Tesla Model S and X with 100 kWh battery pack and ‘~380 miles of range’ approved by European authority

The long-rumoured 100 kWh battery pack that will bring the Tesla Model S and X to a new level of performance is finally coming. After first being revealed by a ‘Tesla hacker’ through a cryptic message to Elon Musk 5 months ago, the new battery pack has now been approved by RDW, the Dutch regulator and European authority used by Tesla to approve its vehicles in for European roads.

The news hints at an imminent release of three new versions of Tesla’s battery pack: 100D, P100D, and P100D with Ludicrous upgrade.

A Dutch blogger found the reference to the new battery pack while looking through RDW’s open database.

The way it has been found is reminiscent of when the California Air Resource Board (CARB) updated its website to surprisingly add the then unannounced new Tesla Model S 75D to its list of approved vehicles. Tesla confirmed the new battery pack shortly after.

CARB has not updated its website for the new 100 kWh pack yet, but we verified the new information in RDW’s data and it is correct. Several new ‘Tesla variants’ related to the new battery packs have received approvals from RDW:

We contacted Tesla for a comment on the approval by RDW and we will update if we get an answer.

Interestingly, the new 100D Model S is listed with a range of 613 km (~380 miles) on a single charge. Now of course, this is based the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC), which is much more forgiving than the EPA rating and doesn’t really reflect real-world range.

Though it’s safe to say that the 100D should easily bring the Model S range over 300 miles on a single charge. It should also bring the Model X range closer to 300 miles, up from 257 EPA-rated miles.

Now it will also significantly increase the power output of the vehicles which will translate into higher performance. Hopefully, we will have more on that soon. Stay tuned.