Tesla’s first battery-swapping stations were supposed to open by the end of 2013. They didn’t and they haven’t opened yet. However, Tesla Motors CEO & Chief Product Architect Elon Musk says that they will open within the “next few months.”
Depending on how usage goes at these first battery-swapping stations, Tesla will decide whether or not to build more.
You may recall that Tesla unveiled its battery-swapping capabilities at a demo in California back in June 2013. At the demo, Tesla employees performed a 90-second battery swap in a Tesla Model S. Not much could be seen, unfortunately, but I assume that’s because Tesla didn’t want anyone stealing its technology.
I’m a Tesla fanboy, but I have to say that I’m a little disappointed that Tesla would unveil its battery-swapping technology practically one full year before it was ready to launch it. What’s up with that?
Via Pulse2
The technology launched well before the demo actually. It’s in every model S. It’s just not ready to be utilized. Just like the car being able to quickly charge off a supercharger when there wasn’t a supercharger network. It’s a process and they have obviously had plans for the future since the beginning.