Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

If you had a choice: Acceleration or Distance?

Where might you want the focus of a battery enhancement directed?

  • Acceleration

    Votes: 37 13.2%
  • Distance

    Votes: 244 86.8%

  • Total voters
    281
This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
I would agree which is why it made no sense that "Valet Mode" would increase the range.
When people say "increase the range" they mean the cars rated range. To do that for the T3 would mean some physical change to the motors or battery to have a big effect on the stated prototype range of 215 miles.
The EPA range would increase if you software limited the power output without physical changes to the car. It's not like an ICE where there's only a really narrow range of efficiency.
 
The EPA range would increase if you software limited the power output without physical changes to the car. It's not like an ICE where there's only a really narrow range of efficiency.

The power output was already limited for the EPA tests, no 5.5 0-60's. The range is per the EPA test parameters. You can't go slower or faster for the EPA tests that's why they are a baseline of compariso.

In order to increase the range, there will have to some engineering change such as battery or motor size/qty/type.
 
Well - the EPA does get on it I believe. Fastest is 8.46 mph/sec. That is 7 sec 0-60. So software limiting to 8 sec 0-60 would actually improve EPA range a very small amount.

Not in any meaningful way of course but technically...

But the topic was about designing the battery, not necessarily the software. And the tiny benefit in limiting acceleration in software isn't really relevant.

Now - there are real battery compromises to be made. But in general (my understanding) is that discharge and charge rates are going to be pretty much the same design criteria. So you could make a slower car but then it would charge slower and no one wants that (on a road trip). You also lose regen - which will change range a bit - real and EPA.

Now $$$ vs acceleration - that is clearly an issues. And that is easy to deal with - as they do now with $$$ optional increased performance. But if you take a car comparable to a S60 but make it lighter and smaller and shrink the battery - you still wind up just under 6 sec 0-60. You must use the original S60's numbers since the software reduced S75 is not fair. So low 5's is probably not going to be the base but it does depend on how much weight is dropped and the final battery size.

As the battery gets bigger, the potential to accelerate faster goes up. But there really isn't a significant design trade off. The base car will be faster than most cars. And it will have the EV factor where real world, it is much faster. (quiet, no rev, minimal efficiency tradeoff). But you will unlikely get a 6 sec car (ie it will be much faster) when you get the battery - even if you wanted to save $500 dollars to do it. All the motors and inverters will probably be the same for manufacturing efficiency. So acceleration will be no increased manufacturing cost.

The end result - lots of slow drivers with fast cars. Not a big deal. We can only hope they learn to drive faster..... I dream of better traffic flow with everyone driving Model 3's.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ccutrer
Now this is what I don't understand, why do we have to choose performance vs range for an EV? Let the car be equipped for medium i.e. sub 6 sec 0-60 performance but those who want to maximize on range can drive sensibly. It is not like there is a significant advantage to be had by making inverters and motor even smaller. This differs from ICE where we have no option but downsize engine capacity to achieve the best mpg compromise.
 
Now this is what I don't understand, why do we have to choose performance vs range for an EV? Let the car be equipped for medium i.e. sub 6 sec 0-60 performance but those who want to maximize on range can drive sensibly. It is not like there is a significant advantage to be had by making inverters and motor even smaller. This differs from ICE where we have no option but downsize engine capacity to achieve the best mpg compromise.

The same is likely true on electric motors, you still have a mass to energize and smaller motor, smaller mass less power to energize it. What was interesting was that the two small motors for AWD increased the range by almost 4% in the P60.

Likely smaller motors would increase the range while lowering acceleration.
 
The same is likely true on electric motors, you still have a mass to energize and smaller motor, smaller mass less power to energize it. What was interesting was that the two small motors for AWD increased the range by almost 4% in the P60.

Likely smaller motors would increase the range while lowering acceleration.
In the words of Elon:

"Because we have two drive units, where we can shift the power from front to rear, and constantly be at the optimal efficiency point for each motor. We're actually able to overcome the penalty of the increased mass of the motor."

"We're able to balance the efficiency of the motors....If you have just one motor, it's always on a particular power-vs-efficiency curve."

"But if you have two motors, you can optimize between them, and have the motors operate in their more efficient regime more of the time"
 
In the words of Elon"Because we have two drive units, where we can shift the power from front to rear, and constantly be at the optimal efficiency point for each motor. We're actually able to overcome the penalty of the increased mass of the motor. We're able to balance the efficiency of the motors....If you have just one motor, it's always on a particular power-vs-efficiency curve.But if you have two motors, you can optimize between them, and have the motors operate in their more efficient regime more of the time"

I would guess the tradeoff is going to be smaller motors overall which would lower the power and acceleration but still provide excellent performance and towing.

Tesla has been obsessed with the acceleration, I think, in part due to slow hybrids and perception of EV as slow. Tesla can back off a bit now, go with reasonable acceleration for the family and increase the range.
 
Once again... Limiting maximum acceleration will not produce a significant increase in range. If a particular configuration of a Tesla Motors product will get an EPA rated range of 250 miles... Changing its acceleration profile will not magically increase the EPA rated range to 350 miles instead.

There are those who are certain they would be perfectly satisfied with a fully electric car that performed like a Toyota Camry LE. Cool. Please explain that to Toyota. I'm sure they'll get right on that for you... In about fifteen or twenty years.

Tesla Motors does not build slow cars. Traditional automobile companies that build fully electric compliance cars with limited capacity battery packs of 24 kWh or less also limit their acceleration profile so that they do not get to 60 MPH in less than seven seconds. They also tend to limit the top speed of those vehicles, sometimes to as low as 65 MPH and rarely to exceed even 100 MPH. Further, they limit the performance profile further, by derating their electric motors to far less than their maximum achievable output. I believe that the 'NO COMPROMISES' tagline from Tesla Motors refers to these artificial limits that traditional automobile manufacturers have chosen to regularly place on their compliance EVs.

Changing the first three or four seconds of acceleration will not allow a car to drive at a constant speed on the highway for hours more on end. What really matters is the average energy consumption per mile. That is the type of systematic improvement that Tesla Motors will deliver for their Generation III vehicles. You'll be able to drive long distances. You will be able to have fun doing so.
 
I would guess the tradeoff is going to be smaller motors overall which would lower the power and acceleration but still provide excellent performance and towing.

Tesla has been obsessed with the acceleration, I think, in part due to slow hybrids and perception of EV as slow. Tesla can back off a bit now, go with reasonable acceleration for the family and increase the range.
I agree with Red Sage, also if you look at JB Straubel's original blog post on the matter he doesn't talk about range at all but the trade off between acceleration and top speed. With the dual motor setup you can have the best of both worlds.
 
As Elon said at the Model 3 reveal - "At Tesla we don't make slow cars". And if I am spending $35K plus, I want at least 5.4 or better!

My Challenger R/T does 0-60 in 5.1 to 5.3, according to its performance pages in the dash, depending on how good I hit it. I'd like my single motor base battery Model 3 to have similar times.
I used to have a 2005 Neon that did an amazing 17.7 @ 77 in the 1/4 mile, and it was in the 11.0 to 11.5 second 0-60 range. Fine for L.A. traffic, but it is SLOW in my idea of normal driving.

How hard would it be to have a range / acceleration switch on the touch screen that really does something significant? Doesn't the Model S have something like that?
 
  • Love
Reactions: Red Sage
Very interesting vote so far. I thought it would be much more even. I have to stand almost alone and say. I voted for acceleration. Ludicrous. 200 miles per charge is more than enough for me.

When I bought my first S2000 I noticed I stopped becoming annoyed at catching red lights, provided I was first in line, due to the acceleration off the line when the light turned green. As such, I'm also one of the few who voted for acceleration.

I suspect the range of a tricked out Model 3 will be comparable to the range I have now with my S2000 and its small gas tank. I tend to refill every 220 miles or so when driving locally and 240 on road trips.