Tesla has a new $29,000 battery upgrade for its old Roadsters

In August 2014, Tesla CEO Elon Musk talked about “a fairly exciting upgrade” (i.e., an improved battery pack) to the company’s first car, the Lotus-based Roadster. Today, we can finally put a price tag on what it’ll cost you to give your aging all-electric sports car around 35-percent more energy capacity and around 40-percent more range. In short, getting the new, roughly 70-kWh pack will set you back $29,000. Be warned: The new pack is heavier than the older one.

In April, Musk said that the new Roadster battery would likely be available by August. Well, that didn’t happen, but you can at least now reserve your new pack for $5,000. Tesla says the cost is so high (higher per kWh than the Model S pack) because it has to build these by hand and then just two or three a week. Add in the time and cost to replace the pack and the power electronics, and you can see why this upgrade costs a bit more than a purchase from the App Store. Tesla says it does not expect to make money at this price point and it not talking about any warranty for the new battery.

It may still be worth it, to the right Roadster drivers. The Roadster originally came with a 245-mile range, and the idea of now driving for 400 miles will certainly appeal to some. There are posts on the Tesla Motors Club forum from people who say they’re already dropped their $5,000, even though this upgrade will not make the Roadster compatible with Tesla’s Supercharger network. There’s also no option to order a lighter pack with less energy capacity. All we’ve got is what Tesla says about the battery in the announcement below.

Upgrade your Roadster to a battery that stores roughly 40 more energy than the original battery. There is a slight increase in the battery weight but the total range increases over 35 from the original Roadster.

The price of the battery upgrade is $29,000, including all labor and logistics, which is equal to Tesla’s expected cost. It is not our intention to make a profit on the battery pack. The reason the cost per kWh is higher than a Model S battery is due to the almost entirely hand-built, low-volume (only 2 or 3 per week) nature of Roadster battery packs. It also includes additional work to remove, upgrade, and reinstall the power electronics module (PEM.)

All removed battery modules will be fully recycled or reused if possible, and we will reuse many other components from the old battery. Batteries are currently being upgraded in Fremont, CA and we will need sufficient time when scheduling your service to ship and pre-position the needed parts to your local service center. Depending on local service team workload the upgrade will only take a few days once the parts are in place.

Deposit & timing
A $5,000 deposit is required to reserve your upgrade with the balance due upon installation. Place your order today and you’ll be contacted to schedule an installation appointment as inventory becomes available.

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Tags: autoblog, battery, batterypack, ElectricVehicle, ElonMusk, EV, partner, roadster, syndicated, tesla, upgrade

Nest releases 3rd generation Learning Thermostat with slimmer profile and hi-res display

Nest Labs, Inc. , a pioneer in home automation, has just released the third generation Nest Learning Thermostat. The new unit comes with a slimmer profile, a high-resolution display that is 40 percent larger than the last, and it also comes with an updated user interface to make it easier to read temperatures, alerts and messages.

The Nest Learning Thermostat has been proven by third-party researchers to save people, on average, about 10 to 12 percent on their heating bills and about 15 percent on their cooling bills – Maxime Vernon, head of hardware product marketing.

That’s quite an accomplishment and proves that the investment in the Nest Learning Thermostat can pay for itself in a matter of time, depending on your monthly cost for electricity. The next generation Nest will be available at 7,000 retail locations and from 25,000 Nest Pro Installers. It will also be available through partners like Southern Company, Direct Energy, SunEdison, amongst many others who will provide the Nest Learning Thermostat at a discount or no cost.

Here is a list of new features in the 3rd generation Nest Learning Thermostat:

Sleek new design – The Nest Thermostat has a 40 percent larger, brighter, high-resolution screen and new graphics so you can see it easier from far away. The crisp display has 229 pixels per inch (PPI), 25 percent more than the 2nd generation Nest Thermostat. The 3rd generation Nest Thermostat also has a slightly thinner profile to be more flush against the wall.

Farsight – Previously, you had to be pretty close – about 3 feet (1 meter) away – to get the Nest Thermostat to wake up and turn on the display. Farsight takes advantage of the new highresolution screen so that you can see useful information on the Nest Thermostat from across the room. You can set the thermostat to display target temperature, an analog clock or digital clock, or turn Farsight off.

Furnace Heads-Up – Most heating and forced air furnaces have an automatic shutoff to avoid overheating. The Nest Thermostat will look for shutoff patterns that indicate there’s a persistent problem and if so, you’ll get a Heads-Up message in the Nest app and on the thermostat screen twice per year, and you’ll also get a notice in your monthly Home Report. (Furnace Heads-Up will be available for 1st and 2nd generation customers later this year.)

And, like the 1st and 2nd generation, the 3rd generation Nest Thermostat will also include the following integrations with Nest Protect and Nest Cam.

• When Nest Protect sounds a Heads-Up or Emergency Alarm for smoke or carbon monoxide (CO), in addition to a Nest app notification you’ll see a message on the Nest Thermostat display to help you know what’s going on. The Nest Thermostat can automatically shut off fossil fuel based heating systems, which is the leading cause of CO leaks in the home, in case that is the source.

• Nest Protect enhances the Nest Thermostat’s Auto-Away feature by improving Nest’s knowledge of when you’re home or away.

• You can set your Nest Cam to begin automatically recording when you switch your Nest Thermostat into Home or Away mode.

The 3rd generation Nest Learning Thermostat can be purchased today for $249 through Nest.com, Amazon.com, and Bestbuy.com. It will also be available for purchase to Best Buy stores, Google Store, The Home Depot, Sam’s Club, Target and Verizon Wireless soon. Now that the 3rd generation has been released, you can save $50 dollars on the 2nd generation Nest Learning Thermostat for a price of $199 while supplies last.

If you have a Nest, let us know how you like it in the comments section below.

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California Uber drivers can join in class-action lawsuit

Uber drivers are not employees of the ride hailing company. Instead they are contractors responsible for their own gas, vehicle upkeep and if anything happens to the driver or car while they are searching for a passenger, it’s on them. Three drivers are challenging the way Uber does business by saying that the current situation violates California labor laws. Today that challenge got a boost when a San Francisco federal court judge said that their suit against the company is entitled to class action status. That means drivers can sue the company as a group over their employment status. The suit only applies to California drivers that started driving for the company before June 2014. But if the drivers are victorious, it could seriously change Uber’s business model.

The three drivers are suing Uber because they believe they are employees and are entitled to compensation for expenses related to driving passengers around. Uber says that drivers are independent contractors and that it is not liable for gas and vehicle maintenance. The class-action certification only applies to employee status and tips, not for expenses.

If the drivers are victorious, the outcome could be extremely damaging to Uber’s business model. Even if the ruling is is for California drivers only, it could set a precedent that other states could follow. By using contractors instead of employees, Uber has been able to reduce its bottom line. But that methodology isn’t without its detractors. The company has come under fire for how it classifies its workers from critics that include presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

This isn’t the first time Uber has been dragged to court about a worker’s status. In June, the California labor commission ruled that a single driver was an employee. Uber plans to appeal the court’s decision.

[Image credit: Associated Press]

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Source:
Reuters

Tags: ClassAction, Lawsuit, RideSharing, Uber