Oh dear, Jeremy has to make public apology for "mumbling" that word

[jonbuoy]

This fella still works...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATS-3
http://science.nasa.gov/missions/ats/
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/space...o?id=1967-111A

And he had Ni-Cads from the 60's.

As for the swapping of the batteries. Tesla are working on a "7 year swap" where you can just swap the batteries out for a % of what the car is worth every 7 years. If value drops - so does the cost of a swap out. Interestingly enough - there first prototypes are still good, 9 years on.

Tesla S85 looks awesome. Only negative things I have read about them is the airconditioning being a little weak. I think it costs around $20,000 less in refill costs compared to petrol over 160,000KM period. A replacement battery pack is around $15,000 and should last 10 years although in 10 years time battery technology will have moved on even further.
The really nice thing is that you can punt around with the economy of a small car engine but still go from 0-100 in just over 5 seconds if you feel the urge.

[avgas]

Tesla S85 looks awesome. Only negative things I have read about them is the airconditioning being a little weak. I think it costs around $20,000 less in refill costs compared to petrol over 160,000KM period. A replacement battery pack is around $15,000 and should last 10 years although in 10 years time battery technology will have moved on even further. The really nice thing is that you can punt around with the economy of a small car engine but still go from 0-100 in just over 5 seconds if you feel the urge.

Having sat in one I can attest they are pure awesome. MASSIVE amounts of storage, 7 seats (back 2 are even relatively comfortable) and if you budget for 45 minute fill up (i.e. eat some lunch etc) then refueling isn't that bad either on long trips.

If you pay for the supercharger stations - you get unlimited refills for a flat fee ($2000) so if you don't mind taking a 20-45 min break every week or so to fill up, it will cost you nothing more in power. Most people spend lots more on 7 seater cars in terms of gas (I'm looking at a CX-9 which is going to cost me 2-4 times that a year).

They also have the P85 if you want to do 0-100 in under 5 seconds.

[FlangMasterJ]

I've been hooked on Tesla S vids lately. What a vehicle!

A clip of the auto battery replacement option the supercharger stations will be fitted with.

[youtube]H5V0vL3nnHY[/youtube]