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

Whipping a dead horse

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
I think it's a little disingenuous to say "Well, you need to drive 55 mph with your air turned off".

The rated range is a number that is determined by the government. It is not disingenuous at all.

The gas car works the same way. Your "range", which is exactly the same as your fuel efficiency multiplied by the number of gallons in your tank, is not going to be had with the A/C on max driving 65-75 mph.

The U.S. posted speed limit is 55 mph on the highway for much of the country, and so that's probably where that comes from.
 
Thank you everyone---

John in Audubon PA, your analogies are spot on. And let me tell you the things I love about this car. I love the fact that I have not been in a gas station in 3 months. I love just plugging it in and forgetting about it (the car does all the work). I love the way it stays in a lane like it's riding on rails when the autopilot is engaged. I love the software updates---it really is like getting a new car every now and then (not unlike getting a new operating system with a different interface on your computer).

I love its insane acceleration (NOTE TO EVERYONE---I DON"T DO THIS VERY OFTEN AND NO, THAT'S NOT MY MILEAGE PROBLEM)

I don't like the audio system. I think it's absurd and WAY inferior to Apple CarPlay. But that's just me. Lots of people on these forums have made clear they--ahem--disagree.

I think it's a crazy good looking car. And every single person I have taken for a ride or shown it to has said, "Man, I love this car!"

And so do I.

Now---to JJ in San Diego. First of all, you live in paradise and I'm jealous. Maybe my favorite city in America. Your note gave me the greatest comfort I can describe. Of all the replies I have received anywhere, this was so helpful:

"If you want a range, if you drive 65 MPH and take a trip where you don't stop, you will likely get between 200-230 miles. Extrapolating it out from other distances is an exercise in frustration, as evidenced by your situation."

Unbelievably helpful! I do think I've got some electricity leaking out somewhere---but I do get much better mileage on longer drives---so that is encouraging. And by the way, I love the 19" wheels, so I'm probably not going to make that change. I'm willing to give up a little bit in that regard.

I truly appreciate your kind words, and your efforts to educate me. As is obvious, I need all the help I can get.

Many thanks,
phil
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: jjrandorin
image.jpg
From my findings. In order to get rated range you must start at 98-100%, get on the road for one long continuous stretch and set your cruise to approximately 90km/h (or 55mph)

Here’s my P3D+ on 20”/43psi.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: Arctic_White
I hate that whenever someone complains about the range they’re getting, there’s a chorus of people yelling “you have range anxiety, get over it.”
There’s a big difference between range anxiety, and not getting the mileage you were expecting when you bought the car.

That's kind of my thinking too. I totally get being a Tesla fan. I'M a Tesla fan---it's the reason I bought the car. But we can still say, "Hey wait a minute---this isn't quite what we were expecting..."

It doesn't mean the car isn't incredible---and it doesn't mean I'm not on board. It just means I'm trying to get my arms around what I can truly expect.

Thank you for your kind words!
 
The long trip versus many short trips is something that is not apparent to anyone coming into it for the first time. If you get in the car and drive 4 or 5 miles and park, and then some hours later, you get back in it, and you drive 4 or 5 miles back home and park. And you do that several times over the course of a few days without plugging in...
You are going to be stressing at how horrific your range looks and have this kind of question. That initial couple of miles usually has a relatively huge amount of startup energy with some form of heating or cooling of the battery and cabin throughout most of the year. It will settle down, though, on longer drives. It's sort of a self-solving problem in that way. This extra energy loss looks bad on the short trips, but the short trips aren't an issue for range. When you need the range, it won't have these sustained larger losses, so it's fine.
 
  • Helpful
Reactions: PhilRogers
To achieve the rated range you need to average 221 Wh/m. I am going to round numbers below to make the math simpler.

In the picture you posted, it shows your Wh/m at 238. This is about 10% higher than the Wh/m you would need to average to get a range of 240 miles. 10% of 240 miles is 24 miles, so consuming 238Wh/m would net you 216 total miles provided you went from 100% charge to 0% charge. Gettin* 216 miles doesn’t mean your battery degraded, just that you consume at a higher than average rate.

So to stretch your range you need to lower your average Wh/m.