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Chip designer Advanced Micro Devices, Inc (AMD) Ryzen microprocessors installed inside U.S. electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, Inc's Model 3 electric vehicles are reducing their driving range according to a report from advisory service Teslascope. Tesla, which had previously used Intel Corporation's Atom processors for its infotainment systems, has recently made the switch to AMD devices, and the report shows that Tesla customers who had pre-ordered a Model 3 are now being asked by the company to accept a range decrease for heir vehicle in some jurisdictions due to consumer protection laws. Additionally, the range for Tesla's Model Y also appears to have increased, but this seems to be due to the vehicle receiving larger batteries.

Tesla Model 3 Range Decreased By 2.4% On Average After Installing AMD Ryzen Processors Suggests Data

The report from Teslascope came in the form of a tweet that also highlighted how buyers in Australia are required to consent to have their vehicle range decreased since the time a pre-order was made. While the message sent out by Tesla does not explicitly mention AMD, it does state that a new computer for the Model 3 is affecting the vehicle's range.

Tesla's message reads as follows:

We have updated Model 3 vehicles to optimise the touch screen experience with our new car computer. This hardware change requires more power, resulting in a minor drop in range. Your Model 3 range is now 602 kilometers (WLTP), 22 kilometers less than originally communicated.

It then proceeds to ask the user whether they would still like to proceed with the pre-order. As Teslascope notes in its tweet, the message has not been sent to all customers who have pre-ordered a Model 3 for themselves or others, and the one sent in Australia is due to stricter consumer protection laws in the country.

A teardown of Tesla's Media Control Unit (MCU) inside the Model S Plaid conducted in October last year shows the AMD Ryzen on the right. Image: Tesla's New Plaid Car Computer!Tesla's New Plaid Car Computer!/YouTube

The Ryzen has been present inside Tesla's other electric vehicles, such as the Model S Plaid and the Models S and X since last year, and a teardown of the Model S Plaid's Media Control Unit revealed the specifications of the processor.

According to YouTuber Ingineerix, the Model S Plaid's MCU Ryzen had the following specifications:

The main processor is now an AMD Ryzen YE180FC3T4MFG (4 core 45 watt Ryzen Embedded) 512 KB L2 cache per core, 4 MB L3 cache.

The GPU is also an AMD Radeon marked 215-130000026, closest guess is a similar to a Radeon Pro W6600.

Wifi/BT Module is an LG Innotek ATC5CPC001

Cell Modem is a Quectel AG525R-GL

Gateway is still the venerable SPC5748GSMMJ6

DSP 1 is an ADSP-SC587W SHARC+ Dual Core DSP with ARM Cortex-A5

DSP 2 is an AD21584 SHARC+ Dual Core DSP with ARM Cortex-A5

Ethernet Switch is a Realtek RTL9068ABD

Insideevs, which originally picked up the report from Teslascope shares more details for the Model 3 range reduction. It reports that:

Model 3 RWD (no changes)

18" wheels: 510 km (317 miles)

19" wheels: 491 km (305 miles)

Model 3 LR AWD

18" wheels: 626 km (389 miles), down by 11 km or 1.7% from 637 km

19" wheels: 602 km (374 miles), down by 12 km or 2.0% from 614 km

Model 3 Performance

20" wheels: 547 km (340 miles), down by 20 km or 3.5% from 567 km

Model Y LR AWD

19" wheels: 565 km (351 miles), up by 28 km or 5.2% from 537 km

20" wheels: 533 km (331 miles), up by 26 km or 5.1% from 507 km

Model Y Performance

21" wheels: 514 km (319 miles), up by 34 km or 7.1% from 480 km

The range details were originally shared by the Twitter account Tesla_Adri, who goes further and quotes a source within Tesla confirming that the range reduction is due to AMD's chip.

Teslascope had been the first to discover in December last year that the 2022 variants of the Models 3 and Y were also equipped with AMD's processors.