How The New Tesla Model S Increases Range, Even WIth A Smaller Battery

The first thing many people look for when shopping for an electric vehicle is range. While it takes much longer to recharge an electric vehicle, it should be able to complete all or most of your daily miles on a single charge.

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) has been at the forefront of electric vehicle range and efficiency. The battery packs found in competitors' cars are often larger, having the same or even less range than a comparable Tesla.

Now Electrek reports that even with slightly shrinking the size of the battery in the refreshed Model S, Tesla was able to increase the advertised range as compared to the previous model. 

Tesla improved the efficiency of the Model S through several means. The company upgraded its heating and cooling system to a heat pump, which is much more efficient, especially at lower temperatures. The drag coefficient was also lowered, so wind drag on the car will not be as detrimental at higher speeds.

The new battery is 100kWh; the previous was 104kWh. While it may not seem like a big change, every kWh counts when trying to squeeze range out of an electric vehicle.

A side benefit of lowering the battery size is weight savings. The battery is by far the heaviest part of a Tesla. 

Using less batteries will increase Tesla's margins on the vehicle, as the battery is also the most expensive part. It also frees up battery capacity to produce more cars, because battery production is Tesla's biggest bottleneck according to CEO Elon Musk.