Speculation on when Tesla would break the 400-mile range mark has been mounting for some time, and — according to figures from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — the EV company has just done it.
Late yesterday, Tesla announced all its North American Model S Long Range Plus EVs will come with an EPA mileage rating of 402 miles (around 650 km) per full charge.
That’s nearly 20% more when compared against a 2019 Model S 100D with the same battery pack, the company says.
[Read: Uber and Waymo expected to share autonomous vehicle test data with public in new tool]
Tesla stated there are four main reasons that contribute to achieving this new EPA rating: cutting excess weight from the vehicle, new aerodynamic wheels and tires, increased drivetrain efficiency, and improved regenerative breaking which now works at lower speeds.
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The only downside is that this is only for North American made Model S’. There’s no word from the company on when these improvements will be rolled out internationally, but it hopefully won’t be too much longer.
All in all, that’s a significant step forward, — especially when you remember Tesla’s first Model S in 2012 had a range of just 265 miles (426 km).
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