Electrification is a necessary step to preserve personal mobility. In other words, cars will have to adopt electric motors to be more efficient. What is still up to debate is what should give them energy: battery packs, fuel cells, or even ICEs working as generators. If a battery pack in a BEV (battery electric vehicle) fails out of warranty, you’re done. But 057 Technology proposed a solution for that.
Owned by Jason Hughes – AKA Tesla hacker – the company is now offering a two-year service plan for the Tesla Model S that promises to monitor and eventually replace a battery pack should it fail after the warranty expires. The Model S 60 is not included because 057 Technology could not "cover these vehicles in a cost-effective way." The battery pack assessment is made thanks to the BMD (Battery Monitoring Device).
The service works like this: owners of Tesla Model S units sign up for the plan at the company’s website. A while later, they receive the BMD, which must be plugged into the vehicle’s diagnostic port. The Model S will have to be driven for at least 50 miles to allow the gadget to evaluate how healthy the battery pack is. If all is clear, 057 Technology activates the service, which lasts for two years counting from when the warranty expires.
The idea is to offer peace of mind for these owners after Tesla is not liable to replace the battery pack anymore. The sooner you hire the service, the cheaper it is. If the battery pack is more than 12 months from warranty expiration, 057 Technology will charge you $1,799.
Photo: 057 Technology
If it is within this period, the price is $1,849. If the time until the warranty ends is within six months, the company will charge you $1,899. But let’s suppose you are 90 days from battery pack warranty expiration with your Model S. In that case, 057 Technology will ask you $1,999. Finally, if the warranty is already over, you will pay $2,499 (for now, 057 Technology charges only $1,999 for those vehicles, but Hughes did not say how much this discount would last).
The service covers failures and errors of the battery pack that prevent the car from driving. 057 Technology stresses that loss of range and other complaints related to regular use of the vehicle are not covered, as well as fire, “even if that fire is somehow thought to be the fault of the battery pack.”
The values also cover repairs that may be necessary to keep the battery pack in good shape and ultimately even replace it at no extra cost if necessary, making it sound like a pretty good deal. As 057 Technology reminds us, such a repair can cost up to $40,000.
Photo: Rich Rebuilds/Tesla
After signing for the service plan, there are three conditions for it to start working: the BMD will have to make its evaluation of the battery pack, it must be approved as an eligible component, and the warranty must expire. That means the subscribers have another advantage connected to the service: battery pack health assessment while the warranty is still valid.
According to 057 Technology, it may “assist the customer with (the) pursuit of a warranty replacement or service with Tesla by providing information from the Battery Monitoring Device to Tesla directly or speaking with Tesla on behalf of the customer, if requested by the customer.” Having a knowledgeable party advocating for your consumer rights can be a big plus. The risk is that Tesla tries to dodge responsibility, but that’s another story.
As one should expect, the service is only valid for cars that still have their original battery packs, even if they are no longer under warranty. That’s what ensures that nobody modified the battery packs in a way that could make their behavior unpredictable. That said, savaged cars or those that already had their battery packs repaired are not eligible.
Photo: Tesla
For now, the service plan only lasts for two years, but Hughes intends to allow renewals in the near future. He also wants to include other Tesla vehicles in the service, but will only do so after adequately testing it with these cars.
The Model X should be added in a few weeks, and the Model 3 and Model Y could get this by the end of the year, but that is just an estimate at this point. The Model S went through a two-year closed beta program before it was ready to go. The Tesla Hacker is also studying to offer the BMD as a stand-alone service, without the service plan. In this case, it could be just a valuable diagnostics tool to prevent issues.
What people should have in mind is that service plan repairs are only performed by 057 Technology in its stores. Currently, there’s only one in Hickory, North Carolina, which limits the product. Getting the cars there to be fixed is the customers’ job. Expenses to take them to Hickory are not included in the service plan. Despite that, this may be an excellent solution for Tesla Model S owners in the U.S. and even in Canada, willing to make their EVs last as much as possible.
057 Technology is now offering Tesla Model S High Voltage Battery Service Plans with Monitoring ????
* Includes pack service AND replacements for covered failures!
* Monitoring device to catch issues early! (Required)
* Starts at $1,799.
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