Charge to 100% break it down for me

[Cnixon]

When I said Jeeez, just charge it. I was being a bit unfair. It relates to how many times this question comes up. Until you get a feel for your way of charging, slightly lower regen and your typical daily usage...don't worry about the odd 'full tank' so long as you are going to drive somewhere with it...even some ice drivers panic if they are less than half full (probably worked out for them last month though!). Leaving at 100% is sometimes identified as a problem but it won't stay there for long if sentry is on. There is a top buffer but I believe it is small on Tesla compared to other manufacturers. In my case during the week I charge to 60% which is enough for 2 days commuting just in case I have a failed charge (1 in 2 years!).

 

[Nick77]

As someone who relies solely on public charging, if I'm visiting a Tesla Supercharger (to use up free miles) it's a 40 min drive for me.

So I always charge fully to 100% as I know that by the time I get home it'll be back to 90%.

For local Rapid chargers where I live then its 90% or 80% if I don't want to sit there another 15 mins.

 

[JaseW]

First post, so obvious newbie alert!

Is it confirmed that 100% charge is actually 100% of the battery pack and not a controlled 100% under firmware/BMS control?

By this i mean, could Tesla control the battery so that the car can only access 10% to 90% of the battery pack? This is then manipulated by software so that it appears as 0% to 100% to the user and removes the ability to deep discharge the battery pack or keep it fully charged. So 100% reported to the user is actually 90% usage of the pack and likewise 0% reported to the user is actually 10% usage of the pack.

It always amazes me that if its bad to keep a battery at 100% charged, then why does the manufacturer allow it to get to 100% and not limit it to a lesser figure. Though the cynic in me sees that if the manufactuer allows you to 'damage' the battery by repeatedly going to 100% then sooner or later it might need replacing (££).

I hope this makes sense & go easy on me!

Tesla’s hacked Battery Management System exposes the real usable capacity of its battery packs

Like most automakers, Tesla measures the battery capacity of their electric vehicles by the total energy potential of the pack rather...

electrek.co

Do batteries contain a “buffer”? My kW usage doesn’t match pack size

I have a SR (downgraded from SR+ after 15k miles) and I kill time on long toad trips by doing mental math. The EPA reported capacity of the SR+ was 54.5kWh, but every single measurement I could come up with (pack size/rated mileage, actual consumption/mileage, consumption as a % or SOC etc)...

teslamotorsclub.com

TLDR: Yes there is a buffer and its included in the calculation. so 100% isn't actually 100% physically.

 

[MrT3]

TLDR: Yes there is a buffer and its included in the calculation. so 100% isn't actually 100% physically.

I believe the buffer is all at the low end, as completely discharging the battery is a big problem, therefore 100% is 100%.

 

[Adopado]

First post, so obvious newbie alert!

Is it confirmed that 100% charge is actually 100% of the battery pack and not a controlled 100% under firmware/BMS control?

By this i mean, could Tesla control the battery so that the car can only access 10% to 90% of the battery pack? This is then manipulated by software so that it appears as 0% to 100% to the user and removes the ability to deep discharge the battery pack or keep it fully charged. So 100% reported to the user is actually 90% usage of the pack and likewise 0% reported to the user is actually 10% usage of the pack.

It always amazes me that if its bad to keep a battery at 100% charged, then why does the manufacturer allow it to get to 100% and not limit it to a lesser figure. Though the cynic in me sees that if the manufactuer allows you to 'damage' the battery by repeatedly going to 100% then sooner or later it might need replacing (££).

I hope this makes sense & go easy on me!

They would have to advertise the car with a much lower range such that you wouldn’t buy it! But yes, it could be done that way… and to a degree it already is because there are small buffers top and bottom similar to your description.