Photo: NV Ray via Tesla Motors Club
EV batteries are supposed to endure for the lifetime of the car, but in some cases, they fail prematurely and need replacement. This has always been expensive, but technological advancements and economies of scale promised to make it more affordable. Instead, Tesla has raised the replacement battery pack prices even further.
Many people are reluctant to consider an electric vehicle because replacing the battery pack might be too expensive. Indeed, the costs floating around are in the tens of thousands of dollars, which is often the price of a decent ICE vehicle. EV battery packs are usually backed by an 8-year warranty, which is long enough for a new car, but once it is over, you're on your own. Even though most EV owners have never had battery problems, the possibility of that happening, however small, is scary.
The early Tesla Model S owners who experienced the dreaded BMS_u029 error know very well what that means. If you don't, many 2012-2015 Tesla Model S EVs had their batteries failing with that error code outside their warranty coverage. The error can be erased from the system using software, but the problems that caused it are not going away. The only thing that helps is replacing the battery pack.
In an earlier article, I talked about the options the affected owners have and how much it costs to replace the battery pack of a Tesla Model S. Based on people's experiences shared on social media, you can opt for a remanufactured pack, which is cheaper and sometimes makes more sense considering the vehicle's age. This had cost $13,500 for the parts alone, and that is when Tesla kept the defective battery pack. In case you want to keep it, it's $10,000 more.
There was another option: installing a brand-new battery pack for $17,700. This was a modern 100-kWh pack with two modules removed to offer only 90 kWh. The pack was software locked to 85 kWh, and unlocking it was $750 extra. At times, some lucky owners who ordered a remanufactured pack were getting a new one instead when Tesla was out of remanufactured batteries. Still, there was no way to know this for sure. Although these prices seem reasonable, they do not include labor costs and taxes.
It appears that Tesla has quietly hiked those prices despite the price of lithium and Li-ion batteries falling in the past year. The remanufactured pack is now $14,500, which is a slight increase, but the new part is currently $21,000, or $4,000 more. Based on reports on Tesla Motors Club, the new packs now have a different part number compared to those installed earlier this year, 1101078-00-A instead of 1014116-00-C.
The price change appears to have happened in September, but it was now confirmed by more owners who replaced their packs. How those batteries differ and whether this justifies the $4,000 price increase is unclear. If Tesla is honest, the newer parts should be full 100-kWh batteries with no modules removed. We're still waiting for reports to confirm this suspicion.
The early Tesla Model S owners who experienced the dreaded BMS_u029 error know very well what that means. If you don't, many 2012-2015 Tesla Model S EVs had their batteries failing with that error code outside their warranty coverage. The error can be erased from the system using software, but the problems that caused it are not going away. The only thing that helps is replacing the battery pack.
In an earlier article, I talked about the options the affected owners have and how much it costs to replace the battery pack of a Tesla Model S. Based on people's experiences shared on social media, you can opt for a remanufactured pack, which is cheaper and sometimes makes more sense considering the vehicle's age. This had cost $13,500 for the parts alone, and that is when Tesla kept the defective battery pack. In case you want to keep it, it's $10,000 more.
There was another option: installing a brand-new battery pack for $17,700. This was a modern 100-kWh pack with two modules removed to offer only 90 kWh. The pack was software locked to 85 kWh, and unlocking it was $750 extra. At times, some lucky owners who ordered a remanufactured pack were getting a new one instead when Tesla was out of remanufactured batteries. Still, there was no way to know this for sure. Although these prices seem reasonable, they do not include labor costs and taxes.
It appears that Tesla has quietly hiked those prices despite the price of lithium and Li-ion batteries falling in the past year. The remanufactured pack is now $14,500, which is a slight increase, but the new part is currently $21,000, or $4,000 more. Based on reports on Tesla Motors Club, the new packs now have a different part number compared to those installed earlier this year, 1101078-00-A instead of 1014116-00-C.
The price change appears to have happened in September, but it was now confirmed by more owners who replaced their packs. How those batteries differ and whether this justifies the $4,000 price increase is unclear. If Tesla is honest, the newer parts should be full 100-kWh batteries with no modules removed. We're still waiting for reports to confirm this suspicion.
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