Range Speculation

[BByrne]

Arguably one of the most important aspects of an EV for the masses is range. With "range-anxiety" being the most common things referenced when I tell people I reserved a Model 3. People say, "My 2013 [gas powered car] gets 600 miles on a tank." or "I take 700 mile trips every couple of months. I need gas."

A few days ago I saw a video that slowed down and zoomed in on the rotating 3D animation playing behind Elon during the launch. I can't seem to find it, but maybe someone here has seen it. In the video they talk about the battery pack and how the cells are situated differently (horizontally) than the ones in the Model S's 60kWh battery. They also note that there are fewer cells with this configuration. This lead me speculate on whether the battery on the base package Model 3 is possibly a <60kWh version that gets a 215 mile range.

The second part of my comment/question is this. About a month ago, a "hacker" found a logo buried in Tesla's code that was a P100D badge. Assuming it's real, that means they have a 100kWh battery waiting to be unveiled. Maybe someone smarter than me knows, but does this mean that we might have the option for a Model 3 that gets 400+ miles per charge?

 

[BByrne]

I know there are a lot of if's in that question, but I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility. Tesla has made great strides in advancing EV technology to boost the range of their vehicles. Elon Musk puts a lot of emphasis on range options for Tesla's vehicles, so it would make sense to upgrade their product line when battery technology advances forward.

 

[viperboy]

The short answer is no. Elon said he could make a 500 mile model S (in France maybe a year back?), but it would weigh so much and cost so much it wouldn't be particle. I'm fine with 250-300 miles and a robust SC network.

 

[BByrne]

Found the video!

 

[jkk_]

400+miles? I don't think that will happen in the following 5 years. Quite frankly, for me range of 500km, 310miles would be pretty much optimal. Longer than that I would need to lug around lots of heavy batteries that I don't need that often.

Of course it's true that there are cases where electrical vehicles are not applicable (at least not yet) and that's fine. But you have to remember that while you can have a long range your current car, would you really drive it back-to-back or would you take a break anyway?

 

[BByrne]

Found the video!

Battery talk is at the 7:06 mark.

 

[BByrne]

...would you really drive it back-to-back or would you take a break anyway?

If I had autopilot, I can definitely see driving straight on through or back-to-back, if that was an option.