Tesla's New Mega Battery Pack Could Boost Range to 400 Miles

author: Vineeth Joel Patel   

Looking for an electric vehicle with tons of range? There's really only one automaker that leads the pack in that category: Tesla. The Tesla Model S, Model X, and Model 3 lead the industry in range, ranking from first to third place out of all of the electric cars on the market. Tesla just recently boosted the range of the Model S and Model X EVs, but the automaker has something in the pipeline that would boost range even further. 

More Range Coming Soon

Apparently, Tesla's engineers are looking toward introducing a larger, more modern battery pack that would further increase its electric vehicles' range. The information doesn't come from Tesla itself, but from a hacker that goes by the name of Jason Hughes on Twitter. Jason Hughes took to Twitter to drop some information on Tesla's upcoming battery pack. 

The tweet reads: "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. 

At the moment, the largest Tesla pack that uses in its current electric vehicles is a 100-kWh lithium-ion battery unit that gives the Model S a range of up to 390 miles. The same pack in the Model X is rated at up to 351 miles on a single charge. 

While seeing the battery pack go from 100 kWh to 109 kWh may not seem like a monumental jump, it will help Tesla cement its place as the electric-vehicle automaker with the longest range. It could result in the Model S having a range in excess of 400 miles. The figure makes plenty of sense, too, as CEO Elon Musk recently announced that the 400-mile barrier was within reach and that it would hit it soon. It was also the first to get past the 300-mile mark. 

Model X Will Get A More Modest Boost

With the Model S being the more efficient and aerodynamically oriented vehicle in Tesla's brand to be capable of being fitted with the larger battery pack, we're sure that's the vehicle that will have 400 miles of range. Since the Model X is larger and not as efficient through the air, it will probably have less overall range. We expect to see something around 360 miles of range from the SUV. 

It's unlikely that the Model 3 and upcoming Model Y will get the new battery pack. Those vehicles are too small to be fitted with the 109-kWh pack, so it will only be for the Model S and Model X. 

Recently, Tesla introduced Long Range Plus variants of the Model S and Model X. The vehicles come with more range than before thanks to a software update. However, Tesla didn't provide any information on what the cutoff date was for vehicles that have the increased range versus ones that didn't. 

Vineeth Joel Patel

Joel Patel has been covering all aspects of the automotive industry for four years as an editor and freelance writer for various websites. When it comes to cars, he enjoys covering the merger between technology and cars. In his spare time, Joel likes to watch baseball, work on his car, and try new foods