Although they have yet to update their website, Tesla has quietly increased the size of the battery pack in the Standard Range Plus (SR+) Model 3 made at Giga Shanghai.
We reported on the possible change yesterday after some keen eyed fans in Germany noticed a small change to the source code to indicate a 60kWh LFP pack could be coming soon.
Today the change has been confirmed after a customer in Germany received their registration papers ahead of their delivery next month.
The giveaway was the new estimated range of the Model 3, which increased from 448km (278 miles) to 491km (305 miles). The other update was to the variant code, with E6LR indicating the new battery pack (55kWh, E6CR previously).
It is important to remember these range ratings are based on the more generous WLTP rating schedule. For comparison, the Long Range (LR) Model 3 has a range of 614km (381 miles) on the same schedule, compared to North America’s EPA rating of 568km (352 miles).
This would likely translate to a range of about 450km (279 miles) for the SR+ in North America.
Since Tesla has yet to fully update the SR+ made in Fremont to use the LFP battery packs, it is unknown when this change will make its way to North America.
