Tesla is developing a new 85 kWh battery pack

Tesla may be producing a new 85 kWh battery pack for the Tesla Model S and Tesla Model X. The question is whether the new pack should only be used to replace older packs, or whether Tesla plans to launch it as a new option.

For a long time, Tesla used to offer two or even three battery pack options for the Tesla Model S, its flagship saloon.

In the past, Tesla offered the Model S with battery packs of 60, 70, 75, 85 and 90 kWh, and some of these were also larger packs offered with a software-locked energy capacity.

Last year, the carmaker began offering a single battery pack option for the Tesla Model S and Tesla Model X: 100 kWh. Now, Tesla appears to have produced a new 85 kWh battery pack for the Model S and Model X.

Tesla may be producing a new 85 kWh battery pack

What’s new is that this new, future battery pack has appeared in Tesla’s publicly available parts catalogue.

An Tesla owner, who posts on Chilam in TMC, had to replace his previous battery pack due to a fault, and reported that he received the new pack with 85 kWh of energy capacity.

“I got my original ‘B’ battery review (not sure of the part number) replaced over the weekend and just picked up my car. To my surprise, I now have a new battery that shows a charge of ~92% to travel 426 kilometres, and according to the app, 100% is 435 kilometres! I initially thought I had a 90 kWh pack as a replacement, but when I picked it up, the battery label shows a part # 1014116-00-A with 85 kWh, 350 VDC (compared to the previous 400 VDC pack)”.

The user has shared an image of the battery pack label, and has the new part number and confirms it is a 350 VDC pack. While Tesla has clearly produced a new battery pack for the Tesla Model S and Tesla Model X, the option is not available for sale on Tesla’s website.

The question now is whether Tesla plans to bring a shorter-range version of the Tesla Model S and perhaps the Tesla Model X, or whether they are only producing this new version of the battery pack to replace older packs as they reach the end of their service life.

As we reported earlier, Tesla has had problems with the previous 85 kWh battery packs for the Tesla Model S and issued a software update to limit their capacity.

Perhaps now, Elon Musk’s company has produced this new battery pack, which could well be a 100 kWh pack with a couple of modules fewer, to replace all the battery packs affected by that update. Could that be the closest explanation for the implementation of this new battery pack? We will have to wait a few more weeks to learn more details.