2014 Tesla Model S P85 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

New pictures of Tesla's not-yet-open battery swap station

Katie Fehrenbacher from GigaOm drove down to the Tesla's first battery-swap station in Coalinga, CA to check on its progress. Tesla had said in a blog post that it would start an invite-only pilot pack swap program last month; it doesn't appear that it's begun yet, but based on the almost-finished state of the not-yet-open swapping station, it could start up quite soon. Sited across the street from the Supercharger station at Harris Ranch, the $500,000 swapping lean-to appeared to Fehrenbacher to be a repurposed car wash. It's got signage for its new use, the restrooms are in order, and the mechanicals for changing out batteries have been installed in a bay large enough for one car at a time. This is the 'fee' part of the "Fee or Free" options for recharging a Tesla. Drivers with a bit of time can 'refill' at the supercharger station for free. Those who don't want to stop for more than three minutes - the time it's expected to take to change out the battery - will pay around $50 to $60 for a loaner battery so they can continue their trip. On their return trip, they will return to the swap station and return the loaner pack for their original one; it's said they can also pay to have their battery shipped to them - which seems odd - or pay the difference between the usage of their battery and the loaner. There have been a few articles written about how the battery stations can restore a revenue stream for Tesla, selling ZEV credits to other manufacturers. After CARB rules switched to provide maximum credits only to vehicles that could "accumulate at least 190 or 285 miles, respectively, in 15 minutes or less" - which the superchargers can't do - Tesla's ZEV credit sales dropped to $0 by the end of 2013. The swap stations could fulfill the requirement, although there was once talk that CARB would bar the technology, disallowing battery changing for actual recharging solutions. But that won't matter in the short term; we should find out what the Tesla-buying public thinks of swapping soon. Head over to GigaOm for more pictures of the station.

Nevada lawmakers debating Tesla gigafactory tax breaks today

When it comes to Nevada's financial incentives that lured Tesla Motors to build its Gigafactory in the Silver State, some lawmakers have said Gov. Brian Sandoval has some 'splain' to do. And such explanations are slated to start today, reports Reuters. When there are $1.3 billion or so worth of incentives, the conversation's likely to be a lengthy one. Nevada Assembly Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick is expected to oversee the talks about the incentives, which have been criticized in some circles as being overly generous (even the idea of massive incentives was criticized). Tesla's tax exemptions alone would amount to about $725 million, and there would be about $300 million in payroll savings. Other goodies include business-tax abatements and discounted electricity rates. Sandoval has argued that the Gigafactory, which could open by late 2016, could create $100 billion worth of economic activity during the next two decades, making it a pretty good deal for the state. The factory, to be built near Reno, will be about 5 million square feet and includes battery-maker Panasonic as an investor. It's considered vital to Tesla's goal of making a $35,000 electric car with a 200-mile range. Nevada beat out Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Tesla's home state of California for Gigafactory bragging rights, but the fight might be just beginning.

Bosch, Daimler say Tesla's Supercharger strategy a disservice to EVs

Here's a classic pot-kettle-black story. Daimler, which has a partnership with Tesla, is calling the EV automaker out for its Supercharger stations that - at this point - only work with Tesla vehicles. Daimler, along with supplier Bosch, is saying that there should be compatible standards in the EV industry. Tesla has big plans to install Supercharger throughout Germany (and Europe), but Daimler isn't singing praises. Daimler's research and design chief, Thomas Weber told Automobilwoche that, "The future [of an electric charging infrastructure] lies in standardization. As with gas stations, we need a charging system for all manufacturers, not least because it reduces the cost of the infrastructure, but it is also more convenient for customers." That's true as far as it goes. The irony here, of course, is that Daimler and its partners chose to develop a new DC fast charging system, the SAE Combo system, despite the fact that another standard (CHAdeMO) was already widely available. The SAE Combo team said when the technology was unveiled that it, "will optimize customer ease of use and will accelerate more affordable deployment of electrified vehicles and charging infrastructure," even though there are thousands of CHAdeMO stations in operation today and only a handful of SAE units.