battery upgrade

Six 'battery upgrade' stories September 2015 - July 2016

Tesla Roadster 3.0 battery upgrade (R80) are finally starting to arrive – ~340 miles of range

Fred Lambert Jul 8 2016 - 5:43 am PT

roadster r80

You didn’t forget about the Tesla Roadster 3.0 did you? They are still over 2,000 Roadsters on the road today accumulating millions of electric miles and some are starting do so in longer stretches with the upgraded 3.0 battery pack.

At the 2016 Tesla Shareholders Meeting last month, a Roadster owner (#33 delivered in 2008) and Tesla shareholder asked when he can expect his upgrade, which was first announced in late 2014 and he already had placed his order. CTO JB Straubel responded that the new packs are coming, but with limited production.

Now we learn that the retrofitted packs, which are rated at about 340 miles of range, are now trickling down to select Tesla service centers and a few owners are reporting having received the retrofit.
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Tesla’s new 60kWh pricing option is a software revolution, here are the exclusive details

Seth Weintraub Jun 9 2016 - 3:40 pm PT

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Tesla Model S_ streamribbons

As expected, Tesla announced a new Model S 60 today with a starting price point of $66,000 before Federal Tax in the US, under $60K after the $7500 tax credit. But Tesla really didn’t release a new car today – the company released a new software configuration and pricing model. That small change will let the automaker sell a lot more cars…
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2017 VW e-Golf with up to 186 miles of range by the end of the year

Fred Lambert May 23 2016 - 9:51 am PT

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e-golf

There’s been some confusion about the imminent upgrade to Volkswagen’s all-electric e-Golf versus its next generation expected to be available by the end of the decade. Dr. Volkmar Tanneberger, Head of Electric Vehicle Development at VW, cleared up some of the confusion this weekend during a press meeting for the Formula E race in Berlin.

The executive confirmed that the 2017 e-Golf will receive a battery upgrade by the end of the year and that it will allow for an NEDC rated range of 300 km (186 miles) on a single charge.
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Tesla is now offering ‘Ludicrous’ battery upgrade as a retrofit for the Model S P90D

Fred Lambert Mar 21 2016 - 3:57 pm PT

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Last summer, Tesla introduced both a new and bigger 90 kWh battery pack and the ‘Ludicrous mode’ upgrade for a higher level of performance on the already insane Model S. The automaker offers the upgrade for a $10,000 premium when configuring a Model S P90D or as a retrofit for Model S P85D owners who, at the time, had just witnessed their less than 1-year old cars already outperformed by the new version.

Tesla ended up significantly reducing the price of the retrofit to just $5,000 for the P85D and now for the first time, the automaker is offering the upgrade as an aftermarket retrofit for the Model S P90D – meaning that someone configuring the Tesla’s top of the line vehicle could decide to pass on the ‘Ludicrous mode’, but later add it for the same price plus labor.
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Tesla offers battery upgrade at cost, expands Roadster 3.0 upgrade to early models

Fred Lambert Oct 26 2015 - 12:53 pm PT

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Tesla Motors sent an email Monday morning to all Roadster owners to confirm the expansion of its battery upgrade program to now include early models, which were excluded until recently. Earlier this summer, Tesla released the details of its long-awaited battery upgrade for its first vehicle, but a lot of owners were disappointed to learn that it was only available to later versions of the all-electric sport car.

Now every owner with $29,000 to spare gets access to the upgrade which increases the range of the vehicle by about 35%.
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Tesla Roadster 3.0 Battery Upgrade will cost $29k and increase the range by 35%

Fred Lambert Sep 1 2015 - 4:36 pm PT

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Tesla Motors released more information about the Roadster battery upgrade in an email sent to owners today. The new battery pack will have 40% more energy than the previous version, but it will be heavier therefore allowing a 35% increase in range. The pack will be hand-built at low volume and Tesla doesn’t aim at making a profit on the upgrade, which will cost $29,000 including labor.

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