Tesla U.S. website local time May 2, after nearly 9 months of shortages, has resumed accepting orders for the Model 3 long-range version in the United States, currently priced at $47,240 (currently about RMB 327,000), 18.5% lower than when sales were suspended. Also, the new car appears to use lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO / LFP) batteries, similar to the Model 3 standard range version.
Since last August, the Model 3 long-range version has been shown on Tesla’s website in the U.S. as being “available until 2023. Some changes to the new car suggest that it may use a lithium iron phosphate battery pack, which is also used in the Chinese-made Model 3 and Model 3 Standard Range versions.
First, the car’s range is now labeled as “325+” miles instead of the previous 358 miles. Second, the car is now only eligible for the $3,750 U.S. electric vehicle tax credit (currently about $25,950), just like the standard range version. This is due to the Inflation Reduction Act tax credit requirement that to qualify, the vehicle must be assembled in North America, 40% of the key minerals must be sourced from the U.S. or a free trade country, and 50% of the battery components must be manufactured in North America. These percentages will rise each year, but for now, they are set as such. Since the Model 3 Standard Range version gets its lithium iron phosphate batteries from Chinese battery supplier Ningde Times, it only qualifies for one of those categories, so it only gets half the credit. The same is true for the newly launched Long Range version, so it’s suspected that it uses the same battery supplier.
So from these two new pieces of information, it appears that Tesla may have used lithium iron phosphate batteries in the new Model 3 long-range version in the US, which are cheaper and have lower energy density, but also do not require cobalt, which is a difficult mineral to obtain. This battery is also less prone to degradation, meaning it stays healthy longer, though it performs worse in very cold environments.
The new Model 3 long-range version is available for order now, with delivery scheduled for June.
