Tesla devastates criticism with announcement that new models park for a year without "bricking"

[wtmusic]

"On the Tesla website, the company has addressed reports that up to five Tesla Roadsters have been turned into gorgeous paperweights that need a $40,000 repair because their batteries were discharged too low. The official but unattributed article (unless we're supposed to believe that 'Tesla Motors' actually wrote the piece) says that bricking is 'an irrational fear based on limited information and a misunderstanding of Tesla's battery system.'

While noting that electric vehicles need, in general, far less maintenance than vehicles with an ICE and that, in any case, all vehicles require some sort of maintenance, Tesla asks its owners to remember to charge the car. Not at all times, but regularly. Here's where things get interesting, when Tesla lays out some definite times for how long its vehicles, including the upcoming Model S and Model X, can be left unplugged:

The earliest Roadsters will take over two months to discharge if parked at a 50 percent charge without being plugged in. From that starting point, Tesla has consistently innovated and improved our battery technology. For example, a Model S battery parked with 50 percent charge would approach full discharge only after about 12 months. Model S batteries also have the ability to protect themselves as they approach very low charge levels by going into a "deep sleep" mode that lowers the loss even further. A Model S will not allow its battery to fall below about 5 percent charge. At that point the car can still sit for many months. Of course you can drive a Model S to 0 percent charge, but even in that circumstance, if you plug it in within 30 days, the battery will recover normally."

http://green.autoblog.com/2012/02/24/tesla-model-s-and-x-can-be-parked-for-a-year-without-bricking/

[bringthetroopshome]

1. Go Tesla!

I've been an EV enthusiast since back with GM's first dabbles and nowadays I'm awaiting the Nissan Leaf to come to my area in Michigan. I also own stock in Tesla and have been quite please with the performance of their stock. There has been some argument to whether the success of Tesla Motors is artificial due to government subsidies. I have to say I hope that is not the case because nothing would erk me more than to know one of my favorite companies that is pushing the envelope with electric vehicles is involved in corporatism. I guess that's the name of the game though until we can root out this type of corruption.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

2. A bit of a change of tune by Tesla

Original reports were that they denied bricking happens at all.

I would have been surprised if they do not have some battery protection built in...and reportedly they do.

Even if what is in the OP is correct, it is most likely based on analysis and not actual test results.

Emergent technologies have teething pains. This is no different.

[jeff47]

4. You can have all the battery protection in the world. Doesn't mean you can't brick a battery

You can add in protection circuitry that disconnects the battery from the load when the charge gets below a certain level.

At that point, basic chemistry takes over. All batteries self-discharge. They lose a little bit of their charge all the time. If the battery isn't recharged for a long enough time, it becomes a brick. It's not safe to charge a lithium-ion battery from 0V without a lot of special equipment and special charging profile.

In addition, that battery protection circuitry gets it's power from....the battery. Making the drain worse.

Also, those "original reports" from Tesla weren't saying it was impossible. They were saying it was impossible if you followed the owners manual. Which instructs you to plug it in for long-term storage, explains the "storage" mode of the battery charger, and warns that not plugging it in for an extended period of time can damage the battery.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

5. Again, their statements are based on analysis

Not saying anything bad about Telsa or its cars, but as the technology matures we need to expect some teething pains.

[jeff47]

7. My point is this isn't something that _can_ be fixed as the industry matures

This is a facet of all batteries, no matter the chemistry. Li-Ion does it, NiMH does it, NiCd does it, Lead-acid does it, Alkaline does it, and so on.

Battery-powered EVs will always have this "problem".

[txlibdem]

8. It's not a problem, it's a feature

TV ad: "Come on down and get the new 'Self Discharging' vehicle.
Better, faster, cleaner than that fossil burner you've got in your garage now!
Oh, and did I mention: it costs less than a third to run than your present vehicle."

[joshcryer]

10. The original statement was by some PR person reading the manual, I suspect.

Once the engineers got to the PR they made it clearer.

You just don't want to make sweeping guarantees, it's bad business to give a warranty to people without charging 'em for it.

[txlibdem]

3. This should effectively shut the anti-Electric Vehicle crowd up for a while.

Egg on your face anti-EV types? Yup.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

6. It won't

New technology has growing pains, but the least hiccup will cause some to toss it over the side.

[txlibdem]

9. Have you ever heard the expression "Get a horse"?

It came from the unreliability of early gasoline powered vehicles. Now they dominate. The same will happen with electric vehicles. It is inevitable.