Tesla Model 3 Performance Limits Power Due to Battery Constraints | Owners Are Furious 

Can’t say not I’m angry that they’re doing this, but I completely understand why. Do you think it’s fair, and if not, what kind of workaround do you think can be done to satisfy everyone in all regions?

Both the Panasonic and LG versions of the car are advertised with the same amount of torque (740nM for the Panasonic and ~730nM for the LG, which is an insignificant difference). For this reason, they have the same 0-60 times. The thing is, the higher hp of the Panasonic version, will allow this top torque to be maintained to higher speeds. For this reason, above 60mph the Panasonic may be much faster, leading to much better 1/4 mile times (have you thought why 1/4 mile times weren't advertised? This could immediately put a spotlight at the differences between the two versions. One doing 11.2sec and the other 10.5sec. Horrible marketing). The two big weaknesses of the older M3P were suspension and acceleration above 60mph. It could be that only the Panasonic version will solve both problems... Sad. Moreover, Tesla bringing reporters from Canada, UK, Germany, Australia, to their private event, and letting them drive only the Panasonic version, is downright misleading, without letting them know that in their country they won't experience the same performance.

I care more that the car is under 55k no matter if they could have gotten more power it would cost 7500 more.

Do you think the theory is correct, could it actually be possible that the additional HP is currently not being utilized?

The LG 5L can deliver 415kW and the Panasonic 3L approx 435kW. That means respectively 564hp and 591cv. So I can’t get the limitation at 460hp!! It makes no sense for me…

Just to add on that…. 60mph is only 96.5km/h not 100 so for point 2 of a second difference, it would actually be the same or close too

This is not related to the battery. This is related to the way the measurements are done for homologation in different markets. The power is the same. The way it’s measured is different

I mentioned before that the US ver. had Panasonic 3L-NCA batteries (4416 cells) which is the same pack used on the M3 LR :) Max. Load is 435 kW (584 hp). LG 5L NMC 415 kW (556 hp). I did a simulation and the 2024 ran ~1/4 sec quicker than the 2023 in the quarter mile (US versions).

Ordered mine yesterday...I live in the US, so I'm happy I didn't get the limited one. Estimated delivery date of June. Said May-June yesterday, but changed this morning. So stoked!

What's the 60 to 130 speed? Is the top end faster? This does not seem like much of an upgrade to my current m3p that does 0-60 in 3.1 sec.

Different chemistry’s different constraints. If you want 200-300+ miles of batterie life, low degradation you have to control your rates of charge and discharge. Look up C rate and battery life. its also why the SR with LFP has differed dc charge rates.ould be enhanced as they gain confidence of battery abuse. Its also why some cars now give the pass button with cool down. Limit battery stress to meet life. Luckily Tesla hasn't marginalized us with pass buttons yet. FWIW 0-60 is achieved by torque, not HP. Top speed to overcome resistance is HP. would be interesting to understand what the joule rates between the US and Shanghi batteries

My thinking. If you already own a M3P, it’s not worth upgrading just yet. Especially in the current light of economy and high interest rate. Had it been 600-700 bhp with 0-60 in 2.5-2.6 sec, it would have been enticing. But, if you never own one, then yes go for it. It’s the cheapest horsepower per dollar car out there, especially with the $7500 tax credit.

There will be an acceleration boost called Ludicrous for 2k and track pack for 3k. If they had it on standard p model they would not be under 55k for tax credit, it's genius and obvious. Probably 2.4 to 60 and 10.5 qtr mile

I would think 50 hp would make a difference when on the move and mashing the accelerator pedal to pass a vehicle. Is there a lower price for the 450hp version?

Do you know if the M3P can have 19 inch wheels to gain more EV mileage?

I'm confused 3.1 sec in 100km /hr 🤔🤔 that is 3.1 in 62 MPH , subtract the 2 mi from 62 and 2 tenth from 3.1 you get 2.9 !! It's the same speed with less horsepower. It's the same for LR , when they said 0-100km in 4.4 sec = 62 MPH , 0-60 in 4.2. Am I missing something John besides slower horsepower ? It still does 0-60 in 2.9 I would be ok with that

How many horsepower does the highland long range version have?

PS. Great Job John! Your videos are excellent and you have been keeping us in the loop, and staying on top of everything!

I keep hearing this "unlock" being repeated by influencers, and I think it's just circular reporting of the same guess. Seems to me it's battery-limited in its max power output, and there's not really anything more they can do with software to "unlock" more combined/peak power. You'd need a larger battery with the ability to discharge more power at once.🤷

Just sat in one. The new seats are super comfortable. The bolsters are not firm. They hold you in place but have give.

Hey John, can clarify a lot of the confusion on some of the reviews of the new M3P’s wheel set up in the US. A lot of these youtubers who have reviewed the car is saying that the car will have 20” wheels in the rear and 19” wheels in the front. My understanding is that it would have a staggered set up with wider wheels in the rear than the front but 20” all around . What is correct? 🤷🏽‍♂️

Great discussion, John. It's interesting to see how battery packs can affect performance. This reminds me of the Chevy Spark EV, which had 400 lb ft of torque for the 2014 model year only due to the A123 Systems LFP pack. The battery company went bankrupt, and other suppliers provided packs for all other years. I also heard ID4 charging specs vary greatly depending on which brand of pack was included.

I'm confused... mostly because I can't pay full attention to this video at the moment. Is the current performance stats still the same? 2.9 0-60? Are you saying it could be faster or they are lowering that 0-60 and other performance numbers. Your answer will either make me cancel my order or keep it. Thank you.

What about the fact that Tesla just raised the price of the M3P After 3 days.

The motors in the 2018-2023 M3P were rated at combined 480kW. The battery was always the bottleneck! This difference 460/510hp has been there since early 2022. It is only now that Tesla is officially declaring it.

Its weird to say 2.9 sec is slow but it feels like this car should easily be faster than the old one. Maybe when we see the quarter mile...

man i was looking forward to trade in my MYLR for a MYP juniper... if its the same power as this new M3P, ill just be keeping it

Dude the US one has the first feet roll out in it. And the other does not. Isnt it the same battery?

It ended up very close to where I expected. I would have been very surprised to see huge changes after the "normal" Highland was quite modest.

I was wondering why the performance was using the other batteries. Glad I went with the Long Range model.

It honestly doesn’t even matter to me tbh it’s my first Tesla and I’m super excited for it just ordered it last night in a nice blue😎

What's your logic behind a software unlock HP increase? I don't see that happening, unfortunately.

wow, thought we were getting 600+ in HP as the motors dictate that was the case, combining the Kw of both motors.

The uk has 2.9 secs

My expected delivery date changed from May-June to simply June today. I had my order in within an hour of it being live on the site. What happened to the 600hp we were seeing a month or two ago from Korea?

It was already split like this in 2022. Canada had both LG and Panasonic variants.

That might be why it was delayed, it couldn't deliver and they wanted to call it ludicrous but eventually gave up. Little strange because I think my current 3P (EU chinese) has 513HP on paper and isn't the new version a little heavier? so they might have ended up being slower. Pretty strange outcome. In retrospect the hype seems unnecessary. Ah well, it's a pretty good car anyway. Matches a lot of ferraris. What they could do is offer insurance for it in europe. Insurance companies can get a little creative for the performance version.

new M3P is such a disappointed compared to how Model S went from P100D to Plaid. i paid my M3P only £35k and won't be upgrading it anytime soon or just get Taycan in the future.

John are you getting one? I’m in ⚡️😎

Based on the UK citing the same 0-60 times with lower HP, it's reasonable to assume that current M3Ps are software limited to standardize spec across the line, something that may be unlocked later on for vehicles that are able according to battery pack. As to why, it really looks like US-made batteries are supply-limited. Tesla will look to maximize sales, and it's in their best interest to put as many US batteries into their highest selling models (the MY) to maximize the number of buyers getting the federal tax credit. Some are allocated to the M3P, but it seems only enough for the US market, and they seem to be tweaking demand by raising and lowering price right at the purchase price limit of $55k. Also looking at the forums, outside of the few folks reporting early deliveries, looks like many US users that placed early orders have gone from May-June delivery to June (myself included). This seems really well orchestrated to maximize benefit of a limited US battery supply

My model 3 performance would do the EXACT SAME 0-60 as the "new" one if it dropped peak power at 75 MPH instead of 45 MPH , literally NOTHING has changed in performance SAME HORSEPOWER just a slightly newer CARCASS. Anyone that has owned their m3p for a year+ like me knows you feel the pulling power give out a bit right before 50 MPH , give us a SOFTWARE UPDATE and watch it instantly do 0-60 in 2.9- 3.1 instead of 3.1-3.3 like we ALL GET NOW. Typa over hyped SCAM is this nonsense

its enough reason for me to not buy one in the EU, even though I was ready to order it. was expecting 618hp and now getting 460hp, while the old one was sold with 500+hp.., not with me

I am not into EVs and Tesla, but follow what is ongoing here. The car clearly disappointed the expectations. So the next hope is that it performs better at higher speeds or will get a power boost option later. Well good luck, hope Elon fixes this for you.

Bro companies do this all the time lol different market different car. The power wasn't the issue for the old one it was the handling and other aspects that is the real upgrade.

I am now 99.9% sure that i want to cancel my order in EU! Help me decide! I feel so bad about this! 😢

I wanted one but im disappointed. Porsche taycan turbo s it is then

If it can pull a sub 11 second quarter that would be hot. Useless in the real world but ya lol

Yeah, i'm torn about this. Its annoying not to get the same top end spec, but at the same time, Fremont made cars are just much lower quality than Shanghai. I have a Fremont built 2022 3 LR and its great, but my wife's December 2023 Shanghai built Model Y LR is SO MUCH BETTER quality! It even has double pane glass for the back windows. Whereas a recent examination of a showroom model Y at the Oakville tesla store, that fremont built Y has single pane rear glass still. All the fit and finish everywhere on our MIC(made in china) Y is perfect, and it's so quiet inside. In fact it's just as quiet as the fremont built model 3 LR i test drove from Oakville recently. The build quality of that car seemed fine, but it wasn't really any better than the older design Y my wife has. I was expecting more. So I suspect the MIC model 3 performance will be much better than the Fremont built 3 performance, other than the lower peak horsepower.

Butchered is a bit extreme loo

nope, but when Tesla decide to change the batteries we will get Ludicrous mode… Still more than 100 bhp are to be extracted out of that read motor, but we need better performance battery to unlock that! 2025 with new CATL ? We will see. For now that is what we got… Cant complain :)

As usual people being over dramatic. Is there is a difference yes. Maybe a tenth and 1mph in the 1/4 mile mile. Remember the LG pack also weighs 20kg less which offsets 10hp or so anyway. Basically irrelevant given in any given market they will all have the same anyway. People are freaking out over the published figures. Ill eat paper if the shanhai "460hp" m3p car doesn't make over 500hp on a dyno. Tldr, above 100mph there will be a difference, 99% of the time there won't be.

I think a lot of people are missing out on the quarter-mile performance here. 0 to 60 performance is the same for both batteries, because you’re hitting that in less than 30 yards. But the quarter mile is a different story. 510 hp should come close to a 10-11 second 1/4 mile for an EV. A 460 HP will be high 11’s.

Had the 2021 M3Perf, was excited about this one, and as we know the true magic is getting under the 3 second mark as we have had the 3.1 mark for years now. Can't believe that they would not send the better batteries for putting in this higher end model. Concern in Canada is that if they come out with a performance boost for the US model, the Canadian LG Battery will not be able to deliver this in Canada as the battery will not allow all the additional hp/torque to shave 1/10ths as you get under the 3 second mark ie. lot's more power per 1/10 reduction...So, at that point, the US version with a perf boost could be a totally different car that the rest of the world's version :( Come on Elon, do us a solid in Canada for my support as our 6th Car from you guys!

Tesla model 2.5 imagine saving all that money getting used performance with same horsepower and stalks lol

I ordered one in Slovenia EU and i feel betrayed. i know that this is a super small difference, but still, it is. It feels like you are not worth it. I will have that bad taste in my mouth all the time, knowing there is a better one for others ....

Well you guys arnt that lucky cuz on my country we have 461 kW = 627hp xD but its a 3.1sec in 0-100 km/h

I wanted to buy one....but not anymore. Poor range and only 460ps....so disappointed.

It was the same with the European Model Y Performance.. Never ever have I seen a European Model Y Performance do 100km/h in less than 3,9 seconds.. The US MYP was faster than the European one

The model 3 max hp is about 523 kw

I know, right? It's ridiculous. What's even more absurd is that Tesla only offers 19-inch wheels in China. I don't live in China, but still, I just can't see the point.

there is no difference between the two in terms of perfromance. both batery packs can output enough for the 510hp (cina sourced batterys actually show better perfromance characteristics on paper) but, its purely marketing. america likes to have a rollout included, europe doesnt. the 3.1 is including the 1ft time, the 2.9 is not. the HP figures are very arbitrary. much like the previous model 3 perfromance, when dyno'd they make the same power even on the older 2018-2019 batteries. as such the older ones were slightly faster because they were slightly lighter with their smaller battery, however marketing told you the mid cycle refresh was faster. on a dyno they both yielded basically the exact same numbers. the new one will be exactly the same. its just targeting different tax codes, different markets (i.e M3 & c63 market for europe, mustangs & dodges for america) different HP levels although fundamentally theyre similar performance (straight line wise). i think your extrapolating information that quite frankly isnt there. UK & Europe will get the same car, same batteries. yet the figures are different, and so are the efficiencies, on the same configuration? its just marketing, like porsche with their 0-60 times.

🇺🇸

Euro spec a lesser car ! Unfair and I won’t be buying ! Thanks Elon , I want the same as everyone else ffs . 40 to 50 bhp is massive and unacceptable from Tesla . Very disappointing.

After 60 no POWER.. Like the old M3P.. F@ck this !! Better get a V8 !!

John, a Tesla rep from Las Vegas Nevada (US) confirmed with me the new Model 3 performance has 4680 batteries 🔋🤔. I asked him 3x’s are you sure there not Panasonic 2170 cells. He stated “no”. Now, I’m really confused 🫤