Tesla Will Unveil On Thursday Its Long-Rumored Battery Swap Technology For The Model S, An Attempt To Quell Concerns Over Electric Vehicle Range

UPDATE: Check out the battery swap technology by clicking here.

Later this week in Palo Alto, Calif., electric-vehicle skeptics will get some answers about Tesla’s long-rumored battery pack swap technology, addressing their concerns that the current 200-to-300-mile range is insufficient for many driving tasks.

Here's what Elon Musk, CEO of Palo Alto-based Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), tweeted today:

How could Tesla offer this service? Presumably the swap of the 990-pound pack of lithium ion batteries would take less than the approximately 20 minutes it takes to recharge the vehicle. Would the battery swaps be available at every one of the company’s rapidly multiplying recharge stations? Would the service be offered at every Tesla recharging station?

The technology was always part of Tesla’s plan -- from the start, the battery pack was made to be swappable, like a gigantic mobile phone battery. But obvious logistical issues have to be worked out.

Basically Tesla is taking on the task that electric-vehicle infrastructure builder Better Place initially started. Better Place, based in Palo Alto, Calif., but with primary operations in Israel, fell into Israeli bankruptcy court in May after failing to gauge how long it would take for the market to embrace electric vehicles. Furthermore, Tesla is one of the few automakers with a car that has swappable batteries. The company will post a battery swap demo on its website at 9:30 p.m. PDT.