One thing that occurs to me is maybe way down the line I'd like to trade in some of that top and bottom margin to get more range. Maybe I'm in year 10, outside of warranty, and I'm down to 60% or something. Maybe it would be nice at that point to cut the margins on the top and bottom in half and scrape out a few more years at 90% or something, at the cost of X factor acceleration in battery degrade. But if battery technology gets to where you can replace one for $1,500, why not? Scrape out a few more years and just replace the thing. Or if they get inexpensive enough once it exits warranty eliminate the buffer altogether and maybe get a few years back at !00 and then start over.
The problem is that the battery packs are difficult to remove and install so the cost of labor will always be high even if the parts prices do go down. After all, the cost of materials for your first A01 service is maybe twenty bucks (oil and filter) but the service will cost $80-$100.
