4 ms·

Tesla Model 3 actually has 334 miles of range according to EPA data

22 points by fmihaila 9y ago

kardos 9y ago
Somewhat relevant question: how do you handle a Tesla if you run it out of charge? Eg, in comparison to a gas burner which can be be partly refilled with a jerry can. Are there portable battery packs with enough capacity to partly recharge the car? Or do you just have to get it towed?
- drzaiusapelord 9y ago
  The cars get towed. I'm a little surprised you can't partly charge a Tesla with another Tesla with a specialized cable. That would seem to help in a lot of situations to "top off" enough to get to a charging station. I guess the hardware to do this would be cost ineffective considering how rare this would be. If it raised the cost by a few few hundred per car then its probably not worth it.
- atonse 9y ago
  I believe you get it towed. There are random blog posts online of owners where they needed a tow because the car was a complete brick. I doubt this has changed.
- ams6110 9y ago
  Presumably, tow trucks will eventually be equipped with generators or battery packs/supercapacitors that can dump 50 miles or so of charge into a stranded EV. But it will be a while. For now, you need to call for a tow. Maybe the tow truck can just pull you along for a while until the regenerative system gets some juice back in the batteries? But I thought I read that EVs had to be towed on a flatbed not on their wheels.
- tlb 9y ago
  It hasn't happened to me in 4 years of owning one, because it knows how much range is left and how far to the nearest charger, so you have to willfully ignore its warnings in order to run out. A couple times after a long trip I chose to turn off the air conditioner and drive a little slower to make it home instead of stopping. (My personality is such that when I owned a gasoline car I ended up doing the jerry can walk-of-shame every year or so.) If you do run out, getting it towed to the nearest charge station is the cleanest solution.
- robterrell 9y ago
  You call AAA like always: http://newsroom.aaa.com/2011/07/ev-charging-statio/ http://newsroom.aaa.com/2011/07/ev-charging-statio/ https://electrek.co/2016/09/06/aaa-ev-emergency-charging-truck/ https://electrek.co/2016/09/06/aaa-ev-emergency-charging-tru... (Never used it, not a member anymore, but I do remember reading about it.)
Shivetya 9y ago
Interesting news that they have an 80kwh battery in there, I thought it was suspected to be 70 or 75? I find it much more interesting to see how the EPA is calculating range ratings. So we are not going to have to wait for early adopters who have one to see how well it performs in everyday usage. good for Tesla aiming low on the number, fully understand why. will still gain some good will as quite a few people really don't understand how much range you can lose when it gets cold and how severe it gets when it gets really cold. I wonder how many years I will need to wait for a new convertible, something built on the same chassis as the III would be ideal
- craftyguy 9y ago
  Why would you lose range when it gets cold? I thought that temperature would have the opposite effect on battery performance, where higher temperatures decrease efficiency.
  - kardos 9y ago
    Because you'll probably be running the heating -- we're talking Canadian cold here ;-)
  - mlonkibjuyhv 9y ago
    A cold battery has less available charge, and a hot battery has less available cycles.
    - brianwawok 9y ago
      I believe the battery can warm itself up which changes the math a bit.
  - et-al 9y ago
    Like any other chemical reaction, batteries have an optimal temperature range, and extreme cold will slow down the reactions that transfer electrons. At the same time, cold temperatures should help slow down self-discharge.
- 9y ago
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
MarkCole 9y ago
Like some other people mentioned I suspect that Tesla is going the "Under Promise, Over Deliver" route. It's likely that in some cases the Model 3 will have a lower range. Whether thats due to the environment/usage/manufacturing inconsistencies remains to be seen. I'd rather my customers be pleasantly surprised that my car can go further than promised than angry because it can't go anywhere near where it was promised.

22 points by fmihaila 9y ago

Somewhat relevant question: how do you handle a Tesla if you run it out of charge? Eg, in comparison to a gas burner which can be be partly refilled with a jerry can. Are there portable battery packs with enough capacity to partly recharge the car? Or do you just have to get it towed?

drzaiusapelord 9y ago
The cars get towed. I'm a little surprised you can't partly charge a Tesla with another Tesla with a specialized cable. That would seem to help in a lot of situations to "top off" enough to get to a charging station. I guess the hardware to do this would be cost ineffective considering how rare this would be. If it raised the cost by a few few hundred per car then its probably not worth it.
atonse 9y ago
I believe you get it towed. There are random blog posts online of owners where they needed a tow because the car was a complete brick. I doubt this has changed.
ams6110 9y ago
Presumably, tow trucks will eventually be equipped with generators or battery packs/supercapacitors that can dump 50 miles or so of charge into a stranded EV. But it will be a while. For now, you need to call for a tow. Maybe the tow truck can just pull you along for a while until the regenerative system gets some juice back in the batteries? But I thought I read that EVs had to be towed on a flatbed not on their wheels.
tlb 9y ago
It hasn't happened to me in 4 years of owning one, because it knows how much range is left and how far to the nearest charger, so you have to willfully ignore its warnings in order to run out. A couple times after a long trip I chose to turn off the air conditioner and drive a little slower to make it home instead of stopping. (My personality is such that when I owned a gasoline car I ended up doing the jerry can walk-of-shame every year or so.) If you do run out, getting it towed to the nearest charge station is the cleanest solution.
robterrell 9y ago
You call AAA like always: http://newsroom.aaa.com/2011/07/ev-charging-statio/ http://newsroom.aaa.com/2011/07/ev-charging-statio/ https://electrek.co/2016/09/06/aaa-ev-emergency-charging-truck/ https://electrek.co/2016/09/06/aaa-ev-emergency-charging-tru... (Never used it, not a member anymore, but I do remember reading about it.)

Shivetya 9y ago

Interesting news that they have an 80kwh battery in there, I thought it was suspected to be 70 or 75? I find it much more interesting to see how the EPA is calculating range ratings. So we are not going to have to wait for early adopters who have one to see how well it performs in everyday usage. good for Tesla aiming low on the number, fully understand why. will still gain some good will as quite a few people really don't understand how much range you can lose when it gets cold and how severe it gets when it gets really cold. I wonder how many years I will need to wait for a new convertible, something built on the same chassis as the III would be ideal

craftyguy 9y ago
Why would you lose range when it gets cold? I thought that temperature would have the opposite effect on battery performance, where higher temperatures decrease efficiency.
- kardos 9y ago
  Because you'll probably be running the heating -- we're talking Canadian cold here ;-)
- mlonkibjuyhv 9y ago
  A cold battery has less available charge, and a hot battery has less available cycles.
  - brianwawok 9y ago
    I believe the battery can warm itself up which changes the math a bit.
- et-al 9y ago
  Like any other chemical reaction, batteries have an optimal temperature range, and extreme cold will slow down the reactions that transfer electrons. At the same time, cold temperatures should help slow down self-discharge.
9y ago

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

MarkCole 9y ago

Like some other people mentioned I suspect that Tesla is going the "Under Promise, Over Deliver" route. It's likely that in some cases the Model 3 will have a lower range. Whether thats due to the environment/usage/manufacturing inconsistencies remains to be seen. I'd rather my customers be pleasantly surprised that my car can go further than promised than angry because it can't go anywhere near where it was promised.