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Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

reuters.com

241–250 of 769 posts

Re: Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

#241

I have a model Y. I hate almost everything about it. But most germane, The "Battery meter" at the top of the display is total bunk. That's got to be "rosy" numbers. It'll display a the battery in miles, but it's at least 25% inflated. However if you punch in a destination, you'll get exact numbers, and those are insanely reliable. It claims (and I don't believe any claims coming from tesla) that it'll factor wind, el…

What does the regular display claim to represent?

Coasting on a flat surface at 35mph with a positive tailwind?

Re: Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

#242

I'm surprised by the reaction to this article. 1. The range is set by the EPA. They are the ones that do the testing and validate the claims. The EPA should fix their range guidelines for EVs. Maybe a summer and winter range would be more appropriate? 2. Tesla should have a better UI for range, but really they should just show the percentage. Acting like it is a conspiracy is a bit extreme. They are just doing EPA Ra…

Since the only real use of the EPA range is to make relative comparisons between cars, and since it will be very wrong for any car outside of the specific speed, geography, and season the EPA tests in, the EPA should choose some arbitrary number that is not miles. Then no one will feel misled when they buy electric, and we'll still be able to make range comparisons between cars.

General range barely ever matters anyway. ICE drivers thinking of going electric always ask about range, but over a certain minimum level of range what really matters is the estimation accuracy for a specific drive and the confidence that a planned charging location will be working as expected. If both of these are very good, the GPS travel time estimates will always be accurate and you don't really need to think about anything, which is how most people approach driving these days anyway: just follow the GPS.

The next thing that matters are the distance of chargers from the average route (we need more at interstate rest stops!) and the availability of 220V chargers at any place you will spend the night. The latter is the weakest right now, IMHO, but it's improving as more people go electric.

Re: Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

#243
post #77

It’s a controversial opinion but I really believe EV’s need 500 miles of range to truly compete with ICE vehicles. Think: batteries not fully charging or depleting for longevity concerns. Having to stop at chargers before range is out due to there not being another one coming up, extra headwinds, extra heat or AC, simply ending up at a broken or crowded charger and needing it to a different one, pulling a load, etc,…

Is there some huge percentage of people that road trip every week? I commute to/from work, run errands, go around town, and my car is back in my garage about 340 days a year. I drive over 250-300 miles in a day maybe 4 times a year. If I am plugging my car in every night or every other night, I'm only going to need to think about Fast Chargers a few times a year. Either people are treating EVs like ICE cars and "filling up" at a Fast Charger instead of just plugging their car in at the end of the day, or people are taking way more road trips than I realize.

Re: Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

#244

I have a model Y. I hate almost everything about it. But most germane, The "Battery meter" at the top of the display is total bunk. That's got to be "rosy" numbers. It'll display a the battery in miles, but it's at least 25% inflated. However if you punch in a destination, you'll get exact numbers, and those are insanely reliable. It claims (and I don't believe any claims coming from tesla) that it'll factor wind, el…

I actually got stranded once for some hours because of the mileage indicator! Was driving back from a campsite that I turned out to not have charging compatibility with, but thought I had plenty of margin to get to the nearest charger. As I drove through the mountains however, I began noticing that a.) my battery was depleting much faster than expected and b.) I wasn’t seeing any houses and very few motorists. I watc…

> Ironically that last part was probably the most frustrating.

and the most disappointing.

Re: Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

#245

I have a model Y. I hate almost everything about it. But most germane, The "Battery meter" at the top of the display is total bunk. That's got to be "rosy" numbers. It'll display a the battery in miles, but it's at least 25% inflated. However if you punch in a destination, you'll get exact numbers, and those are insanely reliable. It claims (and I don't believe any claims coming from tesla) that it'll factor wind, el…

I actually got stranded once for some hours because of the mileage indicator! Was driving back from a campsite that I turned out to not have charging compatibility with, but thought I had plenty of margin to get to the nearest charger. As I drove through the mountains however, I began noticing that a.) my battery was depleting much faster than expected and b.) I wasn’t seeing any houses and very few motorists. I watc…

Did you have your destination entered into the navigation? I find the estimates to be fairly accurate when you tell it exactly where you are going, at least within 5% or so. I always enter my full trip into the planner before I start, and it hasn’t failed me so far.

Re: Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

#247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually got stranded once for some hours because of the mileage indicator! Was driving back from a campsite that I turned out to not have charging compatibility with, but thought I had plenty of margin to get to the nearest charger. As I drove through the mountains however, I began noticing that a.) my battery was depleting much faster than expected and b.) I wasn’t seeing any houses and very few motorists. I watc…

This really is an extreme and specific example, but risks like this are why most people want lots ( lots ) of range and why gas/diesel cars won't die out any time soon. The sheer ease of mind that comes with having densely packed energy that can be replenished at a moment's notice practically anywhere should not be disregarded easily. Maybe battery tech can get there some day, but it's certainly not today.

I got an i3 with a range extender and a 2 gallon gas tank. The gas tank range can't exceed the battery range and still be an EV. I use the battery almost all the time but knowing I can gas and go 80 miles is great. I drove 1,400 miles to Florida and back. It wasn't noticeably worse experience than an ICE.

Re: Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

#248

As a Tesla owner, I think the source of the confusion is the EPA range displayed in the HUD on the Tesla. We toggled ours to show the battery percentage, which is much more useful to us. We've never owned a gas vehicle that met it's EPA range and the Tesla is no different. No one takes EPA MPG * GALLONS of gas and expects it to be a real life estimate of range. Wind resistance increases EXPONENTIALLY with speed. Driv…

I think the difference is that a gas-powered car will keep driving when the gas indicator hits zero. You can still get a couple dozen miles at that points, and those are so important. Tesla is really doing you a disservice by not considering that.

Supposedly you can get some range with the Tesla at zero - it’s just a bad idea to do that.

It’s a bad idea in a gas car too, my friends that have run out of gas did so because of driving on E.

Though at least with gas it’s easier to bring it to the car.

Re: Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

#249

This really shouldn’t be read as a defense of EV companies, but I think there is just a learning curve for EVs which people really haven’t grappled with yet. Here is a minor list of things which will reduce range pretty significantly: - Driving over 50 MPH - Using the AC - Using the heat - Driving in extreme cold or extreme heat - Driving in an area with a lot of hills. (From what I can tell regenerative braking make…

I have a mental model which goes something like this: When 80% of your energy goes to waste than all the incidentals like AC and especially heating just does not surface as a contributing factor. When however 80-90% of energy goes to driving, then speed and all the accessories start having a real impact. It also shows how energy dense gasoline/diesel are that a 50kg tank will outperform 400kg batteries even with the…

Heating an ICE car is essentially free, it's throwing off so much heat all the time.

Running the AC a lot in an ICE car can definitely impact efficiency. I get like a 17% difference in mileage if I don't have to run my AC.

Re: Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

#250

I have a model Y. I hate almost everything about it. But most germane, The "Battery meter" at the top of the display is total bunk. That's got to be "rosy" numbers. It'll display a the battery in miles, but it's at least 25% inflated. However if you punch in a destination, you'll get exact numbers, and those are insanely reliable. It claims (and I don't believe any claims coming from tesla) that it'll factor wind, el…

I actually got stranded once for some hours because of the mileage indicator! Was driving back from a campsite that I turned out to not have charging compatibility with, but thought I had plenty of margin to get to the nearest charger. As I drove through the mountains however, I began noticing that a.) my battery was depleting much faster than expected and b.) I wasn’t seeing any houses and very few motorists. I watc…

> slow is fast, keep it at 60 if you want the milage meter to not die as quick

This also works in petrol cars: the air resistance efficiency falloff is dramatic at higher speeds.

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