Tesla reintroduces Model 3 Long Range in US… with Chinese cells?
Tesla has once again started taking orders on the Model 3 Long Range in the US, after it was missing for nearly 9 months. And it might be using Lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO/LFP) battery cells, like the Model 3 Standard Range.
The changes appeared on Tesla’s website tonight, in Tesla’s Model 3 design studio.
The car has once again appeared, after saying it would be “available in 2023” since last August.
But there are changes which suggest the car might be using Tesla’s LFP pack, which is used in Chinese-built Model 3 and in the Model 3 Standard Range.
First, the car is now listed as having “325+” miles of range, as compared to the previous 358 miles. LFP is a cheaper, less energy-dense technology, so it would make sense that a pack might have less energy in it, and less range as a result.
Second, the car is now listed as receiving only $3,750 of the US EV tax credit, like the Standard Range.
This is due to the way the Inflation Reduction Act tax credits are structured. To qualify, a car must be assembled in North America, but also must source 40% of its critical minerals from the US or free trade countries, and 50% of its battery components must be built in North America. These percentages will go up year by year, but they’re set at those levels for now.
Since the Model 3 Standard Range only qualifies for one of these two categories, it only gets half the credit. This is because it gets its LFP batteries from CATL, a Chinese battery supplier. The same goes for the new Long Range, and so we suspect it’s using the same battery supplier.
So between these two new pieces of information, it looks like Tesla might have introduced a new battery chemistry on the Long Range Model 3 today.
LFP batteries have some interesting pluses and minuses. As mentioned above, they are less energy dense but cheaper, but they also require no cobalt, which is a difficult mineral to get a hold of and carries some human rights baggage. They suffer from less degradation as well, which means your battery will stay healthier longer, though they do worse in very cold environments (so make double sure you precondition your batteries, folks).
Which brings up another note… in the “feature details” section of the page, it says this:
Which, given the worse very cold weather performance of LFPs, maybe suggests that this isn’t LFP after all.
But we also know that CATL has a more energy-dense version of LFP coming this year, which adds manganese into the mix (“LMFP”), so it could be that.
Whatever these batteries are, this new model does create a pricing dilemma (or perhaps an intentional product pricing ladder) for buyers, because while the Long Range and Performance differ in upfront price by $6,000, the post-incentive pricing is only $2,250 more for the Performance. That’s a pretty small premium for more performance, particularly including the other upgrades.
We can see reasons that people might pick the Long Range still – preference for the (possible) LFP batteries, no interest in performance upgrades, preference for the aero wheels (and associated slightly longer range) over the big 20″ performance wheels, and the $2,250 savings of course – but we could see a lot of people making the upgrade now that the price differential is smaller.
The new Model 3 Long Range is available for orders now, with deliveries starting in June – just one month from now.
This may not be the Model 3 refresh we were waiting for (codenamed “Highland”), but it’s definitely interesting to see more of CATL’s (possibly LFP?) cells in US-market Teslas.
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Environment
Oil prices jump more than 3%, adding to last week’s surge, as Israel strikes Iran energy facilities
Kenworth has announced the addition of Bendix’ Fusion advanced driver assist system (ADAS) to its line of options on the T680 line of Class 8 commercial semi trucks – a lineup that includes the Next Generation T680E battery electric semi truck.
One of the many new trucks revealed at the 2025 ACT Expo in Anaheim, California earlier this year, the Next Generation Kenworth T680E featured the latest advancements in battery-electric technology, an enhanced exterior design, and a suite of new, in-cab technology that extends to the addition of three Bendix Fusion version: ADAS, ADAS PRO, and ADAS PREMIER.
All three of the announced ADAS packages offer updated Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with ACC Stop and Auto Go™, a new Pedestrian Autonomous Emergency Braking (PAEB) feature, and a new High Beam Assist feature to reduce the likelihood of blinding oncoming drivers supported by the addition of a new forward-looking camera.
Those updates are in addition to the ADAS units Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Multi-Lane Autonomous Emergency Braking, Highway Departure Braking (HDB), and Stationary Vehicle Braking (SVB), Lane Departure Warning, and Bendix® Blindspotter® Side Object Detection already available on previous versions of the ADAS-equipped Kenworth.
Kenworth migital mirrors
Now that we’ve got that acronym-loaded word-salad out of the way, we can get to the point: the newest generation of electric trucks is easier and safer to drive – and not just safer for the truck’s operators, but for the people who share the roads with them, too.
Kenworth T680E electric semi
The Next-Generation T680E is available with up to 605 peak hp and 1,850 lb-ft of torque from a PACCAR Integrated ePowertrain fed from a 500 kWh li-ion battery pack good for more than 200 miles of loaded range. The updated Class 8 BEV is rated up to 82,000 lb. gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWR), and can get that load back up to speed quickly with a 350 kW peak charge rate that means the T680E can charge up to 90% in just two hours.
That system isn’t just more efficient than the first generation truck, it’s also more serviceable than it was before.
“This move to a fully integrated and ground-up PACCAR design means we were able to design for enhanced serviceability,” explains Joe Adams, Kenworth’s chief engineer. “Providing easier access to the Master Service Disconnects for improved safety and increased uptime and allowing the use of the DAVIE service tool for troubleshooting and diagnostics.”
The Next Generation Kenworth T680E electric semi truck is designed for short and regional-haul, LTL, and drayage operations. It’s available as a day cab as either a tractor or straight truck in a 6×4 axle configuration.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Kenworth; via Kenworth.
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Just like it says on the tin – retailers are advertising killer deals on the fun-to-drive Kia Niro EV, with one midwest auto dealer reporting more than $10,000 off the sticker price of the Niro EV Wind. That’s nearly 25% off the top line price!
SKIP THE STORY: get straight to the deals.
The Kia Niro EV gets overshadowed by its objectively excellent EV6 and EV9 stablemates – both of which are currently available with substantial lease cash and 0% APR financing, in fact – but that doesn’t mean it’s not an excellent little electric runabout in its own right.
The last time I had a Niro EV tester, my kids loved it, I liked that it was quicker and more tossable than I expected it to be, and my wife liked the fact that “it doesn’t look electric. It looks normal.” And, with well over 200 miles of real world range (EPA-rated range is 253 miles), it was more than up to the task of commuting around Chicago and making the trip up to the Great Wolf Lodge in Gurnee and back without even needing to look for a charger.
It’s not the primary family hauler I’d choose – but as a second car? As a primary car for a slightly smaller family (1-2 kids, instead of 3-4)? The Kia Niro EV Wind, with a $42,470 MSRP, seems like a solid, “can’t go wrong” sort of choice. You know?
You won’t even have to pay that much, though. Raymond Kia in Antioch, Illinois is advertising a $42,470 Niro EV for $32,431 (that’s $10,039, or about 24% off the MSRP), and several others are advertising prices in the $33,000 range.
And, while we’re at it:
Kia Niro EV gallery
SOURCE | IMAGES: CarsDirect, Edmunds, Raymond Kia.
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