Tesla makes simple app change to save your EV’s range

Posted on


Tesla has made a simple change in its app to save your electric vehicle’s battery and range.

EV owners across the board deal with the phenomenon of phantom battery drain, which is truly just a term that describes range loss due to the vehicle completing tasks while it is idle.

Teslas, for example, can run Sentry Mode, which monitors the vehicle’s surroundings with external cameras, which has been a culprit of range loss for some time.

Tesla Sentry Mode improvements are coming, aiming to solve battery drain

However, Tesla’s smartphone app is also a guilty party and has caused vehicle owners to grow frustrated with a loss of range even though the vehicle is not being driven. It seems Tesla is rolling out an update with App version 4.35.0, which will help combat this range loss and preserve battery life while the car is sitting:

The app update release notes state:

“To conserve the vehicle’s battery, the app only wakes it when you send a command.”

Although EV owners have the distinct advantage of being able to charge their vehicles and gain range at home, there are instances where every mile counts and this will help eliminate any “range anxiety” concerns that may arise from the car running tasks.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

Tesla makes simple app change to save your EV’s range





Source

Tesla Giga Shanghai is back to operating at full capacity: report

Posted on


Tesla Giga Shanghai is operating at full capacity once more. The update was posted by a Chinese media outlet which recently visited Tesla’s Shanghai-based Model 3 and Model Y production plant. 

Earlier this year, reports emerged suggesting that Tesla was throttling the vehicle production output of Giga Shanghai. Reuters even noted in late May that the electric vehicle maker was planning to cut at least 20% of the facility’s vehicle production in the March-June 2024 period. 

While Tesla China was quite silent about these reports, new vehicle registrations and exports this year did go below last year’s levels. With Tesla now in the third quarter, however, it would appear that the electric vehicle maker is looking to produce and deliver as many cars as it can before the end of the year. 

Elon Musk has noted that he believes Tesla’s vehicle sales this year could exceed last year’s. For this to happen, Giga Shanghai would likely need to be operating at full thrust. Fortunately, it appears that this is indeed the case. As per reporters from Jiemian News, who were given a tour of Giga Shanghai this month, Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y factory is operating at full capacity. 

And in true Tesla fashion, Giga Shanghai is reportedly operating with high levels of automation. The facility’s general assembly reportedly features stacked production areas, and since Giga Shanghai’s workshops are connected, finished parts can be moved around easily. To date, Giga Shanghai reportedly has a 95% automation rate across the facility, and the welding area is almost 100% automated. 

Tesla VP Grace Tao also shared some updates about the upcoming Shanghai Megafactory during the reporters’ visit as well. Tao noted that the Shanghai Megafactory is on track to be completed in 2025, as per Sina Finance News. This aligns with most recent reports about the facility, which will be producing the company’s flagship energy product, the Megapack grid-scale battery. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Tesla Giga Shanghai is back to operating at full capacity: report





Source

Tesla planning to ship dry electrode 4680 cells by end of 2024: report

Posted on


A recent report from China has suggested that Tesla is planning to start the mass production of the complete version of its long-awaited and highly-anticipated 4680 battery, which was initially unveiled in September 2020 during Battery Day. The complete version of the 4680 cells will reportedly be produced using Tesla’s dry electrode process. 

Citing people reportedly familiar with the matter, Chinese publication LatePost noted that Tesla is planning to mass produce and install 4680 cells with dry electrodes to consumer vehicles before the end of the year. As per the publication, this upcoming version of the 4680 cell would be the battery’s complete iteration.

LatePost‘s sources claimed that the 4680 cells in the Cybertruck today feature a lower-cost negative electrode and a more costly positive electrode. This is reportedly because the negative electrode in the Cybertruck’s current 4680 cells is produced using Tesla’s dry electrode process, but the batteries’ positive electrode is purchased from suppliers like LG and thus produced using more conventional wet electrode processes. 

The dry-process positive electrode is reportedly the most difficult part of the 4680 batteries for now, LatePost noted. The positive electrode is also the component that reportedly has the highest cost share in the batteries themselves for now, exceeding 35% of the cells’ overall cost. 

Tesla has reportedly finalized the design of the 4680 cells’ dry-process positive electrode, which is a notable step towards the mass production of the batteries’. One of the publication’s sources, who is reportedly a Tesla insider, noted that mastering dry electrode processes could give Tesla some serious momentum. “Once dry electrodes are developed, they can change Tesla,” LatePost‘s source claimed. 

Tesla already uses 4680 cells for the Cybertruck, though the output of the batteries for now is reportedly enough for just about 1,000 units of the all-electric pickup truck per week. The Tesla Cybertruck will reportedly be the recipient of the complete version of the 4680 battery cell as well. Once the output of the 4680 cells are optimized, it would not be surprising if the dry electrode batteries also get rolled out to the company’s other vehicles. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Tesla planning to ship dry electrode 4680 battery cells by end of 2024: report





Source