Capacity when new E3D

Model 3 Long Range · Panasonic 2170 NCA, 96s46p · model years 2019–2020

77.0 kWh ± 1.5 kWh
Unchanged since the change log began on 23 September 2026.

It means the usable energy in kWh between a displayed 100% and 0% when the battery was new.

E3R and E3D carry the same Panasonic pack. E3R is the single-motor version.

The calculation

79.8 kWh net pack − 2.8 kWh buffer below displayed 0 = 77.0 kWh

Sources

Each figure with what it measures and where it comes from. Below them, the figures in circulation that we do not use, each with the reason.

The calculation rests on these

79.76 kWh · authority
What the figure measures: Energy a new pack delivered in the US Environmental Protection Agency's range test until the car stopped, measured as direct current on the test bench. This includes the energy below the displayed zero. It is not the figure the battery management system holds as a full battery.
U.S. EPA, Tesla Model 3 Long Range AWD MY2020, docid 48712, p. 28 · read on 18 September 2026
2.8 kWh · our own measurement
What the figure measures: Energy below the displayed 0% that the car does not release. Measured on six vehicles in our fleet with this cell type (Panasonic 2170): we plot the remaining energy against the state of charge and read off the intercept. Range 2.72 to 3.03 kWh.
Akkubrief, own measurement series on six vehicles, as at 29 August 2026 (raw data not public; the methodology describes the procedure) · read on 29 August 2026

In circulation, not used by us

79.8 kWh · forum
What the figure measures: The figure we took into our table. The Akkuwiki lists it as “EPA Test → 79,8 kWh” and gives the net pack as 78 to 79 kWh.
Why not: The figure reached our table via the Akkuwiki. What carries it is the EPA original the wiki cites.
TFF-Forum, Akkuwiki Model 3/Y/S/X/CT (German) · read on 27 August 2026
78.27 kWh · authority
What the figure measures: The same measurement on the rear-wheel-drive Model 3 Long Range, model year 2018 (carried over to 2019 and 2020).
Why not: Our table uses the all-wheel-drive figure for both E3R and E3D. For E3R, the rear-wheel-drive model, the test came out 1.5 kWh lower. The 79.28 kWh often quoted for this test does not appear in the original.
U.S. EPA, Tesla Model 3 Long Range RWD MY2018, docid 46582, p. 19 · read on 18 September 2026
79.22 kWh · authority
What the figure measures: The same measurement on the all-wheel-drive Model 3 Long Range, model year 2018/19.
Why not: Same type of measurement, earlier model year. We took the model year 2020 figure.
U.S. EPA, Tesla Model 3 Long Range AWD MY2018/19, docid 46585, p. 17 · read on 18 September 2026
78.43 kWh · authority
What the figure measures: The same measurement on the Model 3 Performance, model year 2020, also with two motors, here on 19-inch wheels. On 18 and 20-inch wheels the test came out at 79.52 and 78.87 kWh.
Why not: Same type of measurement, different version. We took the all-wheel-drive figure; the Performance tests show how far the same test spreads.
U.S. EPA, Tesla Model 3 Performance MY2020, docid 48712, p. 30 · read on 18 September 2026
77.8 kWh · forum
What the figure measures: The full pack of a new pack as the battery management system holds it (“Full pack when new”), read out with diagnostic apps. The Akkubrief measures on this scale too.
Why not: Documented only by owners' reports in forums, and a forum figure alone is not enough for us to set or change a figure. It does show which way the announced correction goes.
TFF-Forum, Model 3 LR 2019 Panasonic (German) · read on 18 September 2026
73.5 kWh · database
What the figure measures: Usable capacity according to EV Database.
Why not: An estimate by the database whose derivation is not published.
EV Database, Tesla Model 3 Long Range RWD · read on 18 September 2026

Cross-checks

Register route: from the WLTP consumption and range that the Dutch vehicle authority RDW lists for each version, the energy drawn from the grid is 88.2 kWh (E3R) and 89.6 kWh (E3D). With the charging efficiency from the EPA tests (88.7%), that is 78.2 and 79.5 kWh until the car stops. This supports the order of magnitude of the 79.8 kWh, though only on the physical scale. (register)
Owners' reports in forums give a full pack of 77.0 to 79.0 kWh in the battery management system for new packs of this series, most often 77.8 kWh. (forum) Tesla Motors Club, 2020, 2019, 2018 Model 3 Battery Capacities & Charging Constants
Our own fleet: eight Model 3 Long Range from model years 2019 and 2020, with 109,000 to 190,000 km. Extrapolated back to 0 km, the figures scatter too widely (r² = 0.31) to support or refute the capacity when new. (our own measurement · Sample: 8)

What we do not know

The 79.8 kWh are a test-bench measurement run until the car stops. The Akkubrief measures on the scale of the battery management system. How far below that its figure for a new pack lies, we know only from owners' reports (about 0.6 to 2.5%). The calculation therefore mixes two quantities.
The 2.8 kWh buffer comes from aged packs. In our fleet it is 4.3 to 4.8% of the full pack, so it shrinks with the battery. Subtracted from a new pack, a fixed figure is too small.

What will change

We consider this calculation in need of correction and will change it with one of the next method versions. What is documented today: the EPA tests above measure 78.27 kWh (rear-wheel drive) and 78.43 to 79.76 kWh (all-wheel drive and Performance) for a new pack until the car stops. With the buffer share measured in our fleet, 4.3 to 4.8%, that leaves 74.5 to 74.9 kWh (E3R) and 74.7 to 76.3 kWh (E3D) above the displayed zero, all below the 77.0 kWh of today's calculation. These figures are on the physical scale; according to owners' reports, the battery management system holds a new pack slightly lower. We therefore expect stated figures to rise. We will set the new figure only once a source supports it, and the change will then appear in the change log with its date, source and effect.

Changes to this pack

Unchanged since the change log began on 23 September 2026.

Every change to these figures

Found a mistake?

Write to us. We check every report, and any correction then appears in the change log with its date and reason. Send a report