Tesla Says Model S Long Range Plus Finally Received 402 Miles Rating From EPA, Confirms $5,000 Price Cut

Tesla Inc TSLA announced on Monday that all of its Model S Long Range Plus electric vehicles in North American have an official rated range of 402 miles by the United States Environmental Protection Agency starting the same day.

What Happened

The automaker said this is a 20% increase over the range of Model S 100D from last year, which came with the same battery pack design.

"This significant achievement reflects Tesla's obsession with efficiency and energy frugality, and is realized through several changes, both iterative and transformational, in core hardware and system architecture development by the Tesla engineering, design and production teams," the Palo Alto-based company said in a statement.

According to Tesla, the feat has been achieved at the back of significantly cutting some weight of components in the vehicle, reduction in aerodynamic drag due to "newest 8.5 inch-wide aero wheels," replacement of mechanical oil pump with an electric one, maximizing regenerative braking, and the widespread availability of supercharging.

The automaker also noted that it recently cut the price of the model by $5,000. It was reported to have reduced the prices of a majority of its vehicles in the United States and China last month.

Why It Matters

The status of the long range Model S 400 miles has long been a point of contention between Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and the EPA.

Musk, at the earnings call for the first quarter in April, said the long range model had already achieved the 400-mile range, and that the EPA left the door open with the key inside the car that drained 2% of the battery, Electrek reported at the time. The EPA denied the allegations in a statement to the Verge days later.

Tesla Price Action

Tesla shares closed nearly 6% higher at $990.90 on Wednesday. The shares traded 0.3% higher in the after-hours session at $994.06.

Image: Tesla