Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images The Tesla Motors logo is seen on a charging station at the company’s booth during the 2014 North American International Auto Show Detroit.
By Evelyn Cheng
CNBC News
The Tesla Roadster is getting a battery upgrade that will allow the electric vehicle to drive nearly twice as far without recharging, the automaker said Friday.
“There is a set of speeds and driving conditions where we can confidently drive the Roadster 3.0 over 400 miles,” Tesla said in a statement.
The company added that it will demonstrate the new feature in a nonstop drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles in early 2015.
In addition to the new battery cell, other updates to Tesla’s first car include less drag and tire resistance.
Tesla Motors no longer produces the Roadster, which could travel 245 miles between charges, slightly less than the 265-mile limit on the currently available Model S.
On Thursday, Tesla founder Elon Musk tweeted that the “Roadster upgrade will enable non-stop travel from LA to SF—almost 400 mile range. Details tmrw.”
He said in a subsequent tweet that the battery upgrade will not come soon for the Model S, “but it obviously *will* happen long-term.”
Shares of Tesla traded more than 2 percent higher following the news. The stock is up nearly 50 percent for the year.
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