Tesla has produced the first few Model 3 with the new Mid-Range battery pack and Electrek has learned its energy capacity.
Last week, Tesla surprised many with the launch of a new ‘Mid-Range’ battery pack for the Model 3.
The battery pack is the same as the Long Range pack, which was the only one in production for the Model 3, but it is equipped with fewer cells.
It results in a shorter range of 260 miles EPA estimated and a lower price of $46,000.
With the Model 3, Tesla has moved away from sharing the specific energy capacity of the battery packs and using it to identify the different trims like it does with the Model S and Model X.
Instead, the automaker wants customers to focus on the advertised range for the more “mass-market” vehicle.
But many owners still like to know the energy capacity of the battery pack they are purchasing.
Our report on the Model 3 battery pack architecture showed that the Long Range pack has a capacity of about 74 kWh.
A source familiar with Tesla’s production of the new Mid-Range battery pack told Electrek that it has a capacity of 62 kWh.
That’s the rated capacity in the vehicle system, like the 74 kWh of the Long Range pack. It can be listed differently depending on the situation.
The source also confirmed that Tesla produced the first half-dozen Model 3 vehicles with the new pack – presumably for testing ahead of the start of volume production.
Earlier today, Tesla also registered over 13,000 new Model 3 VINS and all of them were RWD, which is now only available with the new Mid-Range battery pack.
The automaker says that it is starting deliveries in “~6 to 10 weeks.”
Electrek’s Take
That’s about what we were expecting with based on the range that Tesla announced. Now It will be interesting to see how much lighter it will be with about 12 kWh less worth of battery cells.
As we reported last week, Tesla’s new Model 3 is not just a demand booster, it’s also a production ramp enabler by reducing the number of cells needed to build a car.
With the same number of cells that it takes for them to produce 5,000 Model 3’s right now, they would be able to produce 6,000 Model 3 vehicles with the new Mid-Range battery pack.
It would be interesting to see if it will enable a higher production rate in the next few weeks.
Tesla admitted that battery cell production was limited factor at some point in the ramp up, but they emphasized that it was only for a short period of time.
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