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Tesla Model S Electric Car Gets EPA Range Boost To 294 Miles

Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) boosted the EPA-stated driving range of its most popular electric car, the Model S, to 294  miles for the longest-range version for sale at its website, with its own estimated range over 300 miles. And the possibility of an even more souped-up Model S — a 100D version with a bigger battery — remains an open question. One analyst predicts it will happen by August. Also Tuesday, Tesla rolled out a list of design and feature tweaks. The electric car maker’s website now shows the Model 3 90D version with a “range per charge” of 302 miles (at the default 65 mph and 70 Fahrenheit outside temperature), while the EPA rating is 294 miles. That’s Tesla’s longest-range version of the Model S. It shows the higher-performance P90D at an EPA-rated 270 miles between rechargings and the 70D (dual motor) at 240 miles. “They may have done some software upgrade,” Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry told IBD Tuesday. “It seems the range per charge has probably gone up by about 10%.” “We just changed the numbers today to reflect the current EPA rating,” Tesla spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson said by email in answer to IBD’s query. A calculator at Tesla’s website shows the 90D as able to get 451 miles between recharges if you adjust the speed down to 45 mph and raise the outside temperature to 90 Fahrenheit. Really? “We know of a person who drove from San Francisco to L.A. on a single charge and that was two years back,” Chowdhry said. And that’s over 380 miles. He says a larger battery-pack option for the Model S is likely by the end of August, which could extend driving range farther. On Tuesday, Tesla announced changes that allow faster recharging and also revealed a redesign of the sedan’s front profile, among other alterations. But the enhancements stop short of what the rumor mill suggested might be announced around the time of the Model 3 launch on March 31: a Tesla Model S 100D, which would indicate a bigger battery pack and longer driving range between recharges than existing Model S sedans. “Today we’re introducing the following updates to Model S,” Tesla’s Georgeson said in a Tuesday morning email, noting that the changes are just now going into production: The front fascia and headlights “now have a design similar to that found on Model X (the electric crossover that Tesla started delivering in September).” A HEPA air filtration system that was only on the Model X is now available, and is “100 times more effective than all other premium automotive filters.” The standard charger in the Model S is now “upgraded from 40 amps to 48 amps,” enabling “faster charging when connected to higher amperage charging sources.” Two new interior choices: Figured Ash Wood Decor and Dark Ash Wood Decor. In March, before the launch of the  Model 3 that topped 325,000 reservations  in its first week, analyst Chowdhry weighed in on the possibility of a longer-range Model S with a bigger battery pack. A “Tesla Model S 100D (not the performance version, but the Dual Motor version) could achieve a range greater than 300 miles per charge,” analyst Chowdhry posited in research note then, commenting on the rumored possibility that a Tesla Model S with a large battery pack was in the skunk works. The rumor stemmed from what a self-described “white hat” hacker saw in some code in the operating system of a Model S, which was alluding to a P100D. That was then reported by the automotive press. In Tuesday’s announced Model S upgrades, the amped-up charger is of note, indicating that Tesla has been looking at ways of maximizing what it can do with its unique battery packs that wrap around a large part of the cars. Incremental improvements in range have also been expected over time, through software tweaks to the battery management system. Tesla stock fell a fraction in the stock market today , to 247.82. The company’s IBD Composite Rating has risen to 65 out of a possible 99, but remains weighed down by the California startup’s string of quarterly losses. It leads automaker Composite Ratings, with Fiat Chrysler ( FCAU ) next at a 60, Ford ( F ) with a 55, China electric-car maker Kandi Technologies Group ( KNDI ) with a 50 and  General Motors ( GM ) with a 49. Tesla stock is up 76% from a February low and down 15% from an all-time high of 291.42 set in September 2014. This Is What It’s Like To Ride In A Tesla Model 3 RELATED: Tesla Stock, Lifted By The Model 3 Launch, Hit By Model X Recall

Tesla Stock, Lifted By The Model 3 Launch, Hit By Model X Recall

Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) stock powered up in morning trading Monday in the afterglow of its Model 3 launch, then took a hit as a new Model X recall came to light. Tesla rose as much as 3.6% in the stock market today , then dipped and fluctuated in the afternoon, closing down 0.1% at 249.92 as the major stock indexes also edged down. Tesla stock is 14% off a Sept. 14 all-time high of 291.42. Tesla has climbed to an IBD Composite Rating of 61 out of a possible 99 and the stock is building the right side of a long, deep base — though Tesla’s string of quarterly losses is weighing its Composite Rating down. Tesla’s CR leads automakers, with Fiat Chrysler ( FCAU ) next at a 56, Ford ( F ) with a 53, General Motors ( GM ) with a 47 and China electric-car maker Kandi Technologies Group ( KNDI ) with a 46. Model X Recall Tesla said Monday that the recliner in a third-row Model X seat unexpectedly slipped in a seat-test strength test. Tesla issued a voluntary recall of 2,700 Model X vehicles, according to a Bloomberg report citing an email to affected customers . “Until the recall is performed, you may make full use of your Model X, although we ask that you temporarily not have anyone sit in the third-row seats while the car is in use,” Bloomberg reported the email as saying. The Model X crossover started shipping to customers in September. Recalls are pretty common. Carmakers issued 30 of them covering 6.9 million vehicles industrywide in February, the latest month tracked, according to a March research note by Stifel analyst James Albertine. Tesla’s still a startup, under the microscope for production quality and for how any recalls could potentially impact its necessarily large production ramp-up plans. Model 3 Launch Tesla’s first week of fully refundable $1,000 Model 3 reservations topped 325,000 , the company said early Thursday, saying that it would be “increasing Model 3 production plans.” Tesla noted that if all those reservations result in a sale, the batch would be worth $14 billion in revenue. Deliveries are scheduled to start in late 2017. In a research note April 1, Albertine said that his $325 long-term target price on Tesla stock “is predicated on a model assuming 200,000 units produced annually in 2020, which is substantially lower than TSLA’s guidance for 500,000 units annually. The initial Model 3 reservations reduce our concerns with respect to achieving management’s guidance at some point in the next 5-7 years, but given the complexity associated with vehicle manufacturing and the fact that TSLA has little incentive (besides investor appetite for delivery growth and GAAP profitability) to accelerate production at the expense of quality, protecting against the risk of a major recall.” How Soon Can Tesla Build 325,000 Model 3 Cars?

China EV Carmaker Kandi Stalls, Tesla Drives Mainland

Chinese electric car maker Kandi Technologies (KNDI) wiped out Monday, plunging after a steep October ascent in anticipation of its third-quarter earnings, reported before the open. Still-small Kandi makes budget and car-sharing electric vehicles but has a license in China to potentially enter the luxury market down the road. So it could eventually become a competitor to California carmaker Tesla Motors (TSLA) in what’s become that company’s