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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 Scalper1 News
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