According to media reports, Musk said he plans to increase the range of his flagship model S to 1000 km or 621 miles. And not some time in the distant future, but “within a year or two”. He added that a reliable range of some 600 miles will “definitely be possible in 2017, or earlier”.
With his statement he referred to a recent record drive with a Tesla model S covering 729 km without recharging. In this drive however, the drivers achieved an average speed of just 39 kmph which cannot be considered realistic for everyday driving conditions.
Musk also said that by 2020, a range of 1,200 km would be achievable.
Musk’s company Tesla Motors also announced to crank up its production in Europe: Beginning September 28, the company is manufacturing its Model S in a much larger production hall than hitherto in Tilburg in the Netherlands.
The capacity of the Tilburg plant now amounts to 450 units per week. The production line is a final assembly where pre-manufactured components like battery, powertrain and rear axle are put together. In addition, the software is installed and the quality tests are performed. Towards this end, the plant has an indoor test track of 750 metres, including 400 metres of bumpy road with 6000 measurement points.
At the same time, the company announced that production of its model X will start on September 29. The start of production has been postponed several times, triggering doubts about Tesla’s ability for mass-production.
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