Tesla has been enjoying a very comfortable lead in regards to range against its competitors and the lead has only been growing as years went on. New information now points to the conclusion that that gap in range will grow even larger as Tesla is working on a battery to break the 400-mile range milestone.
Notable Tesla hacker and owner, Jason Hughs went to Twitter last week to post some of his findings while snooping around Tesla’s BMS (battery management system) firmware.
Spent a little time RE'ing some recent Tesla BMS firmware.
Some variables were tweaked to fit 108 cell groups (~450V pack).
There is a packID that starts life set to ~109 kWh usable (400+ miles).
Bunch of other tweaks suggest prep for new S/X/3 pack configs at some point. 🔋
— Jason Hughes (@wk057) February 19, 2020
Hughes describes that according to the firmware Tesla is working on a new battery pack with a capacity of ~109 kWh with a new configuration that has 108 cell groups.
A pack of this new capacity would push the Model S, which has an extraordinary 390-mile range, over into the 400-mile range territory very easily.
Of course, we had known that there would eventually be a bigger battery in the works given that Musk confirmed that the upcoming Plaid powertrain would include a larger battery to accommodate the increased power. Additionally, with Tesla deciding to host a Battery Day this year, it was safe to assume that a higher capacity battery would be revealed.
What this tweet does provide is a little bit of a clearer understanding of how big the jump in range might be for future Tesla models. Additionally, the fact that Tesla is working with a new battery cell configuration might point to a universal battery that can be used by every model in the lineup, allowing for further production streamlining which is becoming more and more important as Tesla targets higher production goals with factories in multiple continents.
Is it possible that the battery being referenced is specifically for the Plaid version of the Model S? Possibly, but it wouldn’t make sense to not make the battery available to non-Plaid versions. In the most recent shareholder meeting, Musk stated that it would not be long before we see a car with over a 400-mile range, and I am doubtful that it would be the Plaid version of the Model S given how power hungry it would be.
With Battery Day in about two months, it won’t be long before we get our answers.
What do you guys think? Let us know down in the comments below.
