The entry-level variant of the Tesla Model 3 may soon be getting a change “under the hood”. Tesla has applied with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) for the production and sale of a Standard Range Plus (SR+) Model 3 with an upgraded rear motor.
According to documentation posted to the MIIT website and shared by Moneyball on Twitter, this new version of the SR+ would feature a 220kW rear motor. The current motor used in the made-in-China SR+ is 202kW.
The document shows that this SR+ would still have the same top speed of 225km/h.
Since the filing only impacts the Model 3’s made at Giga Shanghai, it is unknown if this new rear motor will make its way to Fremont. Given the automaker’s track record of first implementing changes in China and then bringing them to North America, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see this new rear motor later this year or early next year.
If it does, it would be the second recent change to the SR+. Last month the company began offering the Model 3 with a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery to customers in North America. This battery was first introduced in China last year, and is cheaper to produce and longer lasting than the current lithium ion batteries used by Tesla.
