Telsa Says Forget About Battery Swaps - We Can Charge Your Battery In 5 Minutes

Electric vehicles take too long to recharge. To charge a Tesla Model S just halfway takes five hours at a typical home or public charging station. But in its effort to make electric vehicles more practical, Tesla Motors is quickly reducing the charging times.

Last September, it unveiled a network of “supercharging” stations—designed exclusively for its Model S and future electric vehicles—that could charge a battery halfway in 30 minutes. In May, it announced an upgrade that cut that time to 20 minutes. Now Tesla’s chief technology officer, JB Straubel, says the company eventually could cut the time it takes to fully charge the battery to just five minutes—or not much longer than it takes to fill a gas tank.



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TheSteve - 7/16/2013 7:30:29 PM

+6 Boost

This article's subject is misleading. The article states Tesla HOPES to create a technology that may, some day in the future, charge an EV in 5 minutes. It's only a dream. The know-how does not yet exist.

Boo on '009 for choosing a title that completely misrepresents the story.

TheSteve - 7/17/2013 2:48:27 AM

+3 Boost

FYI: Typo in subject..."Tesla", not "Telsa"

t_bone - 7/17/2013 9:06:51 PM

0 Boost

In the RC world, a recent charger like the Cellpro PL6 can routinely charge A123 cells in under 3 minutes. This guy has a photo of his charger after doing it in 2:16. Not a big deal: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1886354

Will this scale to 7,000 cells? Yes. You just need the cell wiring (a bit more weight) and a robust electricity source (not sure if 440v will do it).