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Tesla Model S is approaching a 400-mile range, says Elon Musk
CEO Elon Musk said during the Tesla Q4 2019 earnings call that the Model S is getting closer to achieving a 400-mile range as battery technology improves and as important pieces of the puzzle come into play to achieve the ambitious.
One investor asked the Tesla chief when the Models S and Model X will shift from 18650 cells to 2170 cells since this could be the reason why the sales of the pricier electric vehicles in the Tesla garage have stayed flat. Elon Musk explained Tesla’s current rationale for the Model S as follows.
“The core chemistry inside the 18650 cells has improved many times over the years so it’s really the form factor as opposed to a core technology…We’re pretty happy with the energy content, the improvements, and the efficiency of the vehicle. We’re rapidly approaching a 400-mile range for the Model S, for example,” Musk said.
The Model S has an EPA-certified range between 348 miles and 373 miles while the Model X SUV can go between 305 miles and 328 miles on a single charge. Meanwhile, the entry-level Standard Range Plus Model 3 can travel 250 miles on a charge, while the Performance and Long Range AWD variant can go 322 miles. Musk noted that the figures in the Model S and X order pages are actually conservative.
“Actually, the Model S and X actually have more range than we are currently stating on the website. We just haven’t gotten around to updating the EPA-certified number but the actual range of the Model S and X are above what the website says they are,” Musk said.
While Musk did not provide a direct answer when the Model S and X will switch from 18650 to 2170 battery cells or will there really be a need to do that, the Tesla co-founder and chief executive confirmed last November that the company is planning to use a new battery pack for the Plaid Model S and Model X, which features a three electric motor setup.
New hardware incoming.
Integrated inductive phone charger (Qi) for S/X cars.
Two new S/X battery types in several configs (not yet sure of the capacity – TBD)
new lumbar (so new seats?)
New charge port type.
New suspension version.
I would speculate all these are imminent 1/— green (@greentheonly) January 25, 2020
Recently, Tesla community hacker Green spotted two new battery types with several configurations for the Models S and Model X. This could be related to the release of the Plaid variants, as well as upcoming announcements during the Tesla Battery Day that’s tentatively scheduled to happen in April.
During the Q4 2019 earnings call, Musk was also asked what it plans to do with Maxwell Technologies. Tesla completed the acquisition of the company that is focused on batteries and ultracapacitors in May 2019.
The Tesla chief was quick to reply that “It’s an important piece of the puzzle.”
“We’re going to talk about this in battery day which is probably April and then a lot of these questions will be answered. I think it’s going to be a very compelling story,” he said. “I think it’s gonna actually blow people’s minds. It blows my mind,” Musk added.
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) reported its earnings for the first quarter of 2026 on Wednesday afternoon. Here’s what the company reported compared to what Wall Street analysts expected.
The earnings results come after Tesla reported a massive beat on vehicle deliveries for the second quarter, delivering 489,126 vehicles and building 451,758 cars during the three-month span.
This was a major shock for those on Wall Street as they anticipated somewhere around 400,000 deliveries for the quarter, and showed Tesla still has plenty of demand for its vehicles around the world and in the U.S. despite losing the $7,500 EV Tax Credit last year.
Tesla Q2 2026 Earnings Results
- Non-GAAP EPS – $0.33 reported vs. $0.53 expected
- Revenues – $28.236 billion reported vs. $26.4 billion expected
- Free Cash Flow- -$1.092B
- Profit -$ 4.751B
Tesla (beat/missed) analyst expectations, so the market response to the company’s quarter is what we will look for next.
Tesla shares closed today down just over 1 percent, trading at $374.01.
In the past, it has been anyone’s guess with what Tesla shares will do after they report earnings. Strong quarters have resulted in sharp drops, while lackluster quarters have seen the stock shoot up considerably.
Tesla will hold its Q2 2026 Earnings Call in about 90 minutes at 5:30 p.m. on the East Coast. Remarks will be made by CEO Elon Musk and other executives, who will shed some light on the investor questions that we covered earlier this week.
You can stream it below. Additionally, we will be doing our Live Blog on X and Facebook.
Q2 2026 Earnings Call https://t.co/zZS6ii2TWK
— Tesla (@Tesla) July 22, 2026
Tesla is about to make parking in busy parking lots at businesses and other points of interest less stressful than ever by allowing drivers more control over where they park and how, CEO Elon Musk confirmed on X.
Tesla has been working to improve the parking performance of vehicles utilizing the Full Self-Driving suite, but now it is looking to add more customization, allowing drivers to choose the specific space they park in, but also potentially the orientation the car pulls into the spot:
It’s coming soon
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 21, 2026
Musk has reiterated on X twice over the past several weeks that Tesla is working to make things with the FSD suite based more on the driver’s specific preferences and behaviors that were seen in past drives.
Essentially, it sounds like if you tend to park away from a business to avoid other vehicles, Tesla FSD will soon recognize that preference of yours and start parking further away as well. Additionally, the prospect of assigned parking spaces has been something many owners have voiced concerns about.
Living in a community with assigned parking spaces makes using FSD incredibly difficult as it will rarely park in the correct spot when there are so many to choose from. This is also pertinent in work settings where there are sometimes assigned parking spaces.
The updates to Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite in terms of listening to driver preferences with parking are also extending to routing. Tesla announced yesterday that with the release of its 2026 Summer Update, it was adding Automatic Navigation and Preferred Routes:
Tesla reveals 2026 Summer Update with crazy fixes to Nav and more
Tesla has always maintained the idea that any human input is bad input, and that, ideally, Tesla Full Self-Driving will always make the right decision. Of course, this is all in theory, but the issue is that so many of Tesla’s interventions have come because it does something that is not necessarily wrong, but perhaps not what the driver would prefer.
Taking these preferences into account will help Tesla alleviate some of the potentially unnecessary interventions that drivers perform.
Tesla is starting to prepare for the launch of the Optimus robot in its smartphone app, new coding strings show. Elon Musk has referred to Optimus as what will be the greatest-selling product of any kind of all time, and now, Tesla is getting ready for its launch.
Tesla’s smartphone app had several first-time mentions of the Optimus program, according to Tesla App Updates, who intially reported on the appearance. Here’s what they found:
A Dedicated “Robot” Phone Key Authentication
Tesla is working on a Bluetooth Low Energy, or BLE, authentication that is specifically for robots. This does not only apply to Optimus, though, as Robotaxi, which is Tesla’s autonomous ride-hailing platform, might also identify vehicles within the fleet as robots as well.
Tesla shows rapid teardown of Model S and X lines, paving the way for Optimus at Fremont
Essentially, pairing your phone as a key to anything Tesla identifies as a robot to a “whitelist” of authorized devices. Optimus, Robotaxi, or other products that fall into this category will only respond if the device trying to communicate with it is authorized.
This is a great security feature that will eliminate at least face-value and low-level threats.
Home Data Collection and System Alerts
This appears to be somewhat of a neural network for Optimus within your house. There will be a dedicated screen that asks for consent to collect both video and spatial data while Optimus performs in-home tasks. Everything from vacuuming, washing dishes, dusting, and other activities will be tracked.
There will also be a comprehensive alert system that will track everything from low battery to mechanical issues.
Other Changes
Most of the changes tracked in this particular app update are related to Tesla’s 2026 Summer Update, and include things such as image assets for new features, a preview of the new custom wraps feature, and other unique features.
You can check out our coverage on what is included with the 2026 Summer Update here:
Tesla reveals 2026 Summer Update with crazy fixes to Nav and more
Tesla (TSLA) Q2 2026 earnings results: miss on EPS, beat on revenue
Tesla is about to make parking in busy lots less stressful than ever
