Tesla Model S 90 Second Battery Swap Coming This Year (Demo Video)

Tesla Model S Car of the Year 2013. Photo Credit: Tesla Motors

A packed house of hundreds of Tesla Model S owners this week watched Tesla Motors demonstrate the ability to restore an electric vehicle to a full charge in less than half the time it takes to refill a gas tank.

“Swapping a depleted battery on a Model S sedan in just over 90 seconds, Tesla showed it’s possible for electric vehicles to get back on the road faster than their fossil-fuel counterparts,” Forbes reports. “CEO Elon Musk said the company would make battery swapping available as soon as the end of 2013, starting in California, with the Boston-D.C. corridor to fo follow.

The Tesla Model S is “the most hyped, decorated, and controversial new car in memory,” according to State Magazine this week.

“Forget what you read in the New York Times: The Tesla Model S is a fantastic car for a road trip, Will Oremus wrote for State Magazine.

[W]hen I took the Model S for a weekend road trip recently, I found I didn’t miss the internal combustion engine one bit. The Tesla wasn’t just the smoothest, fastest, and most technologically advanced car I’ve ever driven. It was among the most comfortable and practical. And it was—counter to everything you’ve heard—ideally suited to a road trip.

Once you’re in the car, you don’t have to turn it on—just put it in drive and go. Neither do you turn it off—just put it in park and get out. The interior is spacious and minimalist, the fit and finish as sound as you’d expect in a luxury sedan.

The car makes things easy on you before you even get inside. There’s no key to speak of: Just approach the driver’s-side door with the Tesla-shaped key in your pocket, and the car wakes up automatically, its retractable door handles sliding out to greet your hand. Inside there are no knobs or dials, just a massive, 16-inch central touch screen and a smaller driver’s-side display controlled by buttons on the steering wheel.

Unlike in most other cars, the touch screen remains fully functional while you’re driving, so you can adjust your route on Google Maps, check out the view from the rear-facing camera, or even browse the Internet while you’re cruising down I-95. Should anyone do such things while driving? Of course not—but a passenger can. 

Watch the award-winning Car of the Year 2013, Tesla Model S, have its battery pack swapped in the video below just released by Tesla Motors this week.