Tesla will soon start using new nickel cells that can be safely charged to 90% without affecting the battery pack’s lifespan, according to its chief engineer Lars Moravy.

Given that virtually all vehicles that Tesla currently sells in the US come with nickel batteries now, the technology upgrade will allow future American owners to safely add 10% extra range to their car even for everyday driving.

The typical recommendation for maintaining the lifespan of nickel-based batteries that Tesla gives in the owner’s manual is not to keep the vehicle pack charged to its maximum capacity or below 20% for a prolonged period of time. While offering higher energy density and performance, the nickel battery chemistry is finicky when it comes to the state of charge and degrades faster if left full.

This is why Tesla advises charging to 100% only when taking longer trips that will quickly take the battery below its maximum capacity after charging. It even recommends setting the charging limiter to 100% the night before a long trip and using the Departure Time function to bring the battery to full capacity only shortly before the trip begins.

These restrictions aren’t valid for Tesla’s vehicles with LFP batteries of the type used for energy storage, or in popular power stations like the Anker Solix C1000. The lithium ferrophosphate cells, while coming with lower energy density, are also using less volatile chemistry and can be charged to 100% each time with little to no effect on the battery’s lifespan. In fact, Tesla even recommends charging its vehicles with LFP cells to 100% at least once a week to calibrate the capacity counter, as lower states of charge can throw it off.

Unfortunately, Tesla has ceased offering vehicles with LFP batteries in the US, even the base RWD models. The vast majority of such cells are sourced from China, making the vehicles that are powered by them ineligible for the federal tax credit, or expensive to make considering the tariffs that the US charges on Chinese LFP battery imports.

Tesla is building its own LFP battery factory, but for now all the vehicles it sells in America come with nickel cells, so the ability to charge to 90% every day will be appreciated more in the US than in the rest of the markets where Tesla sells.

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Daniel Zlatev – Senior Tech Writer – 1860 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2021

Wooed by tech since the industrial espionage of Apple computers and the times of pixelized Nintendos, Daniel went and opened a gaming club when personal computers and consoles were still an expensive rarity. Nowadays, fascination is not with specs and speed but rather the lifestyle that computers in our pocket, house, and car have shoehorned us in, from the infinite scroll and the privacy hazards to authenticating every bit and move of our existence.