Tesla is up to their usual tricks with the latest 2020.48.12.1 software update that began its deployment to the fleet on Thursday.
Even though the refresh 2021 Model 3’s have only been out for about a month, the Standard Range Plus (SR+) and Long Range (LR) variants were the main benefactors of this update. First noticed by Tesla hacker @greentheonly, the SR+ and LR Model 3’s have received some extra range thanks to an “efficiency package” being enabled.
2020.48.12 is rolling out that enables the extra range for Model Year 2021 model 3 cars (SR and LR-dualmotor)
— green (@greentheonly) December 18, 2020
According to the release notes, the cars “will now display a slightly higher range to more accurately reflect the capacity of the battery.”
The change was immediately noticed by Drive Tesla reader @tesla_adri, who received the update on this 2021 LR Model 3 in Germany. Equipped with a 77kWh battery, his car displayed a rated range of 537km before the update. After installing 2020.48.12.1, the range jumped to 551km.
Tesla also added more range to the Model S and Model Y just a few months ago. In October the 2020.40.7 software update bumped up the LR Model Y’s range to 525km (326 miles) on a full charge. Unrelated to the software update, the Performance Model S also received a 63km (39 mile) range increase.
Did you receive the update and the new range display? Let us know in the comments below.
