Tesla has revised down its electric car range estimates as U.S. regulators prepare new rules to ensure automakers accurately present their cars’ performance in real-world driving conditions, Reuters reports.
Photo by Masini Tesla: Shutterstock
The Elon Musk-led company is known for overestimating the range of its cars, which has sparked numerous complaints from customers over the years.
An extensive investigation published by Reuters last summer revealed that, about a decade ago, Tesla engineers tampered with the algorithm that controls the cars’ on-board display of how much range remained before drivers had to stop to recharge. drums.
The same investigation also found that the electric car maker created a secret team in 2022 to deceive thousands of customers about range claims of the Tesla cars they purchased.
Many motorists consider range to be the “Achilles’ heel” of electric cars
Tesla revealed in an October financial statement that US federal investigators have subpoenaed it to provide them with information about the autonomy of vehicles it makes.
Increasing range is the main selling point of Tesla and other electric car makers in the United States, where drivers cite the lack of adequate infrastructure for charging batteries as the main reason they continue to prefer traditional cars .
Reuters has now discovered that Tesla’s official website shows lower range estimates for various variants of the X, S and Y, as well as for 3 other cars produced by the company.
Although it is not entirely clear when Tesla made this change, Reuters confirmed it by comparing the estimates published on the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website, which has not yet updated them. Automakers are required by U.S. law to submit these estimates to the EPA.
Tesla has revised its range estimates after new regulations went into effect in the United States
For example, Tesla’s website now says the Long Range version of its Model Y has a range of 310 miles (499 kilometers), while the EPA website says it has a range of 330 miles (531 kilometers ).
For the Performance variant of the Model Y, a crossover SUV, the estimated range has been reduced from 303 miles (487 kilometers) to 285 miles (458 kilometers).
Reuters notes that it has not been able to determine whether Tesla has changed its range estimates for each variant of each car model it produces.
The new rules established by the EPA force car manufacturers to test the range and effectiveness of their electric vehicles in the “default” driving mode, the one used by the car when the driver starts the engine. Many electric car models, including Tesla’s, have a series of driving programs to maximize performance.
If an electric car doesn’t have a “default” or standard driving schedule, EPA regulations require automakers to test cars in their best and worst efficiency conditions and then average them.
These rules were outlined by the EPA in a letter sent in July 2022 to automakers to inform them of the new regulations it was preparing. They came into force earlier this year.
2024-01-09 17:04:00
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