Tesla Motors released a much-awaited revision to the transmission in the all-electric Roadster, and in typical software upgrade fashion, the company is calling it Powertrain 1.5, as Autopia reports. The new one-speed Borg-Warner transmission "joins a stouter power inverter and revised engine in a package said to deliver 30 percent more torque and 10 percent more range."

Installing this update is a little more complicated than, say, patching Windows Vista (as complex as that can get at times). For the 27 Roadsters that are already tearing up the streets, they'll need to go back to the dealer to get retrofitted, which the company claims can be done in a four-hour swap.

Tesla Roadster owners will want the upgrade. The new one-speed transmission weighs 17 pounds less and creates less drag on the motor, increasing efficiency and bumping the car's range., the report said. "A revised power inverter puts out 850 amps, up from 650, and the motor had redesigned terminals to reduce resistance. It's beefier, too, and torque rises from 211 foot-pounds to 280."