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Texas-made Tesla Model Y with 4680 battery charges 0-97% in under 1 hour
A Texas-made Tesla Model Y with 4680 battery cells has been able to complete a charging session from 0% to 97% in 52 minutes.
Tesla advocate Ryan Levenson of The Kilowatts, who maintains several electric vehicles that he rents out on Turo, recently took delivery of a Texas-made Dual Motor Model Y. The vehicle is equipped with the company’s highly-anticipated 4680 battery cells, similar to a Texas-based Model Y purchased by teardown firm Munro & Associates.
As noted by the Tesla owner on Twitter, he actually drove the Texas-made Model Y until its battery showed 0 miles of range. Posts on social media indicated that the vehicle drove 3 miles beyond its “0 mile” point with seemingly no impact on acceleration.
Plugging into a Supercharger V3 station, Levenson was expecting to wait a bit in the vehicle until it filled its battery. The Model Y was plugged in at 12:25 a.m. with 0 miles of range remaining, and by 1:17 a.m., the Texas-made crossover was unplugged with 270 miles of range. It should be noted that the Dual Motor Model Y from Texas is listed with a range of 279 miles per charge on a full battery.
Charging from 0% to 97% in 52 minutes is very impressive, especially considering that the vehicle started its charging session at a time when it was technically “empty.” In later posts, Levenson noted that the Texas-made Model Y’s charging curve is quite interesting, as its charging rate immediately jumped to 250 kW when it was plugged in. This is quite different from previous Teslas, which tend to see a more deliberate increase to 250 kW.
Considering the fact that the Texas-made Model Y did not seem to encounter any limiters despite reaching 0 miles, and considering its ability to recharge practically its entire battery pack in less than an hour, it appears that Tesla’s 4680-equipped electric cars have some capabilities and advantages that are not openly discussed by the company.
When Tesla unveiled its 4680 battery technology at its Battery Day event in 2020, the company made it a point to highlight that its next-generation cells could pave the way for vast production efficiencies, weight savings, and more power. Since then, however, Tesla has been pretty tight-lipped about the actual advantages offered by 4680 cells, especially compared to the 2170 cells used in the Model Y produced in the Fremont Factory and Gigafactory Berlin.
For Levenson, the recent feat of his Texas-made Model Y suggests that 4680-equipped vehicles have a lot more to offer than what Tesla would suggest for now. In a statement to Teslarati, the EV advocate noted that there is definitely still quite a bit to discover with Tesla’s vehicles.
“Collecting this data opens more questions for me rather than answering them. Like why was my regenerative braking not limited even when the pack was full and why wasn’t my acceleration limited when I was near empty? For me, it’s indicating that there’s something big we don’t yet know or understand about the 4680 pack. Sure, it’s wishful thinking, but it absolutely could mean there’s more capacity to these new Austin-built Dual Motor Model Ys than Tesla is advertising or letting us access at this time,” he said.
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Tesla gamifies Supercharging with new ‘Charging Passport’
It will also include things like badges for special charging spots, among other metrics that will show all of the different places people have traveled to plug in for range.
Tesla is gamifying its Supercharging experience by offering a new “Charging Passport,” hoping to add a new layer to the ownership experience.
While it is not part of the Holiday Update, it is rolling out around the same time and offers a handful of cool new features.
Tesla’s Charging Passport will be available within the smartphone app and will give a yearly summary of your charging experience, helping encapsulate your travel for that year.
It will also include things like badges for special charging spots, among other metrics that will show all of the different places people have traveled to plug in for range.
Tesla has just introduced “Charging Passport,” a new yearly summary of your charging.
• Charging badges: Iconic Charging badge (for visiting places like the Tesla Diner, Oasis Supercharger, etc), Explorer badge, green saver badge, etc.
• Total unique Superchargers visited
•… pic.twitter.com/c1DHTWXpj7— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) December 8, 2025
Tesla will include the following metrics within the new Charging Passport option within the Tesla app:
- Charging badges: Iconic charging badges for visiting places like the Tesla Diner, Oasis Supercharger, etc., Explorer Badge, and more
- Total Unique Superchargers Visited
- Total Charging Sessions
- Total Miles Added during Charging Sessions
- Top Charging Day
- Longest Trip
- Favorite Charging Locations
This will give people a unique way to see their travels throughout the year, and although it is not necessarily something that is needed or adds any genuine value, it is something that many owners will like to look back on. After all, things like Spotify Wrapped and Apple Music Replay have been a great way for people to see what music they listened to throughout the year.
This is essentially Tesla’s version of that.
With a handful of unique Superchargers already active, Tesla is also building some new ones, like a UFO-inspired location in New Mexico, near Roswell.
Tesla is building a new UFO-inspired Supercharger in the heart of Alien country
News
Tesla launches its coolest gift idea ever just a few weeks after it was announced
“Gift one month of Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which allows the vehicle to drive itself almost anywhere with minimal intervention.”
Tesla has launched its coolest gift idea ever, just a few weeks after it was announced.
Tesla is now giving owners the opportunity to gift Full Self-Driving for one month to friends or family through a new gifting program that was suggested to the company last month.
The program will enable people to send a fellow Tesla owner one month of the company’s semi-autonomous driving software, helping them to experience the Full Self-Driving suite and potentially help Tesla gain them as a subscriber of the program, or even an outright purchase.
Tesla is going to allow owners to purchase an FSD Subscription for another owner for different month options
You’ll be able to gift FSD to someone! https://t.co/V29dhf5URj
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) November 3, 2025
Tesla has officially launched the program on its Shop. Sending one month of Full Self-Driving costs $112:
“Gift one month of Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which allows the vehicle to drive itself almost anywhere with minimal intervention. All sales are final. Can only be purchased and redeemed in the U.S. This gift card is valued at $112.00 and is intended to cover the price of one month of FSD (Supervised), including up to 13% sales tax. It is not guaranteed to cover the full monthly price if pricing or tax rates change. This gift card can be stored in Tesla Wallet and redeemed toward FSD (Supervised) or any other Tesla product or service that accepts gift card payments.”
Tesla has done a great job of expanding Full Self-Driving access over the past few years, especially by offering things like the Subscription program, free trials through referrals, and now this gift card program.
Gifting Full Self-Driving is another iteration of Tesla’s “butts in seats” strategy, which is its belief that it can flip consumers to its vehicles and products by simply letting people experience them.
There is also a reason behind pushing Full Self-Driving so hard, and it has to do with CEO Elon Musk’s compensation package. One tranche requires Musk to achieve a certain number of active paid Full Self-Driving subscriptions.
More people who try the suite are likely to pay for it over the long term.
News
Tesla expands Robotaxi app access once again, this time on a global scale
Tesla said recently it plans to launch Robotaxi in Miami, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Dallas.
Tesla has expanded Robotaxi app access once again, but this time, it’s on a much broader scale as the company is offering the opportunity for those outside of North America to download the app.
Tesla Robotaxi is the company’s early-stage ride-hailing platform that is active in Texas, California, and Arizona, with more expansion within the United States planned for the near future.
Tesla said recently it plans to launch Robotaxi in Miami, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Dallas.
The platform has massive potential, and Tesla is leaning on it to be a major contributor to even more disruption in the passenger transportation industry. So far, it has driven over 550,000 miles in total, with the vast majority of this coming from the Bay Area and Austin.
First Look at Tesla’s Robotaxi App: features, design, and more
However, Tesla is focusing primarily on rapid expansion, but most of this is reliant on the company’s ability to gain regulatory permission to operate the platform in various regions. The expansion plans go well outside of the U.S., as the company expanded the ability to download the app to more regions this past weekend.
So far, these are the areas it is available to download in:
- Japan
- Thailand
- Hong Kong
- South Korea
- Australia
- Taiwan
- Macau
- New Zealand
- Mexico
- U.S.
- Canada
Right now, while Tesla is focusing primarily on expansion, it is also working on other goals that have to do with making it more widely available to customers who want to grab a ride from a driverless vehicle.
One of the biggest goals it has is to eliminate safety monitors from its vehicles, which it currently utilizes in Austin in the passenger’s seat and in the driver’s seat in the Bay Area.
A few weeks ago, Tesla started implementing a new in-cabin data-sharing system, which will help support teams assist riders without anyone in the front of the car.
Tesla takes a step towards removal of Robotaxi service’s safety drivers
As Robotaxi expands into more regions, Tesla stands to gain tremendously through the deployment of the Full Self-Driving suite for personal cars, as well as driverless Robotaxis for those who are just hailing rides.
Things have gone well for Tesla in the early stages of the Robotaxi program, but expansion will truly be the test of how things operate going forward. Navigating local traffic laws and gaining approval from a regulatory standpoint will be the biggest hurdle to jump.
Tesla gamifies Supercharging with new ‘Charging Passport’
Tesla launches its coolest gift idea ever just a few weeks after it was announced
