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Tesla firmware reveals ~110 kWh battery pack expected to shatter 400-mile barrier
Tesla is working on a new 110 kWh battery pack configuration that can stretch range well beyond 400 miles, according to a new discovery made in Tesla’s battery management system (BMS) firmware.
Jason Hughes, a notable Tesla owner and hacker who first uncovered the company’s plans for a “P100D” variant in 2016, found references to a larger battery pack capacity in the latest BMS firmware. “There is a packID that starts life set to ~109 kWh usable (400+ miles),” noted Hughes via Twitter, further suggesting that Tesla might be preparing for a battery pack as large as 115 kWh in capacity when factoring Tesla’s battery reserve.
Additionally, Hughes discovery points to a new battery pack configuration with 108 cells per group at ~450 volts per pack that could very well be a universal design to replace the aging Model S and Model X battery pack, while centralizing architecture for the Model 3 and upcoming Model Y.
Spent a little time RE'ing some recent Tesla BMS firmware.
Some variables were tweaked to fit 108 cell groups (~450V pack).
There is a packID that starts life set to ~109 kWh usable (400+ miles).
Bunch of other tweaks suggest prep for new S/X/3 pack configs at some point. 🔋
— Jason Hughes (@wk057) February 19, 2020
Battery pack improvements don’t come as a surprise considering CEO Elon Musk disclosed during the Tesla Q4 2019 earnings call that the company is rapidly approaching a 400-mile range for the Model S. “It won’t be long before Model S has 400-mile range,” said Musk.
Just last week, Tesla Model S received a range boost from 370 miles to 390 miles of EPA-rated range, while the flagship Model X SUV saw an increase from 328 miles to 351 miles.
With confirmation from Tesla CEO Elon Musk that the next-generation Model S and Model X will utilize a larger capacity battery to support its new Plaid Powertrain, the latest leak by Hughes can be seen as further validation that new battery advancements will be announced soon.
A future battery pack upgrade can only help Tesla break the 400-mile barrier and widen the range gap with any would-be competition. Tesla ups the ante and solidifies its position as the leader of the pack in the electric vehicle industry with its focus on new battery advancements – something the community expects Elon Musk to present in its upcoming “Battery Day”.
Elon Musk
The Boring Company’s Prufrock-2 emerges after completing new Vegas Loop tunnel
The new tunnel measures 2.28 miles, making it the company’s longest single Vegas Loop tunnel to date.
The Boring Company announced that its Prufrock-2 tunnel boring machine (TBM) has completed another Vegas Loop tunnel in Las Vegas. The company shared the update in a post on social media platform X.
According to The Boring Company’s post, the new tunnel measures 2.28 miles, making it the company’s longest single Vegas Loop tunnel to date.
The new tunnel marks the fourth tunnel constructed near Westgate Las Vegas as the Vegas Loop network continues expanding across the city.
The Boring Company also noted that the new tunnel surpassed its previous internal record of 2.26 miles for a single Vegas Loop segment.
Construction of the tunnel involved moving roughly 68,000 cubic yards of dirt. The excavation process also used about 4.8 miles of continuous conveyor belt, powered by six motors totaling 825 horsepower.
The Boring Company’s Prufrock-series all-electric tunnel boring machines are designed to support the rapid expansion of company’s underground transportation projects, including the growing Vegas Loop network. Prufrock machines are designed for reusability, thanks in no small part to their capability to be deployed and retrieved easily through their “porposing” feature.
The Vegas Loop, specifically the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) Loop segment, has already been used during major events. Most recently, the LVCC Loop supported the 2026 CONEXPO-CON/AGG construction trade show, which was held from March 3-7, 2026.
As per The Boring Company, the LVCC Loop transported roughly 82,000 passengers across the convention center campus during the event’s duration.
CONEXPO-CON/AGG is one of the largest construction trade shows in North America, drawing more than 140,000 construction professionals from 128 countries this year.
The LVCC Loop forms the initial segment of the broader Vegas Loop network, which remains under active development as The Boring Company continues building new tunnels throughout the city.
News
Tesla gathers Cybercab fleet in Gigafactory Texas
Images and video of the Cybercab fleet were shared by longtime Giga Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer in posts on social media platform X.
Tesla appears to be assembling a growing number of Cybercabs at Gigafactory Texas as preparations continue for the vehicle’s mass production. Recent footage shared online has shown over 30 Cybercabs being transported by trucks or staged near testing areas at the facility.
The images and video were shared by longtime Giga Texas observer and drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer in posts on social media platform X.
Interestingly enough, Tegtmeyer noted that many of the Cybercabs being loaded onto transport trucks were still equipped with steering wheels. This suggests that the vehicles are likely testing units rather than the final driverless configuration expected for the company’s Robotaxi service.
The vehicles could potentially be headed to testing sites across the United States as Tesla prepares to expand its Robotaxi fleet.
Additional footage captured at Gigafactory Texas also showed the Cybercab’s side and rear camera washer system operating as vehicles were being loaded onto transport trucks.
The growing number of Cybercabs at Giga Texas comes amidst the company’s announcement that the first production Cybercab has been produced at the facility. Full Cybercab production is expected to begin in April.
The vehicle is expected to play a central role in Tesla’s Robotaxi ambitions as the company looks to expand autonomous ride-hailing operations beyond its early deployments using Model Y vehicles.
Tesla has also linked Cybercab production to its proposed Unboxed manufacturing process, which assembles large vehicle modules separately before integrating them. The approach is intended to reduce production costs and accelerate output.
Musk has also noted that the Cybercab’s ramp will likely begin slowly due to the number of new components and manufacturing steps involved. However, he stated that once the process matures, Cybercab production could scale quickly.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s xAI, creator of Grok and Grokipedia, celebrates its third birthday
xAI Memphis highlighted several of its milestones over the years in its celebratory post.
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI has marked its third anniversary. The update was shared in a post from the xAI Memphis account on social media platform X.
xAI Memphis highlighted several of its milestones over the years in its celebratory post.
As per xAI, it has built three massive data centers in the city, launched a coherent cluster of 330,000 GBs, created over 3,000 jobs, and paid over $30 million in taxes to local communities.
xAI’s Memphis operation has become a key part of the company’s infrastructure as the company works to train and deploy its Grok artificial intelligence models. Elon Musk has been quite optimistic about Grok’s potential, noting in the past that the large language model might have a shot at achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI).
xAI’s Memphis’ crown jewel is its Colossus supercomputer cluster. The project was announced in 2024 and has since become the home of one of the world’s largest AI compute facilities. The first phase of Colossus reached its initial 100,000 GPU operational milestone in just 122 days, or just about four months.
Industry figures such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang have praised the facility, noting that projects of similar scale typically take two to four years to complete.
xAI has cited Memphis’ central location, skilled workforce, and industrial infrastructure as key reasons for selecting the city as the home of its AI training operations. The company has also emphasized plans to expand the site further as it scales compute capacity for Grok and future AI models.