I’m assuming this could be why Tesla’s are so cheap compared with similar electric cars.
Let’s take the model y LR and the Kia Ev9 Earth.
The model y LR has a range of 533km with a 75kwh battery
The ev9 earth has a range of 512km with a 99.8kwh battery.
That’s 14.8kwh more than the Tesla and 21km LESS range than the Tesla.
Is Tesla’s cars just more efficient? And by that much??
There’s no way Tesla can be that much more efficient with it’s motor, aerodynamics and electronics. (What am I missing?)
Other brands should be able to do somewhat the same. An electric motor isn’t a complex machine and aerodynamics can be easily improved upon. Same for electronics.
One of the reasons I bought my Model 3 SR+ (apart from being one of the safest cars on the road) was because of its kWH/mile efficiency was so much better than it’s competitors - that meant maximising my savings on energy compared to fuel running costs.
Tesla Leads in Energy Efficiency by 10 to 30% Nov 24, 2019
https://medium.com/swlh/tesla-leads-in-energy-efficiency-by-10-to-30-e8e0a8bc1548
TESLA and the Koreans are very efficient with their cars, as people above have pointed out, a better comparison would be the X with the EV9 or the Y with the EV6.
But once you go outside TESLA and the Korean brands, the efficiency falls off very fast.
It’s a combination of lots of small optimizations that allows Tesla to have such good efficiency.
Most of all they don’t compromise on aerodynamics. However it’s also tiny things like scavenging heat from everywhere in the car to minimize heating needs for interior and battery temperature control (they scavenge heat off of the charging connector, for chrissakes)
Doesn’t Tesla make their own batteries. May be a big cost saving there.
Model Y vs. EV9 isn’t a great comparison because the Kia is so much heavier and boxier. But in general, Teslas do have more efficient powertrains. They’ve just had more years working on it. It’s similar to how Toyota has the most efficient hybrids.
Some have caught up. Lucids are very efficient, as is the Hyundai Ioniq 6.
Unfortunately, it’s mostly to do with their inaccurate range claims. You should also compare similar class vehicles, Kia EV6 and the Model Y.
EPA Ranges:
Model Y LR 75kwh - 533km
Kia EV6 77.4 kWh - 499km
Edmunds tested:
Model Y LR - 510km
Kia EV6 - 520km
https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/electric-car-range-and-consumption-epa-vs-edmunds.html
Teslas, not “Tesla’s.” Apostrophes do not turn words into plurals.
The MY is more aerodynamic (0.23 vs 0.28) along with the greater efficiency of the powertrain.
Efficiency. Also look at Lucid
They’re not getting the range they say. That’s the answer.
https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/23/23928563/tesla-doj-ev-range-exaggerate-investigation
you are comparing WLTP range here and not real world range.
also these two vehicles are very different in size.
looking at real world range the model Y LR in the summer at 120kmh only made it 340km which means going from 80% to 5% charge on a road trip is only 221km so you are charging less than every 2 hours.
the EV6 GT in similar conditions had 259km of range at 120kmh giving it 187km range when using 75% of battery charge.
Tesla has heavily optimized for these test cycles so they get really good numbers on paper but in reality theres a HUGE difference between test cycle range and real world range.
That’s a bad comparison. Model Y and EV9 are not on the same category. You can compare Y with EV6 and maybe the X with the EV9 (the EV9 is quiete bigger I think).
Tesla doesn’t actually. As Tesla owners know, range is about 15% less than rated. Tesla uses the best results from the EPA tests with no reserve. Other mfg put use more conservative numbers.
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The aerodynamics are better. Drag coefficient is .23 in the Model Y LR
Vs
.28 in the Kia EV9 -
Weight is lower: 4,555lb in the Tesla Model Y LR
Vs
5,873lbs in the Kia EV9 with the large battery pack and AWD
The RWD version might be a bit lighter, but it’s still over 750lbs more than the largest Model Y.
These are the two biggest factors of efficiency, but there may be some other little stuff that Tesla has done to improve it.
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Not rah-rah Tesla, this is just what happens when your company ONLY makes EVs.
All Teslas were built from the ground up to be EVs. Every design decision in them aligns with them being an EV. Aerodynamics was job 1 (that’s why all Teslas are exactly the same shape) and that has a huge impact on highway range. Close attention was paid to HVAC and cabin insulation, because that effects winter range.
It’s like the difference between a 1990s EV1 (scratch built to be an EV) and a 90s Toyota RAV4-EV (a complete afterthought, battery packs slapped onto an ICE frame). Of course the EV1 got better mileage.