REPORT: Tesla Model S could have 95 kWh battery pack (300 mi)

[wtmusic]

"Let's compare: the battery pack in a Tesla Roadster today is 53 kWh. The pack in the Chevy Volt? 16 kWh. The Nissan LEAF? 24 kWh. The Hymotion/A123 kit to make your Prius a plug in car uses a 5 kWh battery. Now, how big might the battery in the highest-range Tesla Model S be?

When Tesla revealed the Model S back in March, they said that the car would be available in three flavors: versions that had ranges of 160, 230 and 300 miles. The standard pack, it was revealed, would be 42 kWh, with "70 kWh and greater battery storage systems optional." Jim Motavalli has now gotten Tesla's chief technical officer, J.B. Straubel, to give a first public estimate of how big the 300-mile pack will be: 85 to 95 kWh.

Motavalli easily found plenty of skeptics willing to criticize a pack this big: it'll be too expensive, take too long to recharge and weigh too much, they said. Straubel's response: we have three years to figure this out, and battery technology advances quickly. Sure, but still, 95 kWh? Yikes."

http://green.autoblog.com/2009/08/25/report-tesla-model-s-could-have-95-kwh-battery-pack/

[FirstLight]

1. Nice!

I love the idea of electric cars, but until they make them with enough seating for my whole tribe of munchkins, i am screwn.

however if it was just me and a two seater...? I want one of these! have you looked at their website?
...SO uber cool!

www.teslamotors.com

[wtmusic]

2. Have I looked at their website? *wipes drool from chin*

IMO an electric car with 300 miles of range is premature - the only reason you would need 300 miles is for a long trip. Where will you charge when you get there?

Need infrastructure first.

[TheWraith]

3. I don't think it's premature at all.

It's a reasonable distance for a one-way road trip. Anything more than that and you might be looking at taking a train or a flight, but that'll take you from my home to Pittsburgh and leave you some juice to get around when you get there. The infrastructure part isn't hard: it's actually easier to provide electricity than it is to provide liquid fuel, since the former is much more prevalent. Install high-current outlets in parking garages, with the electrical cost added to your parking fee. Rest stops on the interstate, highway inns, and roadside diners would all be likely early adopters, providing a very robust base to start with.

In fact you could argue that a long-range EV is more necessary now, when there aren't a lot of charging opportunities, than it might be in 10 years or so. If I could charge up while I'm there, a 50 mile range would be enough to get me to a major city and back, but if my only real outlet is at home than I'd better have a lot more capacity.

[wtmusic]

9. You're right.

:thumbsup:

[TreasonousBastard]

7. Not premature at all if it's your primary vehicle...

which, admittedly, few of these will be for now.

Going to my mother's is 110 miles round trip.

If I have to work at Captree State Park, it's 140 miles round trip.

The VA hospital I go to several times a month is 125 miles round trip.

Get the idea?

Why would I need 300 miles, though? Well, I need at least 25% as a safety factor, figuring that the high range is under optimum conditions. Then, I might need the headlights, heat or A/C, windshield wipers, or any other stuff that robs power, cutting the range even more. And, getting stuck in traffic isn't free, since you've still got all that other stuff running. And, I might make some side trips.

Besides, how could I make sure that the thing is fully charged EVERY time I go somewhere? Even with fast charging, there's no guarantee I don't get back from Captree and have to run off somewhere else.

(Yeah, rapid charging or battery changing stations would be a good idea, but what's the chicken and what's the egg?)

[TheWraith]

4. Tesla's next vehicle after the Model S is supposed to be a family sedan.

The "BlueStar," slated for 2012.

[ffellini7080]

5. Electric cars are very important in this day and age.

Especially when the world's oil supply is running dry.

[Fearless]

6. But how much will it cost. That is the biggest roadblock.

[TheWraith]

8. $50k for the base model, $65k for longer range.

Mind you, this is a luxury sedan, akin to a BMW, not a vehicle intended for the mass market.

[tinrobot]

10. They estimate costs could get down to $300/kWh by 2011

Which means the 95kWh/300 mile battery would be about $28,000, or about $12,000 more than the 52kWh/165 mile battery.

Sucker would weigh a ton, though (literally)

[Fearless]

11. Getting better... but still... we've got a bit further to go.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

12. By the time the Tesla is available to the masses...

it will have historic plates on it straight from the dealership.

[Nederland]

13. Why do you say this?

All in all, their Roadster model came out reasonably on schedule.