Tesla Model S tops 400-mile range, EPA says
Estimated trip distance increased over the 2019 design
Tesla said the Environmental Protection Agency gave its Model S Long Range Plus electric vehicle a 402-mile range rating in a Monday blog post.
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The new rating comes after Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk said during an April 29 earnings call that a faulty EPA vehicle test resulted in a 391-mile range rating, which the agency disputed, according to tech magazine The Verge.
"EPA can confirm that we approved a 402-mile range for the updated Tesla Model S Long Range Plus" an EPA spokesperson told FOX Business. "Tesla has updated the 2020 Model S Long Range Plus vehicle making several changes to the vehicle from the one EPA previously tested. EPA approved the new label value based on a review of the testing protocols and data submitted by Tesla and found it was complete and accurate."
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The spokesperson added that Fueleconomy.gov, which displays the EPA's range ratings, among other EPA findings, will be updated in "about a week" with the new information.
The 402-mile rating represents a nearly 20-percent "increase in range when compared to a 2019 Model S 100D with the same battery pack design," according to the blog post.
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"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," the company wrote.
A Panasonic Corp's lithium-ion battery, which is part of Tesla Motor Inc's Model S and Model X battery packs, is pictured next to the Tesla logo. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo
It added that all Model S Long Range Plus EVs will receive the 402-mile rating, and the company cut the price of the car by $5,000.
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"Paired with...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," the automaker said.
Tesla's first version of its Model S, which was introduced in 2012, had a 265-mile EPA range rating.
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