GRA
Well-known member
Could be, but I lean towards the increased power at some future date angle. Tesla has upgraded the SCs from 90 to 120 and then to 135 kW, and will also need to provide more storage capacity on the cars to fully compete with ICEs (I've been somewhat surprised that they haven't offered an S100 or 110 yet, but that's dependent on improved batteries). Providing something approaching 300 miles of freeway range (@ say 75 mph) in a reasonable amount of time during an SC before the taper will require more SC power as well as a bigger battery.RegGuheert said:Not necessarily. It may mean that they have decided to run the equipment at a lower temperature.GRA said:The presence of new vents on the pedestals would indicate that they've got to get rid of more rather than less heat.
I believe the change from the S60 to S70D was for a different reason; the X wouldn't be able to make 200 miles with only 60kWh, and it made no sense for Tesla (at this time) to produce three different battery packs. Of course, it's possible that the top end Model X will also have a bigger pack, and they'll introduce it on both X and S simultaneously, only offering say 70 and 100 kWh from that point forward, until they come out with a smaller pack for the Model 3. I do wonder if they'll eventually decide to produce a 2WD S70 to provide a lower-cost option, but maybe they figure it would just overlap with a high-end Model 3 and isn't worth doing.