The efficiency and power curves are much broader for EVs than ICEs. The RWD Tesla Model 3 is one of the more efficient EVs on the market altogether even with a

The efficiency and power curves are much broader for EVs than ICEs. The RWD Tesla Model 3 is one of the more efficient EVs on the market altogether even with a single motor and single speed. But it suffers in acceleration compared to dual motor models which use a less efficient (but higher low-speed torque) induction motor with a shorter gear ratio on the front axle to boost traction and acceleration. Think of it this way, if the Taycan were to drop one of its gears they would drop the low gear, not the high gear. The car would still accelerate better than most midrange ICE cars and still do fine on the highway. It just wouldn't have the off-the-line punch you expect from a high end performance EV. If you chop the low gears out of an ICE transmission you either just stall or have extremely poor acceleration at low speeds. So yes gearing can help in an EV if you want high performance over a large range of speeds, but for a city or highway commuter car, even chasing sportier characteristics, single speed (per axle) is fine. If you want two ratios for overlapping performance you can just change the fixed reduction ratio on one of the axles. The Taycan is specifically targeting a range of performance beyond what you'll use daily on US public roads.