Gizmotoy
Active Member
The increase in Supercharging rate was obviously hardware-related somehow (improved thermal management?), but the cells themselves and their chemistry supposedly didn't change, so I'd be surprised if the cell's actual charge and discharge rates changed. I suspect that the cells were physically capable of 120kW+ charging all along, but something else in the pack was holding them back, with the most likely situation being that Tesla had limited the charge rate to 90kW to keep temperatures within a suitable range. A revision to the battery pack was able to improve cooling, allowing for a faster charge.could very well be.... I was going from RC experience where charge and discharge capability was tied to internal resistance losses. Improvements in charge rates were typically coupled to improvements in discharge rates. The original batteries met the P85 current requirements which meant the door was open for pulling more current from the newer packs (my guess).
From the cell's specs we know that the actual output power of the cells is likely somewhat less than the rated power of the P85 inverter/motor, but only Tesla really knows for sure. There could be some undiscovered magic in there. It could all be wrong and I can't say anything even remotely definitive, but the evidence is pretty strong, I think.