There’s an article in “The Drive” that’s been repeated in other media. Here’s a link if you want to read the whole article.
It’s not important in your day-to-day driving since few people use up all the electricity in their Tesla on a normal day. But, if you have lots of driving scheduled for a day, or if you’re taking a cross-country trip, you have to make allowances for this particularly Tesla problem.
The Results of the Tests
Edmunds, which does reviews on all cars, and which has rated the Tesla Model 3 as the number one best electric vehicle, found that none of the models of Tesla met the EPA range estimates as advertised by Tesla. None of the models. All the other electric cars easily went 20 to 50 miles past their EPA-rated ranges.
Tesla’s Response
Naturally, the Tesla engineers weighed in, but what they said was not very helpful. They said that the reason the Teslas failed to reach the EPA range is that Edmunds didn’t keep driving them until they couldn’t go an inch farther. Edmunds stopped driving when the range number on the screen went down to zero. So Edmunds repeated the testing and kept driving until the cars actually stopped. Tesla calls this a safety buffer.
Don’t Plan on Using the Safety Buffer
Don’t plan on using the safety buffer. It’s terrible for the battery. It’s just as bad as charging your battery up to 100% and then letting it sit overnight. Don’t do that either. Bad.
Be Kind to Your Battery
We want our batteries to last as long as the rest of the car. So, in my case, I charge to 80% every night. That way, I’m not damaging the battery, and I have more miles than I need for day-to-day driving. I do plan on taking the Tesla on road trips once this furshlugginer pandemic is over. I have the SR+ which, in theory, can go 250 miles on a charge. I won’t plan on 250 miles between supercharges. When my car was new, and I had 1,000 miles or six months of free supercharging, whichever came first, I didn’t actually need any supercharging. Not going anywhere. Pandemic y’know. The six months came first.
My Supercharging Experience
But, since supercharging was included in the price of my car, any time I needed to go somewhere near a supercharger, I went ahead and used the service. Here’s what I found. When the battery is low, the supercharger gives extremely rapid charging. I can’t tell you the exact rate of charge because different superchargers give different rates of charge depending on which generation of supercharger you’re using. But as a general rule, you’ll get extremely rapid charging when the battery is low. You’ll probably get to 80% in 30 to 40 minutes. That last 20% will take longer. A lot longer.
Suggested Strategy
You’ll probably do better in total trip time if you don’t wait around for the last trickle of energy to fill your battery to 100%. Between 80% and 90%, the charging goes painfully slowly. Between 90% and 100%, the charge slows to a trickle. You’ll stop a bit more often, but you’ll spend less total time on the chargers during your trip if you just charge to 80% each time you need to charge. When I take my trip, I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.
Public Health Advice
One last thought for car trips. Elon Musk gives you video games to entertain yourself during a supercharger stop. If you’re on a trip, don’t play the video games. Get out of the car and walk around. Sitting in a car for long periods of time can cause blood clots in your legs. Don’t let that happen.
Henry Farkas is a retired country doctor. He bought his Tesla Model 3 in the middle of the pandemic.
Tesla will now reroute you to less busy Superchargers
@cybrtrkguy/Twitter (Edited by NATA)
If you don't have enough range to reach your destination, Tesla’s in-car navigation system will automatically calculate where you should stop in order to charge.
If the Supercharger you’re set to arrive at is suddenly too busy, Tesla's navigation will now reroute you to another Supercharger location that's within range.
According to a recent tweet by @cybrtrkguy, which shows a picture of their trip planner and the message, “Rerouting to a less busy Supercharger” in Sheffield, Ohio.
— The Cybertruck Guy (@cybrtrkguy) June 25, 2022
Tesla drivers will now know when a Supercharge station is congested and will have the option to change their route to reduce their total travel time.
Not only does Tesla know exactly how many vehicles are charging at each location. It also knows the charge level of each vehicle and it could estimate the wait time for a Supercharger based on how many Teslas are nearby with a low state of charge.
Based on all of this information Tesla can come up with great suggestions on the best place to charge to reduce your overall trip time.
Tesla’s Supercharger rerouting feature will be useful, especially as Tesla starts opening its Supercharger sites to non-Tesla vehicles.
Tesla recently chose to open up the Supercharger network to other car brands, which could add additional Supercharger congestion.
With over 30,000 Superchargers (3,500 stations) reported at the end of 2021, Tesla undoubtedly operates the largest and most successful fast-charging networks.
While Tesla plans to solve Supercharger congestion by tripling the size of its network in the next few years, this new navigation feature will certainly help alleviate some Supercharger congestion.
Tesla Model 3 is in the Top 10 best selling cars of 2021
Tesla’s Model 3 has landed a spot as the ninth best-selling car in the world for 2021, which is up 40% from 2020, according to Fiat Group World. The Model 3 accounted for 508,000 unit sales in 2021.
According to the data provided by Fiat Group World, the Toyota RAV4/Wildlander came in at number one, which is up from the second spot in 2020. The Ford F-150 pickup truck landed at number seven, down from the number 6 spot in 2020.
Toyota and Honda have four vehicles in the top 11 spots, while Nissan, Ford, and Tesla only have one spot.
Fiat Group World notes that the Tesla Model 3 continues to rise within the list and is expected to rank in the top five by the end of this year.
Additionally, the author adds that the Model Y is expected to outsell the Model 3 by the end of 2022, which means both the Model 3 and Model Y would both sit in the top five spots. The Model Y currently sits at the 19th spot on the list, which means the Model Y accounted for 392,000 sales in 2021. It rose from the 262nd spot, or 412%, from 2020.
It’s worth noting that the Model Y began its deliveries in 2020, which explains the significant jump in 2021. Earlier this year, it won U.S. News’ Best Luxury Electric SUV award.
Of the 110 vehicles included, the Model S and Model X did not make the cut. This is most likely due to their higher price tag.
With this data available and Fiat Group World’s insights, it’s entirely possible for the Model Y to overtake the Model 3 this year. And with Tesla constantly adding new features and bringing back ‘Enhanced Autopilot,’ consumers will likely jump on-board.
Tesla is currently battling global supply chain restraints, and Musk said at Bloomberg’s Qatar Economic Forum that these restraints are a bigger issue than competition from other competitive automakers.
“Our constraints are much. More in raw materials and being able to scale up productions,” Musk says.
TeslaFi is a service that logs your drives and charging sessions so that you can later refer back to them. We highly recommend checking them out if you use your car for business trips and would like to keep track of reimbursements, if you like to see how much you spend on charging or if you just love statistics. View their about us page and see everything they have to offer!
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