Mysterious Musk Tweet Promises to End “Range Anxiety” with Software Update

Serial inventor and entrepreneur Elon Musk is giving anyone excited about electric cars one more reason why they’d want a Tesla — as if those YouTube clips of Tesla Model S P85D “Insane Mode” 0 to 60 launches weren’t enough.

Musk Tweeted out earlier today: “Tesla press conf at 9am on Thurs. About to end range anxiety … via OTA software update. Affects entire Model S fleet.”

“Range anxiety”, as anyone who has (or more likely, wants) an electric vehicle knows, is the distance it can go between charges. Since chargers for electric vehicles are nowhere near as built out as gas stations, keeping an eye on the charge level is constant point of anxiety.

Tesla’s built out a network of charging stations across the US. These “Superchargers” can get a Model S back on the road with 170 miles of range in about 30 minutes.

How an over-the-air software update will overcome a hardware problem is a big question mark. But if anyone can do it, it’s probably someone who also owns a friggin’ rocket company and guest starred on The Simpsons.

Engadget, via @ElonMusk Photo by Mike Lau/Flickr.