This amazing new upgrade makes it ‘impossible’ to run out of juice in a Tesla Model S, Musk says

This amazing new upgrade makes it ‘impossible’ to run out of juice in a Tesla Model S, Musk says

Range concerns have been a chief hindrance on Tesla and other electric car sales, something that CEO Elon Musk is trying his best to deal with.

Worried that your Tesla might run out of juice between charging stations? Don’t be, says Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk.

Tesla’s version 6.2 software, which will be released later this month and added to Model S sedans, will provide drivers with “peace of mind” by constantly monitoring how far you are from a supercharger station and alerting you that a charge-up will soon be needed, Musk said during a recent press conference as reported by CNET.

Called “Range Assurance,” it will monitor your distance from a supercharger station and even disregard the chargers that are in heavy use. If a driver is running low on power on the present route, the system will warn them of that, and you will have to say “Yes, I’m sure” twice in order to get it to stop warning you. In essence, in order to run out of power, you’d have to do so intentionally, Musk said.

Concerns about range have been one of the biggest obstacles for Tesla and other electric cars. Gas-run cars don’t have to worry about this, as gas stations can be found on just about every corner in America, but electric car supercharger stations aren’t nearly as common, requiring a bit more planning for longer trips.

Tesla has built a network of 403 supercharger stations with 2,200 superchargers, and it is running tests on battery swap stations in California, which allows drivers to completely exchange their battery in less than 3 minutes, or do a 30-minute recharge, according to the report.

In the past, Tesla has sent upgrades to Model S cars. They include traffic-aware cruise control and headlights that are camera-enabled. Musk said he knew the car, which uses its cellular data connection to receive the upgrades, would need to be “basically a computer on wheels” in order to be successful, and he thinks of Tesla as more of a software company than an automaker, according to the report. He said people would expect the same of their phones or laptops, and it should be the same with their cars.

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