Skip to main content

Tesla will NOT have a 600 miles range vehicle in two years

Tesla-Wall-ChargerIf you have been following news about Tesla Motors lately you know that the company is launching the Model X today, but you might have also heard that they will launch a “600+ miles vehicle” in about 2 years. Several publications have been publishing articles with a variation of the following headline: “Elon Musk says Tesla will have a 600 miles vehicle by 2017“.

These headlines, to no fault of Musk, are due to either a severe lack of knowledge about electric vehicle range or a malicious click-baiting attempt.

600 miles range on a single charge would be close to a 100% increase in range based on Tesla’s current advertised EPA-rated range. Here are the ranges advertised on Tesla’s website for US-based customers:Yc8YG65The option with the most range is advertised at ~286 miles (460 km) with the 90 kWh battery upgrade.

But the publications based their articles on comments Musk made in Europe, Denmark to be precise, so maybe the range is based on the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC), which is notoriously more relaxed and allows for a longer advertised range. Though the practical range is more often than not closer to the EPA-rated range than NEDC’s.

Let’s take a look at the ranges advertised for customers based in Denmark:FY5Yg2c

In Europe, the most advertised range on a single charge is ~348 miles (560 km). Again, the EPA-rated range should be closer to the real practical range, but still Tesla would need some major improvements in just 2 years to achieve a 600+ miles advertised or practical range.

So what did Musk say exactly?

During an interview with Danish newspaper Borsen last week, Musk answered the following question:

“When will we break the thousand kilometer range mark for an electric car?”

Here’s Musk answers:

As you can see, since the interviewer asked about breaking the “mark”, Musk approached the question from a record-breaking standpoint. The CEO then guessed the 1,000 km mark could be achieved in “a year or two”.

But these records are achieved through a practice called “hypermiling”, which consist of maximizing the energetic potential of a vehicle to travel the longest distances possible. To do so, “hypermilers” will empty the vehicle of any superfluous weight and, like Musk explicitly said, they have to drive at low-speed where the vehicle is most efficient.

This is completely impractical and only a few drivers do it for the sole purpose of holding a record. No company would ever advertise the range of any vehicle based on a range achieved through hypermiling.

Most publications left out this important part, which makes their articles very misleading. In the same conversation, Musk clearly stated that he expects the range of electric cars to improve by about “5 to 10% per year.

Based on Tesla’s current longest advertised range, it would mean at best a ~350 miles range on a single charge in 2017.

If you want more Tesla Motors and electric vehicle news, make sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ to get our latest articles.

Recent articles about Tesla Motors:

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Stay up to date with the latest content by subscribing to Electrek on Google News. You’re reading Electrek— experts who break news about Tesla, electric vehicles, and green energy, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow Electrek on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our YouTube channel for the latest reviews.

Comments

  1. Constance - 8 years ago

    So it will have 1000km range, under a given circumstance

    “But these records are achieved through a practice called “hypermiling”, which consist of maximizing the energetic potential of a vehicle to travel the longest distances possible. To do so, “hypermilers” will empty the vehicle of any superfluous weight and, like Musk explicitly said, they have to drive at low-speed where the vehicle is most efficient.”

    • Fred Lambert - 8 years ago

      yeah the last record the guy even had to drive downhill for x% of the trip to make the 800 km mark. Again, it’s a useless way to calculate range. It’s just a competition like anything else, but saying that “Elon Musk said Tesla will have a 1000 km range car in 2 years” from these comments is just plain misleading.

  2. SL - 8 years ago

    I currently drive a Range Rover Evoque, in Australia. Within a year I have noticed quite a few Tesla charging station popping up. I’m waiting for an electric SUV (as I’m never going back to sedan for numerous reasons).

    From the feel of the market here, and given the wast distances in Australia an ideal range of 600kms to 700kms with full load, air-conditioning in summer and night driving, will be most desired.

    I’ll will certainly change to EV in the next 3 to 4 years if I tik all the above desired.

Author

Avatar for Fred Lambert Fred Lambert

Fred is the Editor in Chief and Main Writer at Electrek.

You can send tips on Twitter (DMs open) or via email: fred@9to5mac.com

Through Zalkon.com, you can check out Fred’s portfolio and get monthly green stock investment ideas.