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

Submitted ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨Woland@lemm.ee⁩ to ⁨technology@lemmy.world⁩

Tesla has consistently exaggerated the driving range of its electric vehicles, reportedly leading car owners to think something was broken when actual driving range was much lower than advertised. When these owners scheduled service appointments to fix the problem, Tesla canceled the appointments because there was no way to improve the actual distance Tesla cars could drive between charges, according to an investigation by Reuters.

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C4d@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I would like to see some numbers.

When it came time to replace an old car a few years ago I actually discounted several EVs because on paper neither the range, nor the performance, nor the charging matched up to Tesla.

I discounted Tesla because I didn’t like the way a certain CEO went about their business and so couldn’t trust the company.

Looking at this, I should have just bought the EV I wanted back then and been done with it.

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- vagrantprodigy@lemmy.whynotdrs.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I’ve been very happy with my Hyundai Ioniq 5 after more than a year. The range adjusts dynamically based on conditions and my driving history, and charging is very fast when you are hooked up to a 350kw charger, especially in warm weather.
  
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- IWantToFuckSpez@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Many of my friends recently bought a Korean EV. They are all happy with their purchase. Nobody of them even considered Tesla. Since in my country Tesla has a bad rep when it comes to repairs.
  
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- raltoid@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  After some quick reading, a big thing is that you want an EV with an cooled and heated battery if you live in areas that see snow. And if you live in a warm area you’ll want a battery pack that is actively cooled, as overheating will also cause poor performance, and even become damaged if they get hot enough.
  
  According to a South Korean fine Tesla was given, their cars can apparently drop in range 40-50% if the temperature is around -15C(5F), compared to 20C(68F).
  
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  - gowan@reddthat.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    I sold Hyundai for a bit. It was a big deal for that company when their engineers figured out how to heat the battery for the winter.
    
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- the_third@feddit.de ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  
  Looking at this, I should have just bought the EV I wanted back then and been done with it.
  
  Basically what I did. Ignored WLTP numbers, got some real life numbers from forums and YouTube reviews and bought a reasonable car in 2020. Good for now, we’ll see what’s good in five years.
  
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- TBi@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Every road test I’ve seen has shown Tesla cars being more efficient and getting more range than other manufacturers. But I do question the results. I have a BMW i3. I always get about 2/3 of the official range. Always been happy with that. But people complain about the range while having the temperature at max in winter (with t shirt on) and then AC set to freezing in the summer (wearing a jumper). They just drain the battery.
  
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  - gowan@reddthat.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    The range is determined by no use of any electronics (lights, radio, climate control, stereo etc) and ideal weather and road conditions. You get less than the max because you aren’t driving at max efficiency at all times.
    
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- samokosik@lemmynsfw.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  You shouldn’t have bought an EV unless you plan to use it solely for driving around a city.
  
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  - lurkinggizmo@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Just came back from a EU holiday with an EV. 3.000km without any issue whatsoever. The gas car that joined us was 1 hour faster in the end (on a 12 hour drive).
    
    In the EU at least, a 300km range EV is stressfree and totally doable.
    
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  - fearout@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    How often do you take road trips? The vast majority of trips taken by car are within 20–30 km. An average EV range can easily cover most people’s daily driving needs.
    
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- Naz@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Never let perfect be the enemy of good
  
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samokosik@lemmynsfw.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Honestly there should be a law which makes car companies (tesla especially) publish ranges based on real world conditions

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- BruceTwarzen@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  That will never happen. They will either just make numbers up, use cars without interior and always "test" in california where it's warm and straight.
  
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dulce_3t_decorum_3st@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
How’s that driver’s hair though… has she plugged the charger into the back of her head?

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Plaid_Kaleidoscope@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Well written article

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sj_zero ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
It's likely that the range is right on point... if you're driving in a way nobody actually drives.

I expect there to be a lot of asterisks next to any EV's range.

Once, I was watching a presentation on some electric off-road vehicles. Big hulking things. They were bragging about their 120 kilometer range. I was looking at them sideways because you can't just say a number like that.

Sure enough, if you take the off-road vehicles off-road and start driving up hills, that 120 kilometers turns into 20 kilometers.

I don't want to look like I'm misrepresenting things here -- you burn more fuel going uphill in an ICE car than you do on level ground as well. The thing with electric is you're getting equivalent range with much less energy by being more efficient, which means you're working with less when you come up against something that chews up your energy.