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Comment by _ea1k | Hacker News Reader

I would really love to know how they are getting such a large battery capacity in a vehicle of this size.

Is this a generational leap in energy density? What kind of materials are being used here?

My brother pointed out that other Tesla cars (even the semi they announced) have a "front trunk". This one's hood is seamless. Our theory is that under the entire front hood is batteries.

Makes sense to help weigh down the front too (so as not to go airborne while doing 0-60 in 1.9s).

I wonder what happens when one of these cars crashes head-on into something. The front of a car is supposed to act as a crumple zone. Batteries aren't very good at crumpling.

Neither are internal combustion engines. What crumples are structural supports, not all the components within. And if they go that route I guess they'll go with slightly different battery chemistry as well to avoid a fire. They might have to do so anyway to sustain power output.

Yeah, and Tesla has talked about this extensively in the past. It would be pretty surprising if they switch to using this area for battery, but it is possible.

Most super cars have very little safety in mind. At $200k, a small percentage of people will be driving one. It's all about specs at this point, throw everything else out other than meeting the road legal requirements.

I was just about to write my own comment about this: the battery capacity is the real eye-opener in this announcement, I think. The new roadster looks like a car which is rather smaller than the Model 3, certainly not larger. And as a sporty car it wouldn't be heavier either.

So how in all worlds do they fit a 200kWh battery in there?

This can only mean, it has more than twice the capacity per weight and volume than the current Tesla battery tech. Very intriguing. Of course, it could be a very obvious case of history repeating itself. The original Tesla roadster pioneered the current Tesla battery tech, what would be more appropriate (and reasonable) than to launch the next generation battery tech with the next gen roadster? The high price and corresponding smaller sales numbers allows for an easy introduction of experimental technology.

You're discounting the fact that this will be released in 2020. We've had a 4x increase in density between 2010-2016.

Also, Model 3 benefits from the new smaller gigafactory-made battery packages (at least a 35% increase in density over older Model S battery packs).

When you take all of this into account, it's very likely that they could fit an older Model S-size battery pack (which is more from 2015-2016 era) in a Roadster 2 with 2x the density.

Oh, I don't doubt, that Tesla can do it :). I just think it is interesting that the specs to the roadster point to a clear and significant increase in battery density. The Model S went from 80 to 100 kWh in 5 years, which is a nice increase but much smaller what they seem to plan with the roadster. And it would be exciting for electrical cars in general, because with that increase a more realistic 100 kWh battery changes from being something you can barely fit into a rather large Model S to something which should fit easily in much smaller cars designed for electric propulsion.

Seeing how Tesla struggles with new car production I would love to see them take a role like Samsung; they can still make popular flagship cars, but they can also become a primary battery supplier to other automakers, just like Samsung has extremely popular flagship smartphones, but also is a primary supplier of parts like OLED screens. I think selling their battery tech could help them become and stay profitable while smoothing over the wrinkles they have in car production.

This could also free up cash flow to give them more resources to work on self driving tech. Honestly, the idea of an electric Honda or Subaru with a "Powered by Tesla" logo could seems really exciting.

Unfortunately, Tesla does not build their own batteries.

Tesla claims that the Model 3 can only fit ~80 Kwh with the current "improved" technology. This is more than double that in an even smaller vehicle!

Double-thick battery? The current battery is one level deep and is pretty thin.

This car is smaller than a Model 3, though, and the 3 can only fit <80kwh.

I read elsewhere it has 6800 18650 li ion cells. I haven't fact-checked that yet, mind you.

This explains their battery supplier "problems". Those ebay sellers want you to buy a flashlight with each one of those batteries. It all makes sense now. /s

This car isn't surprising considering the existing Model S performance in any way except that range. WTF?? 650 miles in a car that size is totally game changing. Will next gen of Model 3 and Model S also have 3X their current range?

Probably not. Normal practical cars need space to put stuff that you want to bring with you. This car doesn't appear to have much of that kind of space, probably in lieu of batteries.

Don't bet on it. Battery density will keep increasing and price will keep decreasing.

It might take 20 years, but it'll happen.

Well ya, but he specifically asked about the next gen Model 3.

Genuinely asking here, because I know very little about batteries;

What happens when a gigantic battery like that starts failing and needs to be replaced? Can they be recycled or maybe refurbished?

This video shows how a battery can be recycled: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpSrHZnCi-A

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