But I never had battery issues with either of the bikes. All my issues were typical bike issues like flat tires.

Actually, it seems to me a machine exchanging a battery could probably do a smoother job changing them out than I did by hand, even at the extra weight.

Quote: AZDuffman

If they can get that going. I will need to see it work in cell phone before I buy the viability.

Probably won't happen soon. If Trump stays in power, the only type of charging system that will be built will be coal-powered. He actually doesn't believe in electricity.

If it does happen, I wonder how much an ultraflash charge will cost. I mean, the electricity isn't free. And how do you crank up the amperage using existing equipment so that you can deliver that amount of power that quickly? And assuming you could manage that, what about safety hazards? It's already been shown that a massive discharge (for example, a short) from a Prius battery can kill a human, so how do you make equipment that can deliver that amount of power to the battery safely?

" If Trump stays in power, the only type of charging system that will be built will be coal-powered. "

Where would this forum be without your insightful comments ?

Quote: rxwine

I probably changed my battery packs out thousands of times on two commercially made electric bicycles, and they were much more exposed to elements and wear than these cars would be. True they were only 12 to 15lbs each.

You charged the packs, you did not swap out the packs. It is not a battery being exposed to the elements. The issue is the nuts, bolts, and other fasteners being exposed.

Quote: AZDuffman

You charged the packs, you did not swap out the packs. It is not a battery being exposed to the elements. The issue is the nuts, bolts, and other fasteners being exposed.

I did have to remove the pack to charge it on the Panasonic bike. There was no other option. Then would have to slide it back into place.

The Fx version of the Zero motorcycle does this in motorcross conditions with even larger packs.