Elon Musk claims Tesla could have built an electric vehicle with a 600-mile range a year ago, but doesn’t think the extra weight of the batteries is worth it.
The South African entrepreneur took to Twitter to respond to a tweet praising a rival EV startup called Lucid Motors, which has brought out a model that can travel more than 500 miles per charge.
Musk is the CEO of Tesla, which has become the biggest name in EV production with its premium models that have among the longest ranges in the segment.
However, with EVs increasing in popularity, numerous competitors have popped up, including major existing car manufacturers such as Porsche and Mercedes-Benz.
Lucid Motors appears to be one of the most viable from the new wave of start-ups, and Musk clearly sees the 520-mile Lucid Air as close enough of a competitor to comment on it.
Twitter user Whole Mars Catalog wrote a tweet saying: “Lucid delivered the first 500 mile EV. Tesla will be the first to mass produce one.”
The Lucid Air has a 520-mile range. (Lucid Motors)
Musk replied: “We could’ve made a 600-mile Model S 12 months ago, but that would’ve made the product worse [in my opinion], as 99.9 per cent of time you’d be carrying unneeded battery mass, which makes acceleration, handling and efficiency worse.
“Even our 400+ mile range car is more than almost anyone will use.”
Advancements in battery technology are helping to extract more range from a specific capacity, but generally speaking a car will need a bigger, heavier battery, which also brings concerns about what happens to this at the end of the car’s life.
Honda and Mazda, for example, currently prioritise smaller batteries for their models, saying that the extra range is not needed in urban-focused models in particular, which has added long-term environmental benefits.
YesAuto/PA media
Keyword: Elon Musk says Tesla could have made 600-mile EV a year ago but decided against it