Some Geniuses Are Tuning Tesla Model 3s For Up To 150 Extra Horsepower

A few years ago, the Tesla Model 3 might not have been in daily driver consideration for most enthusiasts. Now, though? A cheap second-hand example of a quick little sedan with no oil change hassles or indeed much of anything in the way of traditional maintenance sounds like a tempting way of freeing up some time to work on your fleet of projects, which begs the question: What can be done to a depreciated Tesla Model 3? Well, how about adding up to 150 horsepower?

While a tuning scene around EVs has existed for some time now, it’s largely focused on suspension, braking, and aesthetic modifications. Electric vehicles are inherently tricky to modify for power due to several reasons. The first is that extra power usually doesn’t come at a huge cost to manufacturers. There are no emissions targets to meet, so it’s not uncommon for OEMs to throw everything at the wall because horsepower sells. Secondly, the only real way of increasing EV horsepower is to throw more current at the motors, and this can be risky, or most likely, fruitless. Components from wiring to inverters might not actually be able to handle the extra juice, and output is ultimately capped at what the inverters can handle. This is why horsepower upgrades for first-generation Nissan Leafs involve swapping in the inverter from a second-generation model — the standard 80 kW inverter is just tapped out.

However, occasionally EVs have something in reserve, particularly if an over-the-air downloadable paid add-on for additional horsepower is available, or if major components are shared between models with differing outputs. Electric vehicles like the Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y, for example.

Cue Ingenext, a Quebec-based EV recycler, parts company, and yes, tuner. In between breaking down salvaged EVs for parts and swapping Chevrolet Bolt powertrains into airport tugs, the firm cranks out a line of impressive plug-and-play piggyback controllers for Tesla Model 3 and Model Y electric vehicles that promise meaningful horsepower gains and a whole bunch of other perks.

Let’s say you have a standard range plus Model 3. Well, if it has the 980 motor, Ingenext sells a module called the Boost SR which promises an extra 50 horsepower, drift mode, and plug-and-play installation for $795. You’d need the 980 motor installed from the factory to make this work, but that’s a pretty strong value proposition, and it’s a similar deal if you have a 60.5 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery pack in a Model 3 Standard Range Plus with the 980 or 4D1 motor. Then you’ll need the $795 Boost LFP, and while it doesn’t add body features like heated rear seat controls to the Model 3, it does offer 50 extra horsepower, regenerative braking control, drift mode, and the ability to hard reset the car.

For dual-motor owners, the $995 Boost 50 is the entry point for these piggyback modules, and although it’s not compatible with the 4680 battery pack or Tesla’s own acceleration boost add-on, it promises to add 50 horsepower to a Tesla Model 3 dual-motor long range or Tesla Model Y dual-motor long range, all while promising a host of other goodies. We’re talking drift mode, an off-road mode that locks the torque split 50:50 between the front and rear motors, manual battery pack heating, automatic driver’s door opening, and manual wiper control, to name a few.

What’s more, the boost in output produces some meaningful results. In a video produced by the firm, a Dragy GPS data acquisition device was used to time two zero-to-60 mph runs in identical ambient temperatures. Without the Boost 50, the dual-motor Model 3 in question ran from zero-to-60 mph in 4.22 seconds. That’s quick, but installing the module dropped the zero-to-60 mph time down to 3.61 seconds. Considering Tesla quotes a zero-to-60 mph time of 4.2 seconds, shaving more than half a second off a manufacturer’s claimed best time is certainly noteworthy.

Finally, there’s the Ghost module, and that’s where things get really fun. This one requires a Model 3 or Model Y dual-motor Long Range with either the 980 or 4D1 rear motor, because that motor’s shared with the Performance models. You can guess where this is going. Yep, this module promises to effectively turn a regular Model 3 or Model Y into the Performance trim, unlocking an extra 150 horsepower, a track mode, and all the equipment perks the Boost 50 offers. Granted, at $1,495, it’s not as cheap as say, a downpipe and canned tune on a turbocharged combustion-powered car, but it’s still way less expensive than upgrading to a Model 3 Performance or Model Y Performance.

Mind you, most of the perks of these modules aren’t activated on the touchscreen, but rather through your phone by connecting to the module’s Wi-Fi. Some of them require cycling vehicle power too, such as activating drift mode. Still, considering the end result is tuning an EV for power and unlocking a bunch of features, it seems worth it. This era of modifications is still in its infancy, and piggyback modules like these certainly feel worth trying.

Now I know what you’re thinking: won’t Tesla’s own updates potentially notice any of these modules and flag an issue? Well, sort of, but Ingenext has thought of that by offering modified updates to keep everything working happily. The only downside is they have to be downloaded through Ingenext directly, resulting in a slightly more complicated loading process than Tesla’s own updates. However, if you’re the type to modify your car, that’s probably something you can put up with.

So, how do you figure out which piggyback module fits your Tesla Model 3 or Y? Well, it seems to be pretty easy. There’s a sticker on the driver’s side of the rear drive unit that you can view with the aero caps off or by sticking your phone behind the left rear wheel. This YouTube video from Ingenext shows the part number format, and you’re really looking at the last three numbers before the hyphen. For instance, the Model 3 in this video has the 980 motor, meaning it would be a good candidate for the Ghost upgrade.

While this isn’t the same as a custom map with customized accelerator response curves and unique output tuning, the fact that you can theoretically pick up a used Model 3 or Model Y Long Range Dual Motor and slap on an Ingenext Ghost module, all for less than $20,000, is pretty cool. The future of electric vehicle tuning is getting interesting, and as more companies launch tuning and suspension solutions for these Teslas as they depreciate, the case for a modified second-hand electric daily driver is getting stronger.

(Photo credits: Tesla, Thomas Hundal, Ingenext)

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