Blog Model S is First EPA-Rated EV to Hit 400 Miles of Range

Tesla announced Monday that it has increased the range of the Model S Long Range Plus vehicles to an official EPA-rated range of 402 miles. That’s an improvement of nearly 20% compared to a 2019 Model S 100D with the same battery pack design.

Tesla pointed to several advancements that made the new rating for its flagship sedan possible, including mass reduction, updated regenerative braking, and new wheels.

A post announcing the details was posted to the company’s blog.

Model S Long Range Plus: Building the First 400-Mile Electric VehicleThe freedom to travel anywhere is critical to Tesla’s mission. Since the introduction of our 265-mile Model S in 2012, we’ve continued to revisit every aspect of the design to deliver the longest-range and highest-performance electric vehicles on the road.Starting today, all North American Model S Long Range Plus vehicles have an official EPA-rated range of 402 miles, representing a nearly 20% increase in range when compared to a 2019 Model S 100D with the same battery pack design.This significant achievement reflects Tesla’s obsession with efficiency and energy frugality, and is realized through several changes, both iterative and transformational, in core hardware and system architecture development by the Tesla engineering, design and production teams. These changes went into production earlier this year when we first started manufacturing Model S Long Range Plus at our factory in Fremont, California. All Model S Long Range Plus vehicles will receive the new 402-mile rating.Here’s what’s new:Significant Mass ReductionMass is the enemy of both efficiency and performance, and minimizing the weight of every component is an ongoing goal for our design and engineering teams. Several lessons from the engineering design and manufacturing of Model 3 and Model Y have now been carried over to Model S and Model X. This has unlocked new areas of mass reduction while maintaining the premium feel and performance of both vehicles. Additional weight savings have also been achieved through the standardization of Tesla’s in-house seat manufacturing and lighter weight materials used in our battery pack and drive units.New “Tempest” Aero Wheels and TiresOur newest 8.5 inch-wide aero wheels reduce aerodynamic drag compared to the previous wheels on Model S Long Range, and when paired with a new custom tire specifically engineered to reduce rolling resistance, add a 2% improvement to overall range.Increased Drive Unit EfficiencyIn our rear AC-induction drive unit, we replaced the mechanical oil pump with an electric oil pump that optimizes lubrication independent of vehicle speed to reduce friction. Further improvements to the gearbox in our front permanent magnet synchronous reluctance motors shared with Model 3 and Model Y have resulted in a further increase of 2% more range while driving on the highway.Maximizing Regenerative BrakingOur newest drive feature, HOLD, blends the motor’s regenerative braking with physical brakes to bring our cars to a stop by easing off of the accelerator pedal. To bring the car to a stop smoothly, regenerative braking now works at a lower speed and deceleration rate, sending more energy back to the battery pack while simultaneously enabling a driving experience like no other car.Continued Investment in SuperchargingThe freedom to travel anywhere is enabled by both range and charging, and our Supercharger Network now encompasses over 17,000 Superchargers worldwide. We’ve deployed V3 Supercharging on three continents, enabling up to a 50% decrease in charging times compared to V2 technology. Tesla owners can travel incredible distances – from the Everglades to Vancouver, the Arctic Circle of Norway to southern Portugal, Hong Kong to Harbin, China – all for a fraction of the cost of gasoline. Put simply, families spend less time than ever charging.While each of these changes are relatively small in individual impact, our unique ability to introduce them into active manufacturing lines enables significant gains in efficiency, range, and overall value when combined.Model S Long Range Plus has also recently received a price reduction of $5,000. Paired with these range improvements and gains in efficiency, customers now receive more value than ever when purchasing a new Tesla, and as with our other products, all of our vehicles will continuously improve over time with over-the-air software updates. Order today at Tesla.com.

 

[Battpower]

the rising range over the years is surely still indicative of increased actual range

Without question. And that's a point to not lose sight of.

But even so, I think it's interesting to try and get a realistic idea of exactly where the biggest changes take place, especially when deciding on a 'sweet spot' for a used car purchase. Especially the difference between Raven LR and LR+ since on the face of it there isn't a huge lot of difference in the spec's.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Regardless of what any of you may think, the car will not achieve 402 miles in real world use. Stop quoting that number to prospective customers. It's completely and totally misleading. The range you should be quoting potential customers is what Tesla recommends for daily charging: 90%. That's 361 miles. Going 65 MPH. Without A/C. No weather. In fact, nothing about the cars have changed since the previous EPA rating. Nothing. There is nothing to celebrate here. Real world range is much closer to 300 miles. Put it on a track and it will be lucky to match the Taycan, which gets 13 miles more on the track than its EPA rating while Teslas get less than half.

 

[Battpower]

In fact, nothing about the cars have changed since the previous EPA rating. Nothing. There is nothing to celebrate here. Real world range is much closer to 300 miles.

I suspect this is the case, but would love to see hard data to prove it. Even charging to 100% (only to be told that you broke your battery at some future time) I can't see what all the excitement is about other than stretching more and more points to win marketing points.

 

[FringeGlock]

To me it means very little. It’s a bit misleading. I am always being asked what range can a new Tesla do? I never quote 390 or now 402 miles. In my view people are asking because they are curious about long road trips. They are not asking so that they can drive around the city area for 400 miles. At 75 mph which would be my average highway speed for travel it will not get anywhere close to this. Even in the nice warm summer months let alone any kind of cold, rain, winds or steeper terrain.
please don’t get me wrong I’m a huge advocate and love my car. But It creates a potential unhappy customer after the fact when they realize they can’t actually go that far. maybe the problem lies NOT with Tesla but with the EPA and the method they use to calculate and display the numbers.

I got my model 3 in November last year and mostly charge it at home. The highest it has ever achieved is 279miles. At 279miles the system says that charging is complete. I then disconnect the charging cord. I would love a range of 400miles which would allow me to see my grandchildren without having to stop to "refuel". The BMW 535xd has a range of 676 miles on one "charge", Diesel fuel. This allowed me to visit my grand children without having to refuel until I got back home.

 

[makis]

The EPA needs to change the way they report the range of an electric car. Should not be based on the old MPGR equivalent. A graph of speed versus expected distance may be a better real world representation. Tesla does this with its Energy display which indicates projected distance which I found to be extremely accurate.

 

[TFCooper3]

Here's an idea for Tesla: how about giving us earlier model 100D owners that 400-mile range so we can drive from Little Rock to OKC on I- 40.

So you want Tesla to give you a new rear motor, a new regenerative braking system, lighter components, new tires and wheels, and new firmware?

Do you have anything to offer in return?

 

[r1200gs4ok]

I got my model 3 in November last year and mostly charge it at home. The highest it has ever achieved is 279miles. At 279miles the system says that charging is complete. I then disconnect the charging cord. I would love a range of 400miles which would allow me to see my grandchildren without having to stop to "refuel". The BMW 535xd has a range of 676 miles on one "charge", Diesel fuel. This allowed me to visit my grand children without having to refuel until I got back home.

yes, but how much does your diesel fuel cost in comparison with the electricity you use.....here in SoCal, diesel is $3.79 per gallon....

 

[r1200gs4ok]

So you want Tesla to give you a new rear motor, a new regenerative braking system, lighter components, new tires and wheels, and new firmware?

Do you have anything to offer in return?

my money...they take it gladly in exchange.....

 

[Chatterbox]

OK, so I am beginning to get jealous. My 2014 S 85, now with 150,000 km (about 90,000 miles) on the odometer, shows me just over 400....kilometers at a 100% SOC. That's about 248 miles. At birth the car maybe had closer to 425 kms (265 mi) of estimated (EPA) range.

By the way, you do not have to charge to full to see what the estimated range at full charge (100% SOC) would be. Just drag your slider on the app to full and a number will appear in the battery bar to show its max range calculation. As long as you do not leave the slider at 100%, but then drag it back a bit, you will keep your batter a bit healthier.

That being said, WTF! I love this car for road trips, and I mean LONG road trips of 5,000 km (3,000 miles) or more. The night before departure, as every day on a road trip, I set the charge level to 90%. When I wake up, I drag it to 100% and it charges to near full while I shower, eat breakfast and pack the car. With reasonably more like 320 km or 200 miles of range, I drive for about 3 hours before stopping for lunch. OK, If I am in Manitoba or Wyoming, I might be driving at 120 kph/75mph, and the range will be closer to 275 kms/180 mi, and so my lunch comes earlier.

Sit down for lunch anywhere and an hour goes by without even thinking about it. Even with my "aged" battery's throttled charging speed of 75-90 kW (up until about 60% SOC and then a bigger taper drops it even lower), an hour will give me at least another 2-3 hours of driving. Afternoon tea, anyone? A stretch break? Some site-seeing or shopping, if I pick my charging location right?

Then I'm off for another 2-3 hours before dinner, and maybe calling it a day, or charging during dinner and going another 2-3 hours before stopping for the day. I pick my nighttime stops to be near a Level 2 charger, where I trickle to 90% overnight and then drag it up again to 100% when I wake up. These days many or most hotels along major highways have EV chargers, and some even have Telsa chargers. Anything at or over 30Amps is good for a full overnight charge.

I can cover 1,000 to 1,500 kms (circa 625 to 925 mi) per day at a "reasonable" pace and not become so fatigued that I might be driving unsafely. If I had the new Model S 100D, would I drive it any differently? Not likely. I am not 20 anymore, when an 1,800 km/day (1,100 mile) road trip was exciting, and possible with a fast gas guzzler. Back then I could drive for 16-18 hours at a stretch. Of course, today's kids could do the same now with this hyper-miling new Tesla S 100D, which treats the earth and the human body so much more nicely.

So skip the airports and take your non-polluting (minimally-polluting) Telsa, of any age and range, for a relaxing road trip to almost anywhere. Listen to music or podcasts on your phenomenal sound system and the miles speed by. I am still waiting for a hypertube/hyperloop under the Atlantic and Pacific, but maybe I won't hold my breath on that.

 

[Chatterbox]

The EPA needs to change the way they report the range of an electric car. Should not be based on the old MPGR equivalent. A graph of speed versus expected distance may be a better real world representation. Tesla does this with its Energy display which indicates projected distance which I found to be extremely accurate.

That's too much information for the average driver. Yes, I LOVE it, and always have my consumption and range graph visible on my screen or dash. The EPA just need to keep to what it does best, without political interference. Of course gas guzzlers have variable range at different speeds also, and most pay a much bigger penalty for high speeds due to much poorer drag coefficients. Don't blame the EPA, but just accept that Telsa provides useful information that ICE drivers tend to ignore, at peril to their wallets and the earth.

 

[tonybelding]

Thanks for posting all of that.

I’ve had my S LR+ for a couple of months now, and I’ve had moments of wondering if I should have just spent the extra money on the Performance version. (Not that the LR+ is slow by any means!) I did want maximum range, which was advertised as 373 miles at the time when I placed my order, but now I’m starting to appreciate just how much overkill it is.

 

[travellerva]

Hmmm... this is finally getting interesting enough for me to take action - or at least thinking about it. My 2014 85 is the best (daily driver) car I've ever had in my 64 years of car ownership (first car: a 1931 Rover 10 - don't ask). After getting it new and driving it for only 3 months or so, I knew I would probably always own a Tesla. As the marque improved, I was tempted to upgrade... First, more comfortable seats in 2015... later, progressively... 4WD...forward cameras... LTE... 360 cameras... summon... ludicrous mode... increased range etc... Each time, I thought, I should really upgrade but never did as I just loved the car I had. I still do, even though the battery is finally showing it's age (about 220, down from 265 when new and a lot worse in winter); several faults are annoying (no, dammit, my tire pressures ARE ok, so please delete the annoying TPMS fault message - and the voice recognition apparently now thinks I'm speaking a foreign language); the enhanced software functionality results in an extended car turn-on time and I'm told every day that a software update is available but refuses to download. The car is out of warranty; I was quoted >$1K to replace my TPMS sensor board - no thanks, I'll live with the annoying message and do what I've done for 64 years - use a pressure gauge.

Being an old fart and having other fun cars, there's only 40,500 miles on Tessie so I'm in the strange situation of owning a car that after 6 years has had only new tires, a broken rear door handle, a couple of 12V batteries and a brake fluid change for around $3,300 total in maintenance costs. The car itself is good for another decade or more - except for the battery.

But now... I could get all those compound improvements and pay about $20K less than I paid for the new car in 2014. What I could not get is the sunroof and the shade of blue I presently have. My alternative is to get a new battery in the 2014 and keep the sunroof and color (and probably spend a few $K fixing up the annoying faults). I think the car could then be good until I need only horizontal transport.

Not asking for advice as I realize the decision rests purely on my own preferences, but I have to admit that the range improvement could be temptation enough. I don't care about any of the so-called autonomous driving features. I still have fun in cars with three pedals...

 

[MichaelP90DL]

...Being an old fart and having other fun cars, there's only 40,500 miles on Tessie so I'm in the strange situation of owning a car that after 6 years has had only new tires, a broken rear door handle and a brake fluid change for around $3,300 total in maintenance costs. The car itself is good for another decade or more - except for the battery.

Tessie, meet Tessie.

 

[Peter Lucas]

Tesla announced Monday that it has increased the range of the Model S Long Range Plus vehicles to an official EPA-rated range of 402 miles. That’s an improvement of nearly 20% compared to a 2019 Model S 100D with the same battery pack design. Tesla pointed to several advancements that made the new rating for...
[WPURI="https://teslamotorsclub.com/blog/2020/06/15/model-s-is-first-epa-rated-ev-to-hit-400-miles-of-range/"]READ FULL ARTICLE[/WPURI]

Well, let's see. My 280 mile Model S delivers 200 miles of real range. So the the 400 mile model should deliver maybe 300 miles.

 

[Mediocrates]

It seems there is misconception about what EPA ratings mean.

EPA rating is designed to have a standard set of circumstances by which vehicles are evaluated for fuel usage/efficiency. This allows for comparison of different vehicles under these consistent circumstances. It provides a relative metric of fuel usage/efficiency between vehicles.

It is not intended to represent all driving conditions, but it does represent some reasonable assumptions for general driving conditions. Some people achieve real-world numbers close (within 10%) to those values because they drive in similar conditions and in a similar fashion. Other people do not achieve real-world numbers close to those values, as their driving conditions and/or style notably deviate from the EPA standardized conditions.

 

[Battpower]

@travellerva, looks like your posts are few an far-between, but an enjoyable read!

I can cover 1,000 to 1,500 kms (circa 625 to 925 mi) per day at a "reasonable" pace and not become so fatigued that I might be driving unsafely. If I had the new Model S 100D, would I drive it any differently? Not likely.

In an ICE car I'm done by 600, 700 max. As you say, 800-900 is quite comfortable in an S. And we should all take a re-charge break every 2-3 hours.

take your.......... (minimally-polluting) Telsa, of any age and range, for a relaxing road trip to almost anywhere.

You make a far more convincing sounding sales pitch imo that Tesla endlessly pushing to make more over-baked / premature claims. In fact, I realize what the issue is for me. If it was called EPA Score, or even EPA Miles, I could go with that. But making these marketing-linked claims sound like a statement that relates presumably quite closely to some common use of the distance unit of 'mile' is not helpful in promoting a realistic expectation of the overall ownership and driving experience.

 

[SilverGS]

I've tested my 2016 75D several times driving at 90 kph (I don't normally drive at this speed) and I can easily (without fail) achieve my rated range (not when it's very cold - as in -10 Celsius) of 390 km (243 miles - 6 % degradation from new).

At 105 kph, I get within 95% of my rated range. I don't understand why there is so much debate about the range that Teslas cars are advertised with which are only achievable in very specific scenarios. This is true for any car.

I had a V8 Lexus before my Model S and I could easily get 100 km more range on a tank of fuel when the car is driven very calmly vs aggressively or how a person would drive "normally".

 

[Battpower]

I've tested my 2016 75D several times driving at 90 kph (I don't normally drive at this speed) and I can easily (without fail) achieve my rated range (not when it's very cold - as in -10 Celsius) of 390 km (243 miles - 6 % degradation from new).

At 105 kph, I get within 95% of my rated range. I don't understand why there is so much debate about the range that Teslas cars are advertised with which are only achievable in very specific scenarios. This is true for any car.

I had a V8 Lexus before my Model S and I could easily get 100 km more range on a tank of fuel when the car is driven very calmly vs aggressively or how a person would drive "normally".

I think the 'debate' is because owners claim much lower ranges.

Personally, I get over 300 miles from MS LR and that's more than sufficient. I am interested in understanding the real difference between 2019 S Raven LR and 2020 LR+ given that hardware specs seem very similar. Is it just tyres and wheel trim? Was there ever verified technical difference between E and F 100kwh batteries?

It is also interesting to see real fleet data like from ABRP but I haven't yet seen for LR+. May be just not enough cars out there.

 

[bolosky]

But for long drive days where you need to charge to 180-220 rated miles at each SC, does it matter if your maximum range is 350 or 400? I suspect very little.

In this case, it absolutely matters. The reason is that they achieved the greater range with more efficiency, which means more ideal miles per kWh. Since charging rate (in kW) depends on the battery size and SoC, getting more miles per kWh means charging faster when expressed as miles of charge/min. Changing from 350 to 400 miles by improving efficiency should mean about 15% faster charging, or the difference between 8 miles/min and 9 miles/min, and it'll take you 15% less time to get to wherever you want to be for your next leg.

Another way of looking at it is that it doesn't change the time to full charge, but you can get more miles on that full charge.

 

[hiroshiy]

"Further improvements to the gearbox in our front permanent magnet synchronous reluctance motors"

Does this mean Tesla improved gears in the motor housing and there is another gearbox, or do they eliminate the external gearbox and included reduction gears in the motor?