Doing this for 3 extra ZEV credits in California. Unlikely to see this anywhere else.
Seems like what's really needed is a way to swap batteries at home, so that you can leave one pack at home to charge from your solar panels while you drive to work with the other one, then swap in the evening when you get home. Otherwise you'll have to charge a stationary battery during the day, then charge the car pack from the stationary battery at night, with all the attendant losses.
Seems like it would be much easier to just install a solar-powered charger at work.
The batteries have a 200+ mile range, which should be more than enough for a standard commute to and from work in a single day.
Right, but if you're getting your energy from home solar panels, then having the car at work all day complicates things. If the batteries could be easily swapped out, then you could always have a pack charging during the day while you drive about with the other one.
If you have net metering, let the solar panels send to the grid during the day, and charge the car from the grid at night. If you have net metering with time of use metering, the difference in energy prices for generation and use, then you're being paid to essentially use the grid to store your solar energy so you can use it at night.
That seems like an expensive way to turn your valuable daytime electricity into less valuable nighttime electricity, but I guess it makes sense if your goal is to disconnect from the grid.
As more solar power comes online, we may see the cost curve invert, where power is cheaper in day time.
And after that happens, it'll still be cheaper to charge at work than to have a personal battery swap station.
I'd be concerned about receiving a battery that has had more charge cycles than mine. Kind of a good way to unwittingly shorten your vehicle's life span.
... that's why you have to swap back to your original battery, which is the one you own. For example, drive SF-LA swapping for a loaner battery; swap back to your own battery on the way home.
Strange that it would cost just less than a full tank of gas. I was assuming it would be much cheaper, not comparable to gas.
Why? The battery swap only makes sense when you are on a road trip longer than the typical range of your battery(hundreds of miles), so it's not like Tesla owners are going to be doing a battery swap every week. Most likely, tesla owners will charge at home for over 99% of their trips, and maybe choose to do a battery swap if they are on the road for a long time and don't want to wait the 30 minutes for a super charge.
"At least initially, battery swap will be available by appointment and will cost slightly less than a full tank of gasoline for a premium sedan."
Assuming there is demand for battery swaps, as the install base grows, this will almost certainly drop.