Tesla Motors really is grabbing the headlines at the moment, and CEO Elon Musk is using the publicity to make some bold claims. Having recently published impressive first quarter results that far exceeded analyst expectations, and announce a new round of stock offerings to raise money to pay of the Department of Energy loan earlier than forecast, Musk has now posted on his Twitter account the following Tweet:
"There is a way for the Tesla Model S to be recharged throughout the country faster than you could fill a gas tank."
In the quarterly report there was mention made of a 'battery swapping' feature that would indeed enable EV owners to drive into a station, and merely swap their drained battery for a fully charged one in less time than it takes to fill a regular cars tank with gasoline.
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In 2009 the original Model S was designed to be compatible with a battery swapping system, but nothing ever came of the idea, and in 2012 Tesla eventually switched to charging, installing 'superchargers' in California and all along the East Coast.
According to CS Monitor, battery swap technology is already being used by Better Place, a Silicon Valley based EV company that has spent more than $1 billion constructing battery swap stations around Israel and Denmark. Unfortunately sales have been low, and the company is struggling to remain afloat.
Many people have even begun to question the necessity of an EV 'gas station'. The average American drives just 29 miles a day, far less than the max range available from any EV, and then EV owners can just charge their vehicles up over-night. Nissan reports that 90% of Leaf owners charge their cars at home.
By. Joao Peixe of Oilprice.com
Joao is a writer for Oilprice.com More
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