Electric car giant Tesla has increased the range of its Model S saloon and Model X SUV by 10 per cent.
It means that the S is now able to travel up to 375 miles between charges, and the X up to 315 miles. This means that Tesla models continue to have the longest ranges of any production-ready EVs. The increases have come from an upgraded drivetrain to the cars’ existing 100kWh battery pack.
The firm has said that the hardware updates will also improve ‘acceleration and ride comfort’, while changes to the motor, as well as to the cooling, bearings and gear design, have enabled the American firm to extract yet more performance from the two cars.
With the range of EVs being one of the largest obstacles for drivers in making the switch to electric, Tesla’s decision has helped to make battery-powered cars far more appealing – particularly the Model S’s new range, which can rival many petrol-powered models.
Tesla is also backtracking on its previous decision to scrap the lower-powered models from sale, with the firm re-launching the ‘Standard Range’ model, which is able to travel 280 miles between charges.
Prices for the models were dropped earlier in the year, with the Model S starting from £71,100 and the X from £75,700.
In other news from the firm, the Model S and X can now be charged up to 50 per cent faster than before, with Tesla’s new V3 Supercharger (what the company calls its own ultra-powerful chargers) able to achieve 200kWh.
