The TRUTH About Tesla's Range | What To Know Before You Buy

Breaking down EV ranges, and why smart range is always better than dumb range when achieving more miles per kilowatt hour.

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[NaughtyGoatFarm]

Another consideration I don't hear people discussing, is buying a longer range than you need to hedge against degredation. So you might not neex x range now but atleast once the initial degredation has occurred you have enough left to still be usable.

[martinzenor]

I’ve owned a model Y long range for a month. I am finding real world range between 75% and 80% of Tesla’s claimed 330 mile range, even when driving conservatively in moderate temperatures. This has been my biggest disappointment with the car.

[DoggoWillink]

Big essay:

One thing I’d like to point out for prospective buyers is that you can’t really go forward based on the “miles” the car is rated for. You won’t actually get that mileage, and a lot of factors influence it (all of the factors, it turns out). Once you have a Tesla, you’ll almost certainly have it set for percentage rather than mileage (the battery display). Example: I drive 76-80 miles daily for work, and I use closer to 100 miles (displayed miles that is). So mileage isn’t necessarily a helpful unit beyond what percentage tells you.

I think most people realize this, that the mileage varies based on many factors, but the other thing is this: keep in mind that for a Dual Motor model (Model 3 in my case), you only will be charging to 90%. So basically you charge to 90%, and then you want to charge before you hit 20% as it’s better for the battery life.

So, while this doesn’t change my love of the car so far, you don’t get the range that you’re probably planning things based on. You really do need a way to charge it regularly.

I live in an apartment, so I charge with a 240v outlet at work. I end up plugging it in everyday, driving 76-80 miles. It takes me about 13-16% to make the one way trip (Northeast US, cold weather in Feb-March), so I use about 30% of battery per day. Could I charge it every other day? Yes, I definitely could. I just prefer to plug it in everyday if I can.

One thing I know from experience is that if your electricity provider is overcharging you, you can complain to the right institution and overnight your bill will be heavily reduced (funny how that works, but try it). At my apartment I complained to a state institution and got my bill reduced heavily, just need to do it at work now.

Huge essay aside, I guess my point is that you won’t get as much range as you think if you’re just operating based on concrete numbers from the Tesla site. It’s not that simple. But, if you can charge at home or while working, you’ll be good to go.

[dennisolsen]

Go Ryan!!
My 330 mile Long Range Model Y has never gone near 330 miles. At Highway speeds, in winter temperatures, the true range is 180 miles at 7 degrees, and 220 miles at 50 degrees. I figure we need a 400 mile advertised range to be sure we get at least 250 miles of real-world range.
We love Tesla. Wife has Model 3. Daughter has Model S. We buy Tesla stock to fund retirement.

[fr]

Good video. I have 2 Teslas that we've been driving for about 3 years now. A 3 and a Y. We have not had range issues locally or work commute or long trips (12hr each way) across 6 states. Winter time you will lose range significantly if heater is on with very high heating and all heated seats and all electronics etc. While driving over 75mph. Simply controlling heater on/off well, reducing to 60mph and no sudden launches and battery range loss in winter is <10% compared to 40% to 50% otherwise.
Helps on long trips. But EVs work very well for daily commutes of ~100mi round trip to work. Just charge at home nightly.

[drjayhk]

I totally agree. Been using Model Y AWD with induction wheels for the last 2 months. EPA 318 miles, but with 90% recommend charge, it gives around 280 miles. On a long drive, moderate temp, and 70 mile average speed, I only get close to 200 miles!!

[Yachtzeee]

Last week on my road trip through Florida. I achieved 310 miles on my 21 Model 3 Performance on 18 inch wheels. I set autopilot to 60-65mph and just chilled in the right lane. I skipped 1 or 2 s/c. Never tried this but was super impressed. I tend to blast everywhere.

[TheMoegig]

Very interesting. Got my Model 3 exactly a year ago and have put 22, 000 miles of local and road trips. Charge overnight with just 110. Have concluded that you need to drive in excess of 60 miles per day to warrant higher home charging. Enjoy your commentary.

[ezpoppy]

Glad you put in some real world info about charging, Ryan! Much better than the dizzying numbers you used a few days ago.

Shortly, I’ll be driving my 2021 Model 3 SR+ from Sacramento to Portland OR. Both the car and ABRP app say 10 hrs driving ~600 miles, and one hour charging over four stops. In 10 hours of driving, I will absolutely NEED four stops! And at 15-20 minutes each stop, just enough time to pop in, use the facilities, grab a snack, walk around to stretch, and get back in and go. Just like my previous trips from Sacramento to San Diego. Painless.

Oh. And cheap. ABRP says about $32 each way for charging costs. If you’re driving ICE, you can do your own math for your mpg. For my former vehicle, at 22mpg, the cost one way is about $120.00 at $4.50/gallon.

Cheap. And simple. And easy.

[frankrizzo]

We have had our Model 3 extended range for about one year with 14K on the car. We bought it for everyday driving around town, it does that very well and is fun to drive. We have made several trips over 1200 miles cross country. NEVER had an issue with RANGE or going dark. Just let the on board mapping system route your trip and you have no problem. We used Superchargers and never had a problem. We have a Type II charger at home and it works. We plug the car in every night and charge to %80, never had a problem with range. Have not bought gas for over 15 months, based upon what my utility is telling me, we saved about $65.00 a month using electric vs Gas! Great car and we ordered a new Model Y to be delivered in June 2022!

[gordon]

I watch many Tesla YouTube presentations, but Ryan always delivers the most/best info. He's an example of "high efficiency ".

[omarastacio]

Thank you for a another great video. However RANGE is a factor for many other reasons. How you drive & Weather (wind & temps) being big factors. Weather in the NE is a huge factor for me. It is well known that all EVs get less range in lower temps. So a 250 mile range car is not the same if you only get 175 miles of range or less in the winter. If I follow the "charge only to 80%" then my range falls to 140miles in the winter or risk battery degradation. I drive 60 miles one way to work, therefore I would then get range anxiety every day especially as the vehicle ages. So more range could mean less stress for some drivers.

[keithkageff]

My issue is on a 305 mile trip I take, the Tesla takes an extra 2 hrs for me. Because where my destination is, the closest supercharger is 1 hr away and I am only able to charge at 120v 15a max when I’m at my destination. So I end up having to charge all the way up at that last supercharger before finishing the trip. They have been saying since 2017 (when i got my model S) that a supercharger is “Coming soon” (15 minutes away)but it still has not been built. On the way home it is much better because I can arrive at my house empty and just plug in. I still love my Tesla and 90% of the time I’m commuting to and from work. Another great vid, thanks!

[douglangemeier]

Excellent video Ryan! One of the best I’ve seen so far from any YouTube Thanks for the thorough breakdown and comparisons
Doug

[duerf]

Another thing is charging limit. With NCA batteries you only want to charge up to 90% and never let it drop below 20% for daily commute, so most of the time you only get 70% of the advertised range.

[InvestBetter.]

I think the disconnect is assuming most people have a home and garage to charge an EV, which is may not be the case. Probably less than half EV intenders own their own home with a garage. Virtually all people in a large major city do not own a building, with a garage, in town.

[KomarBrolan]

Also cold weather knocks quite a bit off the range. I live in Minnesota and I lose 20-30% in cold weather and 40-50% in temperatures well below zero F. Tesla Model Y long range.

[hikeskool]

So these things are still luxury items? Is that the conclusion? Thanks hope this helps have a Blessed weekend 👌

[mininut]

The truth? A real Tesla Model Y owner here. We purchased our Y last March and put on 16k trouble free miles. We consistently get 15% less range than the official EPA rating. Any highway driving over 55mph will suck up electrons.

[sjay]

I have the model 3 in Australia. It is supposed to get 460km on a charge. In tests without the air-conditioning, the most I will get is 360km, 224 miles. In this test I managed around 117w/km. Otherwise the usage would be 153w/km. This gives the model 3 after 2 years a practical range of 171 miles or 275km. 🧐🤔