Tesla Motors Inc.'s Battery Swapping Is Finally a Reality

In the summer of 2013, Tesla Motors showed off a 90-second battery swap system. The technology will enableowners to quickly exchange their battery for a fully charged one instead of waiting for their electric vehicle to power up at a Supercharger location. A year and a half later, Tesla has finally debuted its first battery swap station.

Tesla batteries sit across the floor of the vehicle. Batteries can be swapped without any owner assistance.Image source: Tesla Motors.

Tesla's first battery swap stationNext week, Tesla will begin a pilotbattery swapping program at a facility across the street from a Supercharger station at Harris Ranch, California. During the pilot program, Tesla will initially host only invited Model S owners.

"This pilot program is intended to test technology and assess demand," according to Tesla'sblog postyesterday announcing the program.

Notably, the 90-second timing that was initially showcased won't be possible yet. Since first showing off its battery swapping, Tesla has added a titanium underbody shield and aluminum deflector plates to the bottom of the battery for increased protection. This added complexity has boosted the swap time to three minutes, according to the automaker. However, Tesla believes the amount of timecould be reduced to less than one minute. But this upgrade will only happen if the "relative demand from customers for paid pack swap versus free charging ... merits the engineering resources and investment necessary," Tesla said

Unlike its Supercharging, battery swapping won't be free for Model S owners. It "will cost slightly less than a full tank of gasoline for a premium sedan," according to Tesla.

The company has said previouslythat owners would eventually have to return to the battery swap station to retrieve their originalbattery.

Why battery swapping?Tesla CEO Elon Musk seemed to suggest during the system's unveilingin Los Angeles last year that battery swapping had more to do with proof of concept than customer demand for such a technology.

"What this is about is -- it's convincing the people that are skeptics," Musk said on stage after the batteries were swapped out of two Model S vehicles in the time it took to fill the gas tank of one gasoline-powered vehicle. "There are some people that just -- they take a lot of convincing. So what we really want to show here is that you can actually be more convenient than a gasoline car."

Tesla CEO Elon Musk on stage during the battery swap demonstration last year. Image source: Tesla Motors.

Given that the average person's daily driving distance is far less than the 208 to 265 miles of range boasted by Tesla Model S batteries, most owners only need to stop at a Supercharger location when they are traveling long-distance. For daily driving, owners usually opt to charge overnight at their home. It might be possible, therefore, that many owners will prefer the free Supercharging over the faster battery swapping that actually requires drivers to open up their wallets.

On the other hand, battery swapping could eventually be crucial for improving the customer experience at busy Supercharger locations, such as those in California, where owners sometimes must wait in lines during high-demand hours.

With about 22,500 Model S sales last year, probably around 33,000 this year, and Tesla's estimate for about 50,000 in 2015, battery swap stations could become key for the companyin proving that electric cars can be more convenient than their gas-powered counterparts.

The article Tesla Motors Inc.'s Battery Swapping Is Finally a Reality originally appeared on Fool.com.

Daniel Sparks owns shares of Tesla Motors. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Tesla Motors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.