The Extended Battery Decision (Poll: Which battery option suits you best?)

[AZFox]

To extend or not to extend? Good question!

Especially considering the Extended Battery can't be retrofitted.

Your Range May Vary. In fact it certainly will vary, so one question is "by how much"?

What differences does the Extended Battery bring with it? Some of them might not be obvious.

This thread is for hashing out whatever information would be helpful for making the Extended Battery Decision.

 

[AZFox]

This stub post will be used to accumulate the scintillating insights revealed in the thread. With any luck it will become a short, helpful, single document that someone can read before deciding and eventually, if all goes the way it should, they'll be happy that they made the right decision.

 

[GaRailroader]

If it’s not too far from $100/kWh for the extended then I will opt for the extended. Primary motivation on getting the extended is to reduce the rate of accumulating cycles on the battery.

 

[Dorbiman]

I fall in the camp that the standard would work just fine for me. But I’m leaning towards the larger pack for longevity

 

[Dorbiman]

If it’s not too far from $100/kWh for the extended then I will opt for the extended. Primary motivation on getting the extended is to reduce the rate of accumulating cycles on the battery.

Yeah, it really does depend on price too.

 

[Neil Nelson]

According to Google's AI, a projection of the additional cost of the larger battery for the Slate is $3,980.

 

[GaRailroader]

According to Google's AI a projection of the additional cost of the larger battery for the Slate is $3,980.

That’s a heck of a lot better than the extended battery for my Leaf at $7k for 22 extra kWh.(I went with the standard battery)

 

[cvollers]

According to Google's AI a projection of the additional cost of the larger battery for the Slate is $3,980.

That’s damn close to my estimate of at least $4K.

 

[AZFox]

Current BatStats from the Crowdsourced Reservation List, FWIW 🤔:

 

[Adam W]

While I think the extended battery would be helpful for resale, a $4k price increase up front for something I will literally never need is hard to justify. I'll still have my ICE car for those times when I need the range.

 

[AZFox]

While I think the extended battery would be helpful for resale, a $4k price increase up front for something I will literally never need is hard to justify. I'll still have my ICE car for those times when I need the range.

From a cost-of-ownership perspective the price is more than what you pay up front.

Hauling around an extra few hundred pounds of batteries everywhere you go requires some extra energy per mile.

 

[Dorbiman]

From a cost-of-ownership perspective the price is more than what you pay up front.

Hauling around an extra few hundred pounds of batteries everywhere you go requires some extra energy per mile.

Likely negligible. That video that's been posted here a few times about hauling/towing with EV trucks demonstrates that even adding 1500 pounds to the Silverado EV had no significant effect on efficiency. It was well within the realm of statistical insignificance and scientific error.

 

[AZFox]

Likely negligible. That video that's been posted here a few times about hauling/towing with EV trucks demonstrates that even adding 1500 pounds to the Silverado EV had no significant effect on efficiency. It was well within the realm of statistical insignificance and scientific error.

Good point. 100% certain it's something (because physics), but possibly negligible.

There are other tradeoffs.

Lower payload capacity, obviously.

Acceleration, braking and handling are affected, also because physics.

 

[cadblu]

Prediction- over half of the population who gets the standard range battery will deeply regret their decision. Once you live with the truck on a daily basis, it will just become an extra chore on your already long list. The $4.K you 'saved' on delivery day will long be forgotten; and you can't change your mind down the road.

 

[GaRailroader]

Prediction- over half of the population who gets the standard range battery will deeply regret their decision. Once you live with the truck on a daily basis, it will just become an extra chore on your already long list. The $4.K you 'saved' on delivery day will long be forgotten; and you can't change your mind down the road.

I think it really depends on the use case. I drive 12k miles annually in a 150 mile Nissan Leaf and it has been a non-issue. I have level 2 charging at home and work.(I rarely charge at home because it is free to charge at work) This is a 2nd car that is only used around town/commuter. I have a Tesla for road tripping. I saved $7k by not opting for the 62 kWh battery over the 40 kWh and don't regret the decision. If someone's use case is this vehicle needs to be a road tripper or they don't have access to convenient level 2 charging then being limited to 150 mile range will be extremely frustrating.