Connect with us

News

Tesla Model 3 with Ludicrous Mode and 100 kWh battery hinted at in source code

The Tesla Model 3. (Credit: Tesla)

Published

on

It appears that Tesla may be looking to release a version of the Model 3 that exceeds those that are currently being sold in the market today. If codes left in recent software updates from the company are any indication, it seems that a 100 kWh Model 3 may be coming, and it may even be equipped with Ludicrous Mode. 

Longtime Tesla owner-enthusiast and resident community hacker @greentheonly recently took to Twitter to share some code that he found in the electric car maker’s updates. References to future and seemingly current features for the Model 3 have been present in Tesla’s codes for some time. Interestingly, some Model 3-related features appeared to be mixed in with items that were related to the Model S and X. 

Tesla eventually took out these Model S and X-related codes in the middle of the year, leaving behind what seemed to be references to items and capabilities that were exclusively for the Model 3. This is where things became very interesting. Apart from references to new, unreleased wheel configurations, codes relating to a 100 kWh battery pack were also present. What’s more, the codes also included references to a Ludicrous Mode option for the Model 3. 

It should be noted that these codes were present in Tesla’s updates even after the electric car maker purged references to the Model S and Model X a few months ago. This then inspires the speculation that a 100 kWh battery pack and Ludicrous Mode were really intended for the Model 3. 

To be fair, Elon Musk has previously stated that the Model 3 will receive a Ludicrous Mode upgrade. When the Model 3 was recently announced, Musk confirmed the feature’s availability for the all-electric sedan. That was back in April 2016, just weeks after the initial unveiling of the Model 3. Musk has since been quite silent about any special launch mode for the all-electric vehicle.

Advertisement

Overall, it would be quite interesting to see just how far Tesla could push the Model 3 if the vehicle is given a massive 100 kWh battery and a Ludicrous Mode upgrade. With such a large battery pack, the Model 3 would probably have no issues hitting an EPA-rated range of 400 miles per charge, even if it’s fully performance-oriented. With Ludicrous Mode, perhaps the Model 3 could actually end up having a 0-60 mph time below 3 seconds. 

Couple all these with Track Mode and Tesla will very well end up creating a monster of an all-electric car that can out-accelerate and outperform the best ICE cars on the track. The next-gen Roadster may be an ultimate smackdown to gas cars. Perhaps the Model 3 Performance(+) will be a mini-smackdown that’s bang-for-your-buck? One could only hope.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

Advertisement
Comments

Elon Musk

SpaceX Starship just nailed something it’s never done before

SpaceX’s Starship flew successfully Friday, landing both stages and deploying its first Starlink V3 satellites.

Published

on

By

Starship’s thirteenth test flight delivered exactly what SpaceX needed with a clean liftoff, two successful stage recoveries, and the first real payload the vehicle has ever carried to space. Booster 20 and Ship 40 lifted off at 5:51 p.m. CT from Starbase, and by the time the mission wrapped roughly an hour later, both halves of the rocket had done exactly what they were supposed to do.

Booster 20 separated from Ship 40 a few minutes into the flight and stuck a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico about six minutes after liftoff. That is a meaningful turnaround from Flight 12 in May, when the booster lost several engines during its boostback burn before a hard water landing attempt.


Starship 40’s performance was arguably the bigger win. The vehicle deployed the first 20 operational Starlink V3 satellites Starship has ever carried, then flew a suborbital arc to a landing in the Indian Ocean that SpaceX commentator Dan Huot called the company’s softest splashdown yet. “This is a dream scenario for this team that’s trying to get this heat shield data,” Huot said on the live broadcast, according to Space.com’s live coverage. “I’m a little over the moon right now. Wow. Lucky number 13.”

Unlike the mass simulators SpaceX flew on Flight 12, these were production Starlink V3 satellites, meant to extend solar arrays and antennas and attempt to link with the broader constellation before reentering minutes later. Getting real hardware through a full deploy sequence on only the second flight of the V3 generation keeps Starship on schedule for the payload work NASA is counting on for future Artemis lunar landings.

— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 25, 2026

The flight also arrives at a moment when SpaceX needed a win. SPCX has traded below its $135 IPO price since mid-July, as Teslarati reported when the mission slipped to Friday, and short interest has climbed to roughly a third of the tradable float. A clean flight will not fix a balance sheet, but it does answer the one question SpaceX absolutely needed answered this week: whether the fixes made after the July 16 abort would hold up under real flight conditions. They did, on both stages, on the first try after the redesign.

SpaceX has not set a target date for Flight 14, though the company has said it wants to push toward an orbital attempt on the next mission. After Friday, that goal looks a lot more within reach.

Continue Reading

News

Tesla’s Supercharger Diner probably just secured more locations

Published

on

tesla diner
Credit: Tesla

Tesla’s Supercharger Diner in Los Angeles dominated the company’s global usage rankings after just one year, proving the concept is more than just a one-off novelty location that will fade away.

The performance could incite the company to build more locations, something that CEO Elon Musk has hinted at for some time.

Tesla’s Supercharger Diner delivered 21.2 GWh of energy in its first year of operation, the company’s head of Charging, Max de Zegher, revealed on X. Of the top 10 most utilized Supercharger locations in Tesla’s global infrastructure, the Diner in Los Angeles was the most used by drivers, and it wasn’t particularly close:

On its launch day one year ago, nobody was too sure what the Tesla Diner would be about. It seemed like an interesting concept, and considering it had been in the works for years, it was a highly anticipated launch that many were looking forward to.

Based on its success, we could see additional Diners with Superchargers built throughout the United States, and potentially beyond. Musk has said on several occasions that the company would be willing to bring the Diner idea to more markets.

Tesla makes major change at Supercharger Diner amid epic demand

Of the markets that Musk has mentioned, both Palo Alto and Austin have come to be perceived as ideal selections. However, there are no concrete plans as of now to build new Supercharger Diners anywhere; the location on Santa Monica Boulevard will remain the exclusive spot to pick up Tesla-inspired eats, at least for the time being.

Continue Reading

Investor's Corner

Tesla short sellers win big after shares fall after earnings

Published

on

A red Tesla Roadster driving around a turn
(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla short sellers won big following the company’s massive fall on Wall Street after it reported subpar Earnings on Wednesday.

Tesla short sellers collected about $4.12 billion in single-day profits on Thursday, according to BloombergShares fell as much as 15 percent during Thursday’s session. It closed as one of the worst days for Tesla on Wall Street in the past three years.

Investors sold off the stock after Tesla said it would aggressively direct its spending toward AI and its Optimus robot project. The company had record revenues, which were driven by one of the strongest quarters in terms of vehicle deliveries in company history.

However, it missed EPS estimates by reporting just $0.33, a far cry from the $0.53 analysts expected.

S3 Partners reported that about 3 percent of Tesla’s outstanding stock is sold short. Managing Director at S3, Ihor Dusaniwsky, provided the short seller’s potential profit, as well as another figure: shorts have likely had paper gains of $8.92 billion this year, as Tesla shares are down 30 percent in 2026.

Tesla (TSLA) Q2 2026 earnings results: miss on EPS, beat on revenue

Tesla has burned short sellers many times in the past, but the company’s latest Earnings Call was a chance for those skeptics to taste some payback. Although the company gave some very transparent information regarding future projects, the rollout of Robotaxi, Optimus, and Semi, many investors took their profits on Thursday.

Notable short sellers like Michael Burry have been transparent about their skepticism around Tesla shares. Burry just revealed three weeks ago that he had opened up a new short on the stock, stating he shorted Tesla shares at $416.22. “Happy it jumped back to this level,” he said in a blog post.

At the time of publication, Tesla shares were down about 3 percent and the stock was trading at $309.92.

Continue Reading