[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

And the standard battery is just a super battery with bunches of capacity locked down by software.

This was the case with the Model S 60 kWh battery, but not so with Model 3. For Tesla to turn a profit on a base Model 3, they can't afford to waste money on manufacturing unused battery capacity.

The Electrek article here says the large pack has 4,416 cells and the small one has 2,976 cells. Therefore the answer is no, the small back is not a software limited version of the large pack. Also, the small pack is 55 kWh, not 50 and the large pack is 80 kWh, not 75.

Model 3 80
Actual capacity: 80.5 kWh (350V*230Ah= 80,500 Wh. Source for 350V and 230 Ah, see page 3 here)
Usable capacity: 78.27 kWh
Cell count: 4,416

Model 3 55
Actual capacity: 54.25 kWh (This is an estimate calculated from cell counts: 80,500/4416*2976= 54,250 Wh)
Usable capacity: 52.75 kWh (This is an estimate calculated from cell counts: 78,270/4416*2976= 52,747 Wh)
Cell count: 2,976