EV Battery Swapping Is Yet Another Ball Dropped By Tesla

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The dramatic fall from grace of the Tesla brand almost seems like it happened overnight, but almost is the operative word. The clouds of doom have been building for several years. Among the missed opportunities missed by Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk along the way is EV battery swapping, an idea Tesla first introduced to the US all the way back in 2013 only to drop like a hot potato. Meanwhile, the battery swapping market has taken off like a rocket elsewhere around the world.

Tesla Swings And Whiffs On EV Battery Swapping

The bloom was already coming off the Tesla brand woes several years ago, after reports of bad behavior surfaced at the company’s Fremont factory. Musk’s penchant for grabbing the media spotlight during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, and his purchase of Twitter in 2022, added more fuel to the brand reputation fire.

Also, critics have advised for years that Tesla has missed some key opportunities. While other automakers are pouring new models into the market hand over fist, Tesla’s sedans and SUVs still have the musty look of yesterday’s warmed over meatloaf. Meanwhile, other truck makers are beating the long-delayed Tesla Semi to the punch, and the Tesla Cybertruck, well, never mind that.

Add battery swapping to the list of missed opportunities. Tesla opened a single swapping station in 2013 with the promise of a 90-second swap. By 2015 it was clear that Tesla owners were not interested, and the experiment was soon dropped.

CleanTechnica was among those taking note in 2017, when word surfaced that Tesla nailed a patent for something called a “quick-swap Electric Energy Storage System.” It was all just a tease, though.

“The new patent builds on Tesla’s earlier efforts to develop a functional and rapid battery swap system that could could compete with traditional gas station trips,” noted CleanTechnica reporter Kyle Field, who went on to observe that Tesla had previously dropped the idea soon after introducing it.

“High capital costs of loaner batteries, a requirement for massive amounts of battery packs to be held at the ready for customers, customers preferring to charge up than have their batteries removed/replaced, and a commensurate high cost for the service were believed to be the culprits,” Field reported. “Tesla built a single battery swap station in Harris Ranch, which is strategically located on the route between San Francisco and Los Angeles, but it apparently saw little use and Tesla didn’t take the idea further.”

EV Battery Swapping Is A Big Deal Now

As Field noted a full 7-8 years ago, battery swapping fits seamlessly into the self-driving future of electric vehicles. CleanTechnica has spotted some attempts to automate conventional charging stations, but EV battery swapping stations are designed for automation from the get-go. The vehicle just rolls in, waits for about five minutes (more or less), and rolls out. In addition to driver-attended vehicles, fleets of autonomous taxis would be among the early adopters.

Swapping stakeholders are also pointing out that a quick change of battery is a better fit for busy electric trucks than hanging around a charging station.

In addition, battery swapping stations are a good fit for the energy storage and load-shifting features of the modern grid. While seen as a liability just a few years ago, now all those extra batteries add up to an additional resource for grid managers and a potential source of revenue for swapping station owners.

Others Pick Up Battery Swapping Ball Dropped By Tesla

The Chinese firm Nio, for one, recognized the potential of battery swapping early on. The company has assembled a sprawling network of more than 3,000 EV battery swapping stations in China, racking up more than 66 million battery swaps along the way.

All that activity has attracted the attention of the leading Chinese EV battery maker CATL. Last month the company formed a strategic partnership with Nio to accelerate the swapping movement.

In the latest development, earlier this week CATL announced a partnership with Sinopec (short for China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation) to pump up the activity to Level 11 on the dial, leveraging Sinopec’s gas stations and other energy infrastructure.

“According to the agreement, both parties will commit to extensive and long-term strategic partnership in the hope of accomplishing a battery-swapping ecosystem across the whole nation, with no less than 500 battery swap stations complete in this year, and up to 10,000 ones in the long run,” the companies announced.

Meanwhile, Over In The USA

Various forms of battery swapping are also beginning to catch fire in other markets, mainly aimed at electric bikes and other two-wheeled EVs, where swapping stations fit easily into a manual grab-and-go model.

Other companies are also beginning to crack Nio’s four-wheeler code as well. Among them is the US battery swapping firm Ample, which has spotted an opportunity in commercial fleets.

Last year, Ample’s battery plan received a big thumbs-up from Mitsubishi, which poured a $25 million investment into the startup to cement a strategic partnership. The two firms have not let the swapping grass grow under their feet. In March, they announced plans for a to-be-disclosed number of EV battery swapping stations to be commissioned in Tokyo.

“The initiative is focused on the commercial vehicle market, where drivers and fleet managers are more likely to value a five-minute battery refresh for larger vehicles with bigger battery packs,” CleanTechnica noted. “The Tokyo deployment follows a test run last year in Kyoto, a collaboration between Ample and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation along with the Japanese firm ENEOS Holdings.”

EV Battery Swapping Stations Are Coming For Your Fossil Fuels

As for missed opportunities, on March 31 the firm Research and Markets released a new EV battery swapping report covering every electric vehicle from 2- and 3-wheelers on up to passenger cars and commercial vehicles. “The global battery swapping market is estimated to be USD 1.46 Billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 22.72 Billion by 2035, at a CAGR of 31.5% from 2025 to 2035,” R&M pronounced.

That’s some growth curve. Too bad the leading EV maker in the world (still Tesla, as of this moment) is not involved. As seen through the R&M lens, though, the opportunity still exists.

“Strategic alliances, such as joint ventures and technology-sharing agreements, enable companies to accelerate deployment, reduce costs, and enhance consumer adoption by ensuring widespread availability and seamless integration,” R&M notes, name-checking Ample along with Nio and Amperex in China, Gogoro in Taiwain, and Sun Mobility in India.

So, will Tesla pick up the battery swapping ball again? After all, there is money to be made. Then again, if you’re talking about strategic alliances, you’re also going to want allies that have not poisoned their own brand reputation.

Just saying…

Photo (cropped): The US startup Ample is among the EV battery swapping firms poised for growth as the swapping movement continues to gather steam (courtesy of Ample, via CleanTechnica archive).