Firmware
What happens when you completely run out of battery in your Tesla Model S?
Updated Jan 2, 2016: Since this story was originally published, there’s been several Tesla firmware updates that presumably have altered the behavior of the Tesla battery pack. In specific, providing a “buffer mileage” after the battery runs down to 0 mi/km of range. When we originally experienced running out of battery under Firmware 5.9 as indicated by the “0” miles left on the instrument cluster, the Model S continued to travel for another 10 – 20 miles.
The most recent video by Bjørn Nyland under Firmware 7.0 seems to show that 0 means 0, or almost. Bjørn’s video suggests that the Model S came to a stop after the vehicle reached 0 km of range, however after an hour’s worth of charging under 13A, the vehicle was able to regain enough energy to continue driving despite the cluster still reading “0 km” (starting at 3:25 min of the video).
There’s been reports from Tesla owners that “balancing” the battery pack will help Tesla’s algorithms calibrate an absolute zero for the vehicle, though representatives from Tesla have said in the past that “‘pack balancing’ is not really necessary“.
Photo credit: Bjørn Nyland via YouTube
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Original story from May 15, 2014
So it’s the question everyone seems to want to ask following our recent Tesla racing story where we made a small mention that we … ahem, got stranded on the side of the road with no battery range left. How does one possibly run out of power in an 85 kWh Tesla Model S rated for 260 miles of range?
I’m sure some of you would suggest that the headline to this story should read “Only dummies run out of battery in their Tesla Model S”, especially considering Model S owners have done record breaking 12,000 mile journeys across four corners of the nation, not to mention that one Model S owner even crossed the country, and back, in a 60 kWh version.
We’ve received a lot of questions via emails, comments and even through media coverage on the topic, despite the story’s main intent of showcasing our Las Vegas Motor Speedway racing conquests, so we’ll go ahead and try to address them all here.
Battery Range and Trip Planning
The Tesla Model S provides you with a read out on the range (in miles or km) that’s remaining given the battery’s current state of charge. The rated range is formulaic and based on Tesla’s proprietary algorithms which attempt to estimate range by determining how much energy is stored in the battery. As its label implies, it’s truly just a rating.
Also see: Tesla Battery Range Degradation
Tesla’s rated range does not account for elevation changes or wind conditions. We find the site EVTripPlanner does an excellent job with estimating power consumption by taking into account speed, climate control usage and elevation changes.
This graph shows the correlation of speed with available driving range. The slower you travel, the less amount of air drag and therefore the more range you’ll be able to squeeze out of your Tesla.
That said, there are factors you can’t predict upfront, such as wind conditions. While not a big concern in most cases, it should be taken seriously in areas that are prone to high wind conditions and strong gusts. A strong head wind can almost double the Model S power requirements. Even slowing down does not render a substantial improvement. With that in mind, get as much extra charge as possible and drive extra conservative well before crossing into high wind territory. It’s easy for us to say that now having just learned from our Las Vegas to Barstow experience.
So how did you run out of battery?
I wish I could tell you that it was due to an act of heroism where by we veered our Model S off the freeway and onto a narrow dirt road, in pursuit of a big-headed green Martian that needed our help getting back to its space transporter. After all, we’re driving an Intergalactic SpaceBoat of Light and Wonder so it would only make sense that we assisted.
Unfortunately the truth is far less mind blowing.
We ran out of charge because we severely underestimated the strength of the wind and didn’t leave enough buffer early into the drive to account for these unforeseen weather conditions.
We left the Las Vegas Tesla Supercharger with approximately 240 miles in range thinking it would be more than enough power to reach the Barstow Supercharger station that was 160 miles away.
A sand storm with strong headwinds of 35 mph, combined with the steep elevation changes and our usual keeping-up-with-traffic speed of 75 mph, well before reaching the sand storm, all culminated into one of the most stressful situations we’ve ever experienced in our Tesla Model S. We ended up 3 miles shy of reaching our destination, taking into account the additional 10 – 20 miles of reserve range that we were able to tap into. This equates to an additional power consumption of roughly 60%.
Once the reserve is depleted, the next event is a message that displays across the center console indicating that the car is shutting down, pull over safely. Needless to say you should do this immediately.
Like the Terminator, this is still not the end. The car will have enough battery to power the displays and other auxiliary functions, followed by the final-final stage that occurs approximately half an hour later. Everything will shut down. You'll be able to open the doors and the emergency lights will continue flashing, but both the center console and dashboard will be completely dark.
What should you do?
Should you find yourself in this situation, put the car into the Tow Mode before everything begins shutting down. Make sure to block the wheels before putting the car into Tow Mode to prevent it from rolling off. The car will also need to be in neutral before it can be loaded onto a flatbed. Towing companies that work with Tesla know how to jumpstart the Model S battery, but you’ll save everyone time and energy by shifting the car into neutral before it’s completely dead.
Sorry, Tesla Motors
Keep in mind that running out of power in a Tesla Model S is something that rarely ever happens. It’s 100% the owner’s responsibility to plan accordingly so that faux pas like this do not occur. Bailing an owner out of this type of situation is not something Tesla Motors has to cover, so as you can imagine we were extra thankful that they came to our rescue and towed us out.
Sorry.
Elon Musk
Tesla confirmed HW3 can’t do Unsupervised FSD but there’s more to the story
Tesla confirmed HW3 vehicles cannot run unsupervised FSD, replacing its free upgrade promise with a discounted trade-in.
Tesla has officially confirmed that early vehicles with its Autopilot Hardware 3 (HW3) will not be capable of unsupervised Full Self-Driving, while extending a path forward for legacy owners through a discounted trade-in program. The announcement came by way of Elon Musk in today’s Tesla Q1 2026 earnings call.
🚨 Our LIVE updates on the Tesla Earnings Call will take place here in a thread 🧵
Follow along below: pic.twitter.com/hzJeBitzJU
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) April 22, 2026
The history here matters. HW3 launched in April 2019, and Tesla sold Full Self-Driving packages to owners on the understanding that the hardware was sufficient for full autonomy. Some owners paid between $8,000 and $15,000 for FSD during that period. For years, as FSD’s AI models grew more demanding, HW3 vehicles fell progressively further behind, eventually landing on FSD v12.6 in January 2025 while AI4 vehicles moved to v13 and then v14. When Musk acknowledged in January 2025 that HW3 simply could not reach unsupervised operation, and alluded to a difficult hardware retrofit.
The near-term offering is more concrete. Tesla’s head of Autopilot Ashok Elluswamy confirmed on today’s call that a V14-lite will be coming to HW3 vehicles in late June, bringing all the V14 features currently running on AI4 hardware. That is a meaningful software update for owners who have been frozen at v12.6 for over a year, and it represents genuine effort to keep older hardware relevant. Unsupervised FSD for vehicles is now targeted for Q4 2026 at the earliest, with Musk describing it as a gradual, geography-limited rollout.
For HW3 owners, the over-the-air V14-lite update is welcomed, and the discounted trade-in path at least acknowledges an old obligation. What happens next with the trade-in pricing will define how this chapter ultimately gets written. If Tesla prices the hardware path fairly, acknowledges what early adopters are owed, and delivers V14-lite on the June timeline it committed to today, it has a real opportunity to convert one of the longest-running sore subjects among early adopters into a loyalty story.
Tesla announced its Spring 2026 software update, and it’s the most feature-dense seasonal release the company has put out. The update covers twelve named changes spanning FSD, voice AI, safety lighting, dashcam storage, and pet display customization, among other things.
The centerpiece for owners with AI4 hardware is a redesigned Self-Driving app. The new interface lets owners subscribe to Full Self-Driving with a single tap and view ongoing FSD usage stats directly in the vehicle.
Grok gets its biggest in-car upgrade yet. The update adds a “Hey Grok” hands-free wake word along with location-based reminders, so a driver can now say “remind me to pick up groceries when I get home” without touching the screen. Grok first arrived in vehicles in July 2025, but each update has pushed it closer to genuine daily utility. Musk framed the broader vision clearly at Davos in January, saying Tesla is “really moving into a future that is based on autonomy.”
On safety, the update introduces enhanced blind spot warning lights that integrate directly with the cabin’s ambient lighting, building on the blind spot door warning that arrived in update 2026.8.
Dog Mode has been renamed Pet Mode and now lets owners choose a dog, cat, or hedgehog icon and add their pet’s name to the display.
Dashcam retention now extends up to 24 hours, up from the previous one-hour rolling loop, with a permanent save option for any clip. Weather maps now show rain and snow with better color differentiation and include the past hour of precipitation data along the route.
Tesla has now established a clear rhythm of two major OTA pushes per year. As with last year’s Spring update, that cycle started taking shape in 2025 with adaptive headlights and trunk customization. The 2025 Holiday Update then added Grok to the vehicle for the first time. This Spring follows that structure: the Holiday update introduces new architecture, and the Spring update broadens it across the fleet.
Two notable features still did not make it. IFTTT automations, which launched in China earlier this year, were held back from this North American release for unknown reasons, and Apple CarPlay remains absent, reportedly still delayed by iOS 26 and Apple Maps compatibility issues.
Below is the full list of feature updates released by Tesla.
— Tesla (@Tesla) April 13, 2026
It appears that Tesla may be preparing to roll out some subscription-based services soon. Based on the observations of a Wales-based Model 3 owner who performed some reverse-engineering on the Tesla mobile app, it seems that the electric car maker has added a new “Subscribe” option beside the “Buy” option within the “Upgrades” tab, at least behind the scenes.
A screenshot of the new option was posted in the r/TeslaMotors subreddit, and while the Tesla owner in question, u/Callump01, admitted that the screenshot looks like something that could be easily fabricated, he did submit proof of his reverse-engineering to the community’s moderators. The moderators of the r/TeslaMotors subreddit confirmed the legitimacy of the Model 3 owner’s work, further suggesting that subscription options may indeed be coming to Tesla owners soon.
Did some reverse engineering on the app and Tesla looks to be preparing for subscriptions? from r/teslamotors
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite has been heavily speculated to be offered as a subscription option, similar to the company’s Premium Connectivity feature. And back in April, noted Tesla hacker @greentheonly stated that the company’s vehicles already had the source codes for a pay-as-you-go subscription model. The Tesla hacker suggested then that Tesla would likely release such a feature by the end of the year — something that Elon Musk also suggested in the first-quarter earnings call. “I think we will offer Full Self-Driving as a subscription service, but it will be probably towards the end of this year,” Musk stated.
While the signs for an upcoming FSD subscription option seem to be getting more and more prominent as the year approaches its final quarter, the details for such a feature are still quite slim. Pricing for FSD subscriptions, for example, have not been teased by Elon Musk yet, though he has stated on Twitter that purchasing the suite upfront would be more worth it in the long term. References to the feature in the vehicles’ source code, and now in the Tesla mobile app, also listed no references to pricing.
The idea of FSD subscriptions could prove quite popular among electric car owners, especially since it would allow budget-conscious customers to make the most out of the company’s driver-assist and self-driving systems without committing to the features’ full price. The current price of the Full Self-Driving suite is no joke, after all, being listed at $8,000 on top of a vehicle’s cost. By offering subscriptions to features like Navigate on Autopilot with automatic lane changes, owners could gain access to advanced functions only as they are needed.
Elon Musk, for his part, has explained that ultimately, he still believes that purchasing the Full Self-Driving suite outright provides the most value to customers, as it is an investment that would pay off in the future. “I should say, it will still make sense to buy FSD as an option as in our view, buying FSD is an investment in the future. And we are confident that it is an investment that will pay off to the consumer – to the benefit of the consumer.” Musk said.
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