How Much Would You Pay for a Battery Upgrade?

[electricfuture]

The Tesla S will debut next year with 3 different battery packs:
160 mile range = $57,400
230 mile range = $72,400
300 mile range = $87,400

As all three packs fit in the same vehicle it is obvious that the battery technology to increase the Leaf range is already available.

So how much would you be willing to pay to upgrade your Leaf from 100 to 150 mile range to virtually eliminate range anxiety for city driving?

 

[LEAFfan]

Zero dollars for me...what's range anxiety? It doesn't even exist for me. We already have two CHAdeMOs now for public use so why would I need a larger battery? Other EV drivers will soon have them too, so a larger battery won't be necessary IMO.

 

[Stoaty]

I don't have range anxiety, but 150 miles would be a bit more convenient for me (and would last longer at a workable range). Still, I wouldn't want to put in more than $2000-3,000 at this point, as the Leaf works perfectly well right now. I would rather wait until battery prices (hopefully) come down in 5-10 years.

 

[Herm]

Stoaty, are you interested in the Coda?.. it may get 150 miles with careful driving.

 

[ElectricVehicle]

The Tesla S will debut next year with 3 different battery packs:
160 mile range = $57,400
230 mile range = $72,400
300 mile range = $87,400

Can you please let us know where you found this pricing?

I think the pricing is this:
Each additional 70 miles of battery range should be approximately $10,000. Your numbers show $15,000 which appears to be incorrect, but I haven't located an absolutely authortitative source to find out what it actually is, since the Model S Beta event.

160 mile range = $49,900 ($57,400 excluding $7,500 tax credit)
230 mile range = $59,900 ($67,400) (approximately)
300 mile range = $69,900 ($77,400) (approximately)

http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/tesla-model-s-beta-revealed/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Model_S" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I tried to find a reference on the Tesla site, but without ordering, I could only find the base price.

$5,000 for another 35 LEAF miles, I would probably go for. I would definitely pay $5,000 for another 50 miles. $10,000 I might do if I had to, but the things I do everyday are already within the current LEAF's range. An extra 35 miles would give more margin to some occasional longer trips and cover a couple longer trips each month. Then the poor Prius would get REALLY lonely, sitting parked while I'm out in the LEAF.

 

[Stoaty]

Stoaty, are you interested in the Coda?.. it may get 150 miles with careful driving.

Yes, if I can trade my Leaf and $2,000 for it I would be interested.

 

[abasile]

$5000 sounds about right, but I'm not in any hurry to install major aftermarket mods. I'd rather live with the current range, which on most days is more than enough, than be one of the first to take a chance on a third party upgrade.

 

[TomT]

$80 a mile would be about right... I'll take 50 for 4,000, Alex.

 

[JJnHAWAII]

It's a little early to ask this question of Leaf owners. After the batteries start to loose their intended range, hopefully after 10 years, then people will start to look at their options for upgrades. I'm not willing to pay anything at the moment, because the leaf more than meets my daily driving needs.

If I had to commute further and an upgraded battery would fit my needs then maybe 2- 5 K would be reasonable.

You can drive way more than the 100 mile range per day as long as you charge up throughout the day. I plug in everytime I stop by the house to extend my range.

 

[BlueSL]

The one size fits all approach of the original Leaf is already an anachronism! Tesla has set the new bar.

The second batch of Leafs (model year 2015 or so) will mimic these varied capacities and have stepped price points. Just wait and see.

 

[KeiJidosha]

I would prefer 100 mile US06 range and would pay $100/mile to get it. I'd also pay $700 for a 6.6kW charger and $1,500 for 10.5kW.

 

[ElectricVehicle]

I would prefer 100 mile US06 range and would pay $100/mile to get it. I'd also pay $700 for a 6.6kW charger and $1,500 for 10.5kW.

$1500 for a 10.5 kW onboard charger - I'd do that for sure! With the current whimpy 3.3 kW charger, you have to stay at your destination for 7 hours if you need a full charge, say a round trip of 150 miles. Shorter roundtrips ould need less than 7 hours to get enough charger for the return trip. With the 10.6 kw charger, and a high power level 2 - say 50A @ 240V, it would only take a little over 2 hours.

I recall the Tesla Model S talking about two onboard charging options, 10 kW stock amd an option to add 10 kW on board for a 20 kW total!

Using a high-amperage 240-volt outlet, Model S can be recharged at the rate of 62 miles range per hour. It can be recharged in 45 minutes using a DC rapid charging station.
http://www.teslamotors.com/models/features#/battery" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[EVDrive]

I would prefer 100 mile US06 range and would pay $100/mile to get it. I'd also pay $700 for a 6.6kW charger and $1,500 for 10.5kW.

+1. I would really like to be able to go further. I use my Leaf alot and have 7k miles already. If I could go 100 miles on the freeway at 70mph then i would be set. I don't have range anxiety, I have range restrictions. More L2/L3 charges and an upgraded 10kwh onboard charger are the easiest solution at this point. I would put more batteries in the trunk or below the trunk if it would cost 5k or less for 30 more miles.

 

[pawsouth]

I'd also pay $700 for a 6.6kW charger and $1,500 for 10.5kW.

3.3kw is wimpy. we need to tell Nissan to upgrade the software chip and upgrade the wire to handle at least 6.6kw.
Adding a large capacitor could help even though it won't handle the charge long (less than 24 hrs) but should charge quickly. Will also need a new software. I'd pay 4k for a capacitor to give 200 additional range.

 

[TickTock]

The Tesla S will debut next year with 3 different battery packs:
160 mile range = $57,400
230 mile range = $72,400
300 mile range = $87,400

As all three packs fit in the same vehicle it is obvious that the battery technology to increase the Leaf range is already available.

So how much would you be willing to pay to upgrade your Leaf from 100 to 150 mile range to virtually eliminate range anxiety for city driving?

For $57400, I'd just buy another Leaf and use one to tow the other, switch cars at halfway and keep trucking.

 

[mitch672]

The Tesla S will debut next year with 3 different battery packs:
160 mile range = $57,400
230 mile range = $72,400
300 mile range = $87,400

As all three packs fit in the same vehicle it is obvious that the battery technology to increase the Leaf range is already available.

So how much would you be willing to pay to upgrade your Leaf from 100 to 150 mile range to virtually eliminate range anxiety for city driving?

For $57400, I'd just buy another Leaf and use one to tow the other, switch cars at halfway and keep trucking.

You can't even buy the 160 or 230 mile Models S's until sometime in 2013, most likely. They are making the 300 Mile version starting in Mid 2012, and if you want one of those, you need to put down a $40K deposit, to get one of the first 1,000 being made, these are the "Signature" versions. Also, those prices are a tad low, tac on about $7-10K minimum additional for the options that will be typiclly added. These are not an "everymans" EV by a long shot.

 

[Nubo]

As all three packs fit in the same vehicle it is obvious that the battery technology to increase the Leaf range is already available.

I wouldn't necessarily conclude that the three Tesla packs are using different technology cells. It could simply be a matter of X amount of space available for cells, the largest pack filling 1X, the next .8X, and then .5X.

 

[jkirkebo]

So how much would you be willing to pay to upgrade your Leaf from 100 to 150 mile range to virtually eliminate range anxiety for city driving?

I would happily pay $10k for an upgrade to a 36kWh pack, as long as it did not take extra space.

I would however not pay even $100 for a larger charger as there is just about nowhere public to charge at more than 16A here (excluding CHAdeMO stations). At home 3.3kW is more than enough for us, even with a 36kWh battery.

 

[Smidge204]

As all three packs fit in the same vehicle it is obvious that the battery technology to increase the Leaf range is already available.

Sorry, I don't see how that's "obvious" at all. They designed the car for a 300 mile battery and decided to offer smaller ones at reduced cost, not the other way around. In terms of volume per kWh I think the LEAF's prismatic cells have a strong advantage anyway, but they cost more mainly because they are not produced in the same quantities and with the same level of automation as the cylindrical ones Tesla uses.

My daily driving is ~25mi but some days it becomes 70+ miles without much warning. A 100 mile pack (75 miles w/ penalty) would cut it close some days and certainly not be enough for maybe two or three days out of the past year.

I would pay maybe as much as $100 per extra mile of range, but only up to a certain point... with my driving habits, anything more than 200 miles would be a complete waste for me. Even if you add a lead-foot/cargo penalty to make that 150 miles total I'd be perfectly fine for everything I can imagine.
=Smidge=

 

[TonyWilliams]

One battery pack for Prius conversion is $13,500 for 6.1kWh of NiMH chemistry.

Assuming we can use 21/24 of the battery, or 87.5%, then 5.33kWh is available. At 4m/kWh, that's a bit over 20 miles of driving in the LEAF. I would presume the weight would be approximately 6.1/24, or 25% of the 660 pound LEAF battery, so an additional 165 pounds in the trunk.

About $675 per mile.