Tesla exaggerating EV range for over a decade

arstechnica.com Tesla exaggerated EV range so much that drivers thought cars were broken

Inundated with complaints, Tesla created "Diversion Team" to cancel appointments.

Tesla exaggerating EV range for over a decade::undefined

29 comments

This is pretty much my reaction to every corporate deception that I read these days:
I've tested in my own model 3 and the range and kwh usage is actually pretty accurate as advertised assuming you accelerate slowly, drive the speed limit, and don't run the heat, and don't have a strong headwind. Many people, including myself, absolutely do not drive like that, so the range will be less.
- This is honestly true for the ICE estimates as well. It’s just that people have a lot more range anxiety when they can’t find a refueling spot every other street corner.
  
  Not that I’m condoning it. And not that they’ve always gotten away with it. They need to be held accountable to come up with reasonable range expectations.
  
  But also ICE are so inefficient that a small percentage change doesn't affect them so much because you're wasting 80% of the energy anyway so you load up megawatts hour of power when you refuel. On BEVs losing 4kw of power for heating or other stuff means a lot because you waste only around 5% of the energy, so adding 1 or 2 or 3% of other losses will impact the small energy storage you have.
- It seems like it's an issue with manufacturing consistency/quality. The report said some cars were getting literally half their advertised range on daily commutes. That's not an amount that could be accounted for by driving styles.
  
  The original Reuters report linked below: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/tesla-batteries-range/
  
  Wow that’s super embarrassing
- Yeah it's all about ideal conditions, and same for ICE as the other reply said. Even external temperature matters for EVs too, if it's too cold the battery won't perform as well.
- Wait, so you can't use the air? You know, one of the major comfort features in a car? What a ripoff.
  
  Running the heat can be energy draining because you don't have a hot engine to draw air from. Using the heated seats is much more efficient but of course less comfortable in cold weather.
  
  You can use the AC is fine and you get pretty close to the rated mileage, but the heated air is a bigger drain.
and autopilot safety
Isn’t this something for the FTC to prosecute? And then after that, class-action lawsuits?

When Apple got caught extending battery life on old iPhones without user knowledge, there were lawsuits announced by the end of the day. What about Tesla?
lol whats new
I am Jack's complete lack of surprise.
Exaggerating?

Why don't we try lying, bait and switch. Perhaps criminal investigation for consumer fraud?
- Tell me the world isn't a better place if elon is sent to work in a lithium mine for the next decade
[BRAND] exaggerating any kind of EV range.
Color me absolutely not shocked. Corporations are always going to lie. I don't trust a word they say.
So vindicated about all the arguments I've had with friends about Tesla's range not being as long as what we were led to believe.

I mean, I don't have those friends anymore, but still!
I'm actually within about 5% +- on my Model S Plaid depending on the time of year and that's hardly driving conservatively (maybe luck?). Oddly enough, my Model S has been more efficient than my Model 3 LR was, which I know makes no sense. But pretty much across the board for all the same drives, I use less kWh, it boggles my mind.

This is based on data from Tessie.

All that said, I realize the article says other manufacturers have more accurate fuel economies. I'm sorry, but no, my friend's leaf is absolutely wrong by an extremely large margin, especially in winter, and has been since day one. It's not even close.
Every auto manufacture exaggerates range, whether it’s battery or MPG.
- I've found the max range on the Hyundai Kona EV's is fairly accurate. It can vary quite a bit with stuff like AC/heat but generally in reasonable weather it gets close to what was advertised.
  
  I have to say the same for the Kia EV6. After a fill charge, driving a few miles on the road yields a very accurate estimate.
- Isn't MPG (in the US) estimated by the EPA?
  
  The MPGe Tesla advertised also is. Then they use that to correspond to % remaining battery.
  
  All EVs get wildly different range depending on outdoor temps (I get 30% lower range in winter) and their hysteresis is way higher than an ICE car. But, their range numbers are accurate for when they are measured under ideal circumstances.
  
  I regularly do better than rated range. Others have a heavy foot and do worse. Kinda par for the course.
- If you read the article you’d know that this is actually not the case and Tesla is the one exaggerating range to this degree.
  
  “Jonathan Elfalan, vehicle testing director for the automotive website Edmunds.com, reached a similar conclusion to Pannone after an extensive examination of vehicles from Tesla and other major automakers, including Ford, General Motors, Hyundai and Porsche. All five Tesla models tested by Edmunds failed to achieve their advertised range, the website reported in February 2021. All but one of 10 other models from other manufacturers exceeded their advertised range.”
- One thing is to exaggerate the range in your advertisement material, which every auto manufacture does—especially since you need to meet veeery specific criteria to get the advertised mpg.
  
  Another though is to rig your software to show misleading range to the people actually driving the fucking car, that’s either stupid or very shady.

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