Tesla has Exchange of battery which takes only 90 seconds

By Nichola groom

THE ANGELES (Reuters) - Tesla Motors Inc on Thursday unveiled a system to change the batteries on their electric cars in about 90 seconds, a service that Executive Elon Musk said will help overcome fears about their autonomy.

Automaker will roll out later battery Exchange stations this year, starting along the heavily traveled between Los Angeles and San Francisco and then in the corridor from Washington to Boston.

"There are some people, they take a lot of convincing," musk said at a ceremony in Los Angeles of Tesla Design Studio. "We hope that this is what convinces people finally that electric cars are the future".

Electric cars have been slow to reach consumers because of its high price, limited driving range and lack of charging infrastructure. Tesla has been working to address some of the issues with fast charging stations and battery Exchange technology now.

An exchange of the battery pack will cost between $60 and $80, virtually equal to the fill a 15-gallon gas tank, said musk. Drivers who choose to Exchange must recover its original battery on its return trip or pay the difference in cost for the new package.

Musk two model S showed battery pack swaps at the time that a car on a screen above the stage to fill with gas, four minutes.

The stations will cost about a half a million dollars each to build. It will be located next to fast charging stations of Tesla, which take around 30 minutes to charge the car's battery.

Musk told Reuters that the replacement battery network would involve an investment of $50 million to $100 million earlier this week.

In contrast to several traditional cars that have been deployed with electric vehicle that does not meet expectations, Tesla has sold thousands of its electric cars of luxury. Investors have adopted the strategy and Tesla shares have almost tripled this year.

The announcement comes a month after Better Place, a company of electric vehicles, whose activity was centered around battery Exchange, said would have to liquidate.

(Edited by Edwina Gibbs)

Earlier the HuffPost: