Startup offers ~$9,000 electric retrofits with Tesla batteries for fossil fuel-powered cars

A French startup is trying to streamline electric conversion with Tesla batteries in order to offer a relatively cheap way to convert older fossil fuel-powered cars. There’s nothing new about electric conversions, but they are often really complicated, which also makes them really expensive. It most often cost tens of thousands of dollars, and that’s why most electric conversions today are done on classic cars or to create drag-strip monsters. Transition-One claims to have developed a streamlined way to convert cars to an all-electric powertrain. Last month, they unveiled their prototype, a 2009 Renault Twingo, with a range of 180 km (112 miles). They purchased Tesla battery modules from a salvaged part reseller and installed three battery modules — one in the front of the car and two in what used to be the gas tank. The entire system weighs about 120 kilograms (265 pounds). They worked on making the installation process as simple as possible, and they say that they can now do it in just a day. Transition-One founder Aymeric Libeau told Bloomberg : I’m selling to people who can’t afford a brand new €20,000 electric car. We’re turning the best-selling models across Europe into electric cars. […]

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