?As Hurricane Irma tears through the east coast in Florida, Tesla has issued an update to its vehicles to let drivers gain more miles, in order to get out of the path of destruction.
Elon Musk¡¯s electric car company issued an over-the-air update and unlocked the full battery capacity of its 60 and 70 kilowatt-hour Model S ad Model X cars, giving owners an additional 50 to 65 kilometres to get out of range of Irma.?
To break it down, Tesla¡¯s cheaper 60 and 60D vehicles in the Model S and Model X lines have a range of about 322 km on a single charge. The vehicles are equipped with a 75 kWh battery, but are software locked to only provide 80 percent of battery power. Owners can later unlock the extra capacity for a one-time payment of US $3,000.
One owner, when he heard state department warnings instructing Florida residents to get an additional 50 km out of the mandatory evacuation zone, called Tesla and told them how he would need more mileage to escape the danger. In response, the company issued the software update to all its other cars in the state, giving them the full 75 kWh capacity so they could make a run for it. They¡¯ll continue to have the extended capacity until September 16, by which time they¡¯ll hopefully be safe.