Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced today the company is the first automaker to break the impressive 400-mile production electric vehicle benchmark. It wasn’t some all-new car, but instead with the Tesla Model S Long Range Plus you can buy yourself right now.
Apparently whatever issue they had getting to 400 last month that upset Elon Musk so much has been sorted out, whether or not the EPA really did allegedly leave the car door open last time. What matters is they got there now.
According to the Tesla newsletter Musk linked to in his tweet, “all North American Model S Long Range Plus vehicles have an official EPA-rated range of 402 miles.” The government website, fueleconomy.gov, does not yet appear to have updated with an estimate for the Model S Long Range Plus at the time of the company’s announcement.
Tesla’s statement cited both the improvement legacy of the Model S and the development of new cars like the Model X and Model 3 all have contributed into refining the Model S into the 400-mile “commuter” it now is.
It’s a 20 percent increase over the 2019 Tesla Model S 100D with an identical battery pack. The statement claims the car has increased drive unit efficiency, adopted more-aerodynamic 8.5 inch-wide wheels, achieved significant mass reduction, and updated the regenerative braking system.
On top of all that, this new Long Range Plus is the new “base” car, replacing the old “Long Range.” When that switch happened, the car’s starting price also dropped by $5,000, which was highlighted again in tonight’s newsletter.
While many of us are still wondering what Tesla’s product outlook is with reportedly no “new” Model S and Model X replacements in development right now, Tesla seems to be proving these cars have a lot of life left in them if you look beyond their time-saddled cosmetic shells.
As impressive, and almost inevitable as the news is, it’s also important to note we’re at the end of another high-stakes Tesla quarter where they company has led itself through the virus outbreak—even including local battles to attempt to reopen its facilities and resume production.
This will no doubt benefit the company’s stock valuation, after it’s already peaked to become the “most valuable” automaker in the world earlier in the week, whatever that means, to maintain course through the end of the quarter.
Leave a Reply
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
