4 ms·

Most evidence shows that for Tesla, they end up overestimating the EPA range, not being conservative.

• twblalock 6y ago
  There are some reviews of the Porsche Taycan where the car lost most of its range very quickly when the driver was accelerating quickly. The Tesla Model S is one of the fastest-accelerating cars available at any price. If you drive it like a normal person and obey the speed limit (approximately), you will get close to the EPA rating depending on weather etc. If you actually use all the power it has (and you manage not to get pulled over), you will have lower range and you'll need to buy new tires every 6 months.
  • xkjkls 6y ago
    Yes, this is why they have these tests attempt to do this in an apples to apples fashion, and the most scientific of these tests seem to show Tesla overestimates their EV range the most of any automaker.
    • kjksf 6y ago
      Just to be clear: EPA tests the cars and calculates the range, not Tesla (or any other car maker). Therefore Tesla cannot "overestimate" EPA range. If you think that EPA range is not accurate, then you can blame EPA. And since you bring science, who are "they" and in what way their tests are more scientific that EPA's tests?
      • reitzensteinm 6y ago
        "Manufacturers test their own vehicles—usually pre-production prototypes—and report the results to EPA. EPA reviews the results and confirms about 15%–20% of them through their own tests at the National Vehicles and Fuel Emissions Laboratory.[6]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_car_EPA_fuel_economy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_car_EPA_fuel_economy
        • natch 6y ago
          Quoting Wikipedia as evidence, nice. Actually in the recent Model S test prior to this one, Tesla discovered through examination of the data logs of the car that the EPA had carelessly left the key in the car all night while it was parked during testing that spanned multiple days, leading to an artificially low number as the car was unable to sleep at the level it normally should be able to when parked. This whole episode happened because the EPA was doing the testing… I don't know where that leaves your anecdote. It's just false, I think. I love Wikipedia and even have a monthly donation to them, but your link is not reflecting what happened with Tesla here.
          • reitzensteinm 6y ago
            OK, fair point. Allow me to quote from the EPA directly. [1] "Manufacturers test their own vehicles—usually pre-production prototypes—and report the results to EPA. EPA reviews the results and confirms about 15%–20% of them through their own tests at the National Vehicles and Fuel Emissions Laboratory." Wait a minute... [1] https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/how_tested.shtml https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/how_tested.shtml
          • reitzensteinm 6y ago
            And I'm not sure how an indication that a Tesla has been tested (and retested) invalidates a claim that 15-20% of all cars are tested. There have been dozens of Tesla models over the years, one would expect at least a handful to have been verified. Which by the way would have totally sufficed to invalidate the original argument; the ranges are largely self reported, but they do get checked. The process ensures that the ratings broadly reflect EPA's testing methodology, otherwise you'd see the cars that do get tested having abnormally low range at best, and fines and other action taken by the agency at worst. A Wikipedia link might be a crappy form of "proof", but as near as I can tell the parent post just made up how he or she thought the process worked. If someone says Caesar lived in the 9th century, a link to the relevant page actually is a valid response. If that person comes back with some source material that says otherwise, then you'll need to try harder.
• natch 6y ago
  Depends on the model. For Model 3, they generally sandbag (underestimate). For some versions of Model S, they have inflated in the past. For this version, I don't think we outside of Tesla know yet. They have plausible reasons to go either way. YMMV.