Charging Tesla Model S

Tesla Model S Charging & Range

Tesla’s powertrain and charging technology are all about pushing the boundaries of efficiency. Keep in mind that Tesla continually modifies the specs of its cars, so exact numbers for a model can be hard to pin down. The company updates its software all the time and deploys those changes to vehicles via over-the-air updates.

Tesla previously used numbers in the Model S’s trim name—like 100D or 75D to designate a 100- or 75-kilowatt-hour battery pack. Those 2019 models earned EPA range ratings of 259 and 335 miles, respectively. In 2020, the numbers are gone from the name, but the ranges are longer. Drivers have two choices: the 391-mile Long-Range Plus and the 349-mile Performance.

Thankfully, the charging rates (which are more dependent on hardware) are relatively fixed. When you’re in your garage using an at-home charging station, the onboard 11.5-kW charger adds about 30 to 35 miles of range every hour from a 48-amp Tesla charger like the JuiceBox 48. Now that's a powerful Tesla Model S charger for any Model S owner!

Level 3 DC fast charging: Tesla Supercharger

Charging the Tesla Model S on a road trip via a Supercharger can add as much as 170 miles of range in just 30 minutes. But the V3 version of the Tesla Supercharger ups the power output from about 120 kilowatts to 200 kW. The new and improved Superchargers, which launched in 2019 and continue to roll out, speed things up by 25 percent. Of course, range and charging depend on many factors—from the car's battery capacity to the charging speed of the onboard charger, and more—so “your mileage may vary.”