I'm thinking it's one of two things, either Elon is grasping at straws trying to come up with something to turn around/prevent a nose dive in market sentiment or this is something much bigger than a software update. In the first scenario, it feels like just about anything that could be achieved with software, like integration with plugshare, risks falling short and causing this to go down as a huge overstatement, an overstatement in two ways. first off, I don't feel that range anxiety is really an issue on a day to day basis with the S, even at the 50% charge setting, so saying it's a big deal now feels like an overstatement, though some range anxiety still occurs from time to time. secondly, anyone with a smartphone already has the anxiety cure that integration with plugshare would offer... I just can't imagine any kind of software update making much of a difference over what we already have.
Cautious pessimism leads me to wonder if this is something much bigger than a software update. a truly ground breaking announcement, IMHO, that would virtually eliminate range anxiety needs to be something substantial. a big piece of range anxiety isn't just being worried that you are going to get stranded on the road, but that you are going to be faced with long waiting times to recharge, calling family to say you will be late, etc. Even Super Charging eats up time with transitions (getting off the highway, parking, plugging in, finding a place to go while charging, monitoring progress, etc). What would really be the cure? the real cure in my mind would be something that would virtually eliminate the need to stop on long distance trips, something on the order of magnitude of a consumable aluminum air battery that would fill the frunk, perhaps every S has the wiring for the addition of such a battery and only needs a software update to enable the feature. In any case, if Tesla announces a way to nearly double the range of the S, making it possible to drive all day long without thinking about stopping for a charge, that would put the final nail in the coffin of range anxiety in my book and truly be revolutionary. sadly I am prepared to be underwhelmed but would be pleasantly surprised if I'm wrong.