[joe_the_user]

The thing about phones and laptops is that they have the excuse that miniaturization makes this necessary (it's still an excuse but it's better cover). And current systems essentially have the lifetime of the battery.

Cars should be a different story but we'll have to fight for that even.

[hunter2_]

And ingress protection, which requires excellent seals, which need a bit of know-how (i.e., a shop) to correctly reapply. At least that's what I like to tell myself.

[richardw]

2025: “But the chassis is the battery! Absolutely needs to be disposable”

[bestouff]

Cars too need miniaturisation and sealing. To an extent.

[KptMarchewa]

Which laptops actually do that? Besides the fanless macbook air, overwhelming majority of laptops ingest and push out air.

[BenjiWiebe]

My Samsung Galaxy S5 is IP67 rated. I can pop the back cover with my fingernail and swap the battery in seconds.

[hoseja]

Cars use the battery as a structural component.

[dotancohen]

Not at all. The batteries are often mounted _inside_ structural components, but they themselves are not load bearing.

[hoseja]

https://electrek.co/2021/10/10/tesla-unveils-new-structural-...

[dotancohen]

That is a battery pack, not a battery.

Battery packs are structural components for safety reasons more than anything. Weight and volume savings are secondary to safety in regards to anything with high energy density, be it a battery pack, fuel cell, or gas tank.

But though they _contain_ batteries, a battery pack is not a battery any more than a car is an engine. The battery inside the battery pack remains non-structural and non-load-bearing.

[hoseja]

>with the battery cells helping to solidify the platform as one big unit

The individual cylinders are made from steel. The steel is used structurally. Perhaps next you'll tell me the "battery" is actually just the anode, cathode and electrolyte?

[pedrocr]

As far as I can tell so far no one has used the individual cell cylinders as load bearing components, only the battery box. Tesla's "structural battery" is aiming to do that and have the individual cell cylinders carry loads.

[dotancohen]

You're right! My brief skim of the article overlooked that very important detail.

Thank you.

> Perhaps next you'll tell me the "battery" is actually just the anode, cathode and electrolyte?

No, next I'll tell you that this isn't Reddit and you don't have to be a dick to "win an argument on the internet". On HN you can simply point out the facts, like you did above.