Tesla Model S now first-ever electric vehicle to get EPA range rating above 400 miles

Tesla has crossed another barrier in transitioning the world’s transport to sustainable energy, now the Tesla Model S Long Range AWD has become the first electric vehicle to receive a 402-mile (647 km) EPA range rating, the new range of the Model S is now showing in Tesla’s online car configurator.

According to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, this new EPA estimated range applies to all the Tesla Model S long-range produced since January 2020, so the existing owners with new deliveries this year have already owned a 400-mile EV for the last 6 months.

At the Tesla Q1 Earnings Call, Elon Musk revealed that it was the mistake of EPA testing team that they left the keys of the Model S inside the car overnight resulting in battery drain as the car did not turn off completely and the test next day made the fall short of the 400-mile+ range rating.

The new range test and the results make it clear that Elon Musk was right, although EPA denied any such mistakes as an early response, probably there was a lack of understanding on the agency’s side, now all looks fine.

All Model S cars made since late Jan have 402-mile range. This is just making it official.
Elon Musk on Twitter

Last year at Tesla Annual Shareholder Meeting, Elon Musk pointed out the fact that there has been no production electric vehicle that has exceeded the range of the 2012 Tesla Model S (85 kWh/272-mile) to date, and now we have a new target set for the traditional automakers and new entrants in the electric vehicle market.

“It's worth noting that no electric car has exceeded the range of the first Model S we came out with in 2012. It's a testament to the #Tesla engineering team… Now to have a car that's 370 miles … It won't be long before we have a 400 mile range car.”—@elonmusk $TSLA #EV pic.twitter.com/yyajx3DdAg
— Tesla New York (@TeslaNY) June 12, 2019

Engineering Fine Tuning

Tesla engineering team has truly fine-tuned several components of the car to crank out more miles from the same 100 kWh battery pack, the new electrical, electronic, and, mechanical system advancements imported from the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y played a vital role in achieving the optimal efficiency of the Model S.

These improvements began last year when Tesla introduced the new drive units code-named ‘Raven’, and just a little bit later the new smart air suspension with the same moniker made it to production.

Sandy Munro found several component improvements in his Tesla Model Y teardown, for example, the motor rotors are now lighter than the previous copper ones used in the early Model 3 cars, this is what the teardown expert calls the ‘Continuous Improvement’ phenomena that no other automaker is following at the moment, traditional car manufacturers wait for the next model of the car to hit the market before making even small tweaks.

Tesla has released a detailed blog post where they discussed how they utilized different engineering techniques such as mass reduction, drive unit efficiency, increasing regenerative braking, and improving the aerodynamics with the new ‘Tempest’ aero wheels & tires to achieve the 402-mile range for the Model S, Tesla states:

While each of these changes are relatively small in individual impact, our unique ability to introduce them into active manufacturing lines enables significant gains in efficiency, range, and overall value when combined.

Besides not charging customers extra money for these improvements, Tesla actually lowered the price of the Tesla Model S by $5,000 recently — doesn’t seem to be the norm for the automotive industry since long, but Tesla’s disruption is not only about design and engineering, it’s about setting the new norms that override the old ones.

Engineering Fine Tuning

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By Iqtidar Ali