Tesla’s Efficiency Edge Speaks Volumes For Its Engineering Lead

[TMC Staff]

Legacy automakers struggle to catch up with Tesla’s vehicle efficiency. Tesla is aware that new all-electric cars coming, but notes in its 3rd quarter report that more than 15 years of battery pack and powertrain development give it an edge over established carmakers, most of which engaged in EVs significantly later. Tesla’s advantage could be worth...
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[GSP]

Tesla has done a great job of reducing aero drag and have terrific looking designs at the same time.

Now, if they would just crack down on the "vampire drain." My Model 3 loses about 4.5 miles per day when not plugged in. This is not efficient. Tesla is not even close to any other EV, all of which have negligible losses.

GSP

 

[tjkessler]

Interesting on my model 3 AWD I lose about 1 mile at home overnight and 1 mile at work during the day.
It seems to have improved with V9

 

[Electric Denny]

I solved my phantom drain problems by eliminating the use of third party apps and online software that checks on the vehicle too frequently, thus awakening its systems each time, thus draining the battery. Just use the Tesla app and you'll be fine. I now average about 1 mile/day of loss. However, when I was using TeslaFi.com, RemoteS, Stats, etc...I was losing 5-8 miles/day.


2018 Model S100D owner
AP2.5

 

[Joel 3]

One thing on the range front too, is we aren't always comparing apples with apple in terms of vehicle size. As Elon mentioned, Tesla produces 50% of the world's battery capacity, produce cells at a lower price than the competition, and have a more efficient power train design.

Looking at the cargo size of the vehicles, you really see how well they have designed their vehicles, A significant market advantage.

(The mid range 3 has similar miles/kwh numbers. )

 

[JasonH81]

It's weird, they say the body design of the Model 3 isn't good, but it's the safest car available on the planet by all crash metrics. I would think that's another glowing point towards the engineering of the vehicle; not just the powertrain and battery.

 

[StellarRat]

Tesla has done a great job of reducing aero drag and have terrific looking designs at the same time.

Now, if they would just crack down on the "vampire drain." My Model 3 loses about 4.5 miles per day when not plugged in. This is not efficient. Tesla is not even close to any other EV, all of which have negligible losses.

GSP

Your car is never truly "off". Some power is always in use for checking itself, linking to your wi-fi and the Tesla network, etc..and keeping the battery happy. Also, there is a natural loss of power in any Li battery even with there is no load on it. If don't believe me, charge your cell phone to a certain level then shut it off all the way and let it sit for a few days. When you turn it back on there will be less charge available. That's the nature of the beast.

 

[StellarRat]

One thing on the range front too, is we aren't always comparing apples with apple in terms of vehicle size. As Elon mentioned, Tesla produces 50% of the world's battery capacity, produce cells at a lower price than the competition, and have a more efficient power train design.

Looking at the cargo size of the vehicles, you really see how well they have designed their vehicles, A significant market advantage.

View attachment 347335
(The mid range 3 has similar miles/kwh numbers. )

I wouldn't expect the eTron to be very efficient. It's a box moving through the wind from the pictures I've seen.

 

[Pluto]

I turned on Energy Saver mode because I moved to an apartment and it makes a world of difference in vampire drain. At this point, I've kept it on for probably a month. If you unlock your vehicle manually when approaching from far enough away, the issue of waiting for the MCU to start up is drastically improved. Then again I also use PIN to drive and put my seatbelt on before attempting to start it, so that buys me additional time where others might have to wait.

 

[woodisgood]

It's weird, they say the body design of the Model 3 isn't good, but it's the safest car available on the planet by all crash metrics. I would think that's another glowing point towards the engineering of the vehicle; not just the powertrain and battery.

If you're talking about Munro & Associates saying the body design isn't good, what they're referring to is that it's not designed well for manufacturing efficiency/cost. It's hard to put together, uses a lot of different fasteners, has too many parts, etc. Not that it's not safe or anything else negative, just that as designed it's difficult to produce quickly and cheaply.