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Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk has announced the electric car maker is launching a new battery pack for the performance versions of its Model S and X cars that will extend the range and mean faster acceleration.

Elon Musk hailed the upgraded charger as a “profound milestone”.

The battery cell chemistry is the same, but the reconfigured product stored more energy in the same space, he said.

Photo Tesla

Photo Tesla

Tesla, which this month posted a steeper-than-expected loss, is adding a new sedan car to its sports line-up.

Elon Musk claimed that the new 100-kilowatt hour battery pack means high-end versions of the Model S sedan, called the P100D, will be the world’s fastest accelerating car in production.

The P100D will do 0-60mph in 2.5 seconds. Elon Musk said there were faster cars on the market, but these were limited-run vehicles, while the Tesla is aimed at the mass market, he said.

“These are very profound milestones and I think will help convince people around the world that electric is the future,” Elon Musk said on a conference call with journalists.

The new battery extends the range of performance versions of the new Model S well beyond 300 miles, from about 290 miles, Tesla said.

Elon Musk said that in cool weather, a driver could travel from San Francisco to Los Angeles – a nearly 400 mile drive – without recharging.

In May 2016, Tesla said it was stepping up production plans for its upcoming Model 3 mass-market sedan and would build a total of 500,000 all-electric vehicles in 2018, two years ahead of schedule.

The Model S and X vehicles with the upgraded batteries will help fund the more affordable Model 3 still in development, Elon Musk said. The performance versions of the S and X without the new battery currently start at $108,000 and $115,500, respectively.

However, Tesla Motors also warned that investment would ramp up as well.

The company has been under investigation from US safety regulators following a fatal crash in Florida earlier this year involving its drive-assistance feature known as Autopilot.

Elon Musk said a software update of the feature is nearing completion, adding that it will result in “material improvements in the autonomy of the car”.