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Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

reuters.com

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

#661

Post by mlyle »

BizarroLand wrote: post #641
mlyle wrote: post #628

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even with a smaller trailer, though, I'd expect a 33% or so range penalty-- it's just not too much of a win. You don't make it anywhere near twice as far.

Even so, assuming there were a nationwide network of them, you could pull in, swap trailers, and be on your way in 15 minutes. Of course, this is in an ideal world where everything goes my way. I wonder if the penalty would be as high as 33%. Seems like it would be simple to make a maximally aerodynamic battery trailer since human comfort doesn't have to be considered. Then you're only adding the weight and drag of a…

> It would be better all in all to be able to hot swap the batteries then. With standardized batteries put onto an integrated sled system, a robot at the fuel pump could pull the discharged battery and put it on a battery tester/charger and insert a fresh charged battery in its place.

This has been discussed/proposed/Tesla said they were going to do this long ago.

The big downside is that no one wants to exchange their battery for someone else's. Pretty soon all the batteries end up in crappy shape.

The only way you could really do this is by having the swap stations own the batteries--- but this is so capital intensive that it's really a non-starter. Not to mention that it is a bit mechanically fraught.

The big upside is that we could use a lot more solar/daytime power for charging.

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

#662

Post by clouddrover »

You're better off looking at real world highway range rather than the EPA numbers:

https://insideevs.com/reviews/443791/ev-range-test-results/

Some cars like the Porsche Taycan outperform their EPA range, other cars like the Tesla Model S underperform their EPA range.

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

#663

Post by philwelch »

antisthenes wrote: post #33
WatchDog wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like it’s common across all EVs for the range to be inflated by around 20%, at least for freeway driving. In a recent review, a Tesla did a slightly better job than most of the cars tested, as far as portion of stated range achieved. https://youtu.be/fvwOa7TCd1E&t=36m15s

> Seems like it’s common across all EVs for the range to be inflated by around 20%, at least for freeway driving. Most people speed on the freeway. Extra speed reduces range significantly.

Yes, but Tesla goes out of their way to advertise how fast their cars are, so you think they'd expect and factor for this kind of driving behavior.

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

#664

Post by kccqzy »

nmridul wrote: post #338
malwrar wrote: post #158

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…

>> (turns out you need one that has a full bed because of the regenerative breaking, and tesla’s service doesn’t have infinite coverage) Is there a service for "On demand battery charging". A mini truck carrying a generator that can be called to the location. Could charge premium from the EVs that are too tired to move.

Yup: https://lightningsystems.com/lightning-mobile/

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

#665

Post by hot_gril »

malwrar wrote: post #158
jvanderbot wrote: post #8

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…

> turns out you need one that has a full bed because of the regenerative breaking

Maybe the non-bed truck could've simply charged your car by pulling it :D

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

#666

Post by [deleted] »

malwrar wrote: post #158
jvanderbot wrote: post #8

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…

[deleted]

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

#667

Post by hot_gril »

johntiger1 wrote: post #252
malwrar wrote: post #158

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…

It's a very humbling experience to be ignored by so many folks, glad you reflected on that. The story about the couple just flat out walking away strikes me as obtusely anti-social, but sadly not unexpected in our day and age. Just out of curiosity, where was this?

Crown Vic owners to other Vic owners: Wave and smile, leave friendly notes in parking lots.

Tesla owners to other Tesla owners:

> people in their cars pretended to ignore me

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

#668

Post by hot_gril »

iJohnDoe wrote: post #627
malwrar wrote: post #158

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…

I’ll admit, it’s somewhat comforting to see Tesla owners are treating other Tesla owners poorly. I thought you guys only treated everyone else badly. Seems like so many Tesla owners drive like complete jerks. Drive way too close to people (tailgating). Drive way too fast all time, even in neighborhoods. Drive way too aggressively. Drive way too entitled. I’ve seen some crazy stuff from people driving a Tesla. Driving…

You can say this about pretty much any car that isn't super basic like a Corolla. The uniquely Tesla thing used to be driving incredibly distracted due to the giant iPad in the cockpit, but other cars have that too now.

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

#669

Post by hot_gril »

perfectritone wrote: post #409
malwrar wrote: post #158

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…

The last paragraph firmly places this story in America.

Sounds more like Bay Area specifically. Realized whenever I traveled outside that normal people actually make eye contact or otherwise acknowledge your presence, and now I'm living happily elsewhere in CA (though not just for that reason). Like a stereotypical old mother, I blame tech addiction.

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

#670

Post by gen220 »

mwint wrote: post #656
mrguyorama wrote: post #621

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't have to. It measures them in real time, and can integrate over time. Astronomers also don't see into the future but some basic calculations can let them make very accurate predictions about where the planets will be in a month. What the heck is your point?

Okay, so if I give you all the data from my car, and say it has 10.3 gallons of gas, you’re telling me you can predict how many miles it will go to within a percent? No, you can’t. Because I might go uphill or downhill. It might rain. It might be hot or cold. The car is doing something tricky (aka lying) as discussed above.

I think if you gave us a hidden buffer of 1 gallon (i.e. we actually have 11.3 gallons, but I report that you have 10.3 gallons, and selectively burn some of that buffer without reporting it), and you drive in conditions that fit within the footprint of your prior 3000 miles of driving history, yeah we probably could guess within a percent.

To the best of my understanding, this is what most modern ICE cars do when they give you the "miles remaining" metric. I don't know how else they could be so outwardly accurate.

This falls under the category of "trick", but it's actually a trick that helps me by allowing me to plan my trips better.

Giving the "current estimate of actual miles remaining", as a multi-variate function of all the things you mention, is actually less helpful and more stress-inducing – even while it's technically providing more information, it's information that isn't very helpful.

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