Tesla cuts price of 2020 Model S Long Range Plus, says range improved

Tesla confirmed Monday night that it recently cut the price of the 2020 Model S Long Range Plus by $5,000 and boasted that the EPA-rated range for this version of the Model S — meaning the number of miles the vehicle can travel per single charge in testing conditions — has increased to 402 miles.

The claim about the 402-mile range remains unconfirmed by government offices. Representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency could not immediately substantiate Tesla’s statement after hours. A Department of Energy website, fueleconomy.gov, on Monday did not list the rating for the 2020 Model S Long Range Plus. 

In the company’s post on Monday, Tesla focused not on sales and pricing trends, but on the ways in which it has improved the range of the Model S Long Range Plus as compared to earlier versions of the company’s flagship electric sedan.

Among other things, Tesla said it achieved range improvements by reducing the mass of the vehicle by using lighter weight materials in its battery pack and drive units, and other lighter weight components. It also updated its “HOLD” features which allow drivers to remain stopped on a hill without having to keep the brake pedal pressed down. The “hold” features maximize regenerative braking in the Model S and other Tesla vehicles that have it.

On Tesla’s first-quarter earnings call on April 29, CEO Elon Musk said that the EPA had mishandled prior assessments of Tesla electric vehicles, and that the Model S range was already over 400 miles.

“The real Model S range is 400 miles, but when we did the last EPA test, unfortunately, a TA left the car door open and the keys in the car. So the car — and they did this overnight. And so, the car actually went into a waiting for driver mode and lost 2% of its range. And as a result, it had a 391 test. As soon as the EPA reopens for testing, we will redo the test, and we’re actually confident that we will achieve a 400-mile or greater range with the Model S. But to be clear, the Model S, for the past two months — the true range of the Model S for the past two months has been 400 miles.”

The EPA disputed Musk’s story, as The Verge later reported. “We can confirm that EPA tested the vehicle properly, the door was closed, and we are happy to discuss any technical issues with Tesla, as we do routinely with all automakers,” a spokesperson told the publication in May.

An EPA-rated range does not reflect the range an electric vehicle may be able to travel in real world driving scenarios or on the track.

For example, the 2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S scored a 192-mile rating from the EPA, and the 2020 Tesla Model S Performance scored a 348-mile EPA rating. But when Car & Driver tested the vehicles on the same track, in California, on the same night, the cars were much closer together — the Taycan scored a 209-mile range and the Model S…