You can’t get as far as stated so far with one battery charge in a Tesla. The US electric car manufacturer is correcting the information on the range of its vehicles in the USA downwards.
Tesla has lowered range information for its entire range of cars. The e-car pioneer is responding to new regulations from the US authorities, according to the Reuters news agency. These were apparently too optimistic for the Tesla models. Reuters compared Tesla’s current information with previous information. The company has not yet given any comment.
News of the range change even put pressure on the company’s stock price on the New York Stock Exchange. Tesla shares lost 2.3 percent on the Nasdaq technology exchange.
Minor and major corrections
With the changes, Tesla is apparently complying with the new regulations of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for 2024, which were already adopted in 2022. They stipulate that the expected range of electric cars is specified according to their basic setting in which the vehicle is running when switched on. If there is no such “default” mode, an average must be formed between the best and worst case.
The range changes, which also affect all other US manufacturers, vary in severity for the Tesla models. For the Model X Plaid, the estimated range was reduced from 333 miles (almost 536 kilometers) to 326 miles. For the Model S Plaid, on the other hand, the value given by Tesla fell from 396 to 359 miles.
According to the trade magazine Edmunds, the changes are an important step for Tesla customers: “All eight Tesla vehicles we tested did not meet the EPA estimates,” said editor-in-chief Alistair Weaver about the previous standard.
Promises of range that are too rosy
In the USA, “range anxiety” is an important criterion for or against buying a vehicle due to the large distances in the country. According to Reuters, Tesla had in the past deliberately shown drivers “rosy” distance forecasts for marketing reasons. In addition, a special “diversion team” was secretly formed in 2022 to prevent customers with range complaints from making a maintenance appointment.
The electric car pioneer is currently under competitive pressure in several respects. The Chinese competitor BYD has now established itself as the world’s largest manufacturer of electric vehicles.
Competition in the battery market
In addition, the development of new battery technologies that are cheaper and more durable and at the same time promise a greater range than conventional lithium-ion batteries continues. These include new sodium-ion batteries, whose production is led by the Chinese manufacturer CATL.
Solid-state batteries are also considered promising. Here again, the company Quantumscape, in which Volkswagen has a stake, recently reported a breakthrough.