Model 3 gets more power and range via Tesla's OTA software update

One of the joys of Tesla ownership is waking up to find that your car has been improved while you slept. However, the latest set of over-the-air updates for Model 3 is really something special: substantial increases in both power and range.

Above: Tesla's Model 3 in Norway (Flickr: harry_nl)

Tesla is pushing out an increase in peak power output to all Model 3s as part of firmware version 2019.8.2. “Your vehicle’s peak power has been increased by approximately 5%, improving acceleration and Performance,” the company told the lucky owners.

Tesla has said that this power boost should increase the top speed of the Performance variant to 162 mph.

Above: Some improvements in the latest software update (Youtube: PAXpress)

Elon Musk recently said that Tesla feels comfortable pushing Model 3’s battery pack and motor to higher power levels, now that it has collected over a year’s worth of real-world driving data.

A separate software update will extend the range of the Long-Range Model 3 variant by 15 miles. Tesla promised to make this improvement at the recent launch of the $35,000 base version. “Tesla is as much a software company as a hardware company and we’ve been able to via firmware improve the range of the long-range rear wheel drive car from 310 miles to 325 miles,” said Elon. “This will affect all customers including those that were all long range cars shipped to date and new cars. So both existing and new customers will get a 15 mile range increase from 310 to 325.”

Above: Model 3 takes center stage in Tesla showroom (Image: Charged)

As with the power increase, Musk says the growing body of usage data made Tesla confident that it could safely increase the efficiency of the motor and inverter. “We do find ways over time and have done this many times in the past where we are able to improve the efficiency of say the drive inverter or the motor or we get a bit more comfortable with how much energy you can extract safely from the battery pack without causing it long term harm.”

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This article originally appeared in Charged. Author: Charles Morris. Source (power increase): Electrek. Source (range increase): Electrek.