Possibly, who knows? Surely the point is that we can't expect anyone used to an ICE car to understand the subtleties of driving 200 miles in an EV. You understand range mode and plugging in at night but most lay people do not. The problem with a lot of EV marketing is that it implies that anyone can jump in and achieve the published range... you see lots of examples on TMC where owners have been shocked by the realities of EV driving.
And the reality is, it doesn't really matter.
This article and its aftermath isn't going to damage Tesla, or EVs. But it's a reminder to EV proponents and the industry regarding how EVs are positioned and marketed. Broder had a story only because the Model S- enabled by the SC network, has been promoted for its ability to do road trips. For now, that remains a counterproductive approach. Yes, experienced EV drivers (some of whom are also writers) could and have made similar - and even longer - trips with sufficient planning. But that's not what "road trip" conjures in the average American's mind; culturally, we think "Vegas on a moment's notice".
With all due respect, I disagree. I know you are not in favour of EV road trips, but they have their place. Many people I talk to have their interest piqued by the very fact that it is possible at all, regardless of what their daily driving routine is like. The EV movement needs its halo cars and demonstrations thereof. It's no different to the 1000 mile road rallies of yesteryear when most people were not taking cars beyond city limits - it still sold cars on their perceived reliability.
When I took a Roadster out by myself for the first time, my previous experience was twice round the block. My first drive was 175 miles. In fact Rachel Konrad was a bit nervous about letting me take it, but I convinced her I knew what to do to maximise range should it be needed.
Fast forward 9 months and no further EV driving, and I planned the 450 mile drive to beat the BBC with an afternoon's notice, while at a meeting in another country. I'd heard a rumour that there was a private HPC at Nottingham (there were 0 public ones at the time) so I asked another owner if he could confirm that and we were off. Once we knew the zip code it was just a case of joining 4 dots. A few days later, I was confident to attempt a 155 mile drive home through freezing fog with 135 miles ideal range, as the restaurant we were charging at wanted to lock up, it was getting late and we were getting bored anyway.
In this day of sat-navs and realtime status updates, planning this stuff should be no more difficult than punching in the destination and having the car routing you via available charging points. It should know gradients, weather and if points have power or are in use.
Having said that, why do I drive an Ampera? Because there is no charging point on my most common non-commute route. If the Wincanton CHAdeMO was available 24/7 I'd probably be a Leaf driver. As it is, the Ampera has proven its worth by being immune to broken charge points and the effects of cold weather.
(And yes, they also need to address whatever overnight range loss occurred, be more forthcoming about effects of climate, etc.)
This they do need to address. I am well aware of the effects of temperature on batteries and of the need to actively heat them. That's why we put them away from the walls of satellites. Nevertheless, if the overnight loss reported is true, I am genuinely surprised by the degree of loss here and would not have expected it myself. People seem to be forgetting that he supposedly parked with twice the range to get back to the supercharger - 65 miles lost is over 21 kWh or around 1.8 kW constant load for a 12 hour overnight stop. That's more than the power level I charge at in my garage!
It is not always possible to just plug in. There are 101 reasons why this might not be possible and Tesla needs to address this parasitic load (just as they had to with the Roadster). Besides, it's not green.
