Tesla Motors has designed its Model S to be capable of fast battery swapping, which can ultimately prove to be a better solution than charging the car battery.
According to Tesla, swapping a battery in the Model S takes about 90 seconds, and the driver never has to get out of the car. The process is as simple as driving the car onto a designated spot, where a platform rises up from the ground, removes the depleted battery and installs a new one.
Now, Tesla has demonstrated the battery-swapping capabilities of the Model S on video. The clip shows a comparison between filling up a regular gas guzzler and exchanging the battery on the model S, which happens in about 90 seconds. In fact, Tesla manages to exchange the battery on another Model S in the time it takes to fill up a regular, gasoline-powered car.
"We designed Model S from the beginning to be capable of swapping out the battery pack faster than you can fill a gas tank" -@elonmusk— Tesla Motors (@TeslaMotors) June 21, 2013
Swapping will take 90secs. You'll never get out of your car. Return the pack on your journey back or keep it & we'll bill you the difference— Tesla Motors (@TeslaMotors) June 21, 2013
Tesla CEO Elon Musk claims the battery swapping works "with all Tesla Model S cars, past and present." The first battery swapping stations, each of which costs about $500.000, will be coming to the busiest corridors first, including I5 in California.
Check out the video above and tell us what you think in the comments.