Tesla Asks EPA To Sandbag Official Range Figure To Just 310 Miles On Model 3

A newly released document submitted to Environment Protection Agency (EPA) by Tesla in order for Model 3 to be accredited by the agency reveals a few new details about the new electric car.

It indicates that Tesla might be underselling the Model 3’s range and charging capacity, among a few other interesting tidbits of information.

Tesla advertises the range of the Model 3 with ‘Long Range’ battery pack as 310 miles (499 km) on a single charge.

The advertised range of an all-electric vehicle in the US is generally the EPA-cycle range.

In the case of the Model 3, the document reveals that the vehicle achieved an EPA-cycle range of 334 miles (537 km), but Tesla asked the EPA to lower the official range to 310 miles.

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SanJoseDriver - 10/26/2017 2:49:42 PM

-2 Boost

They are doing this to set more realistic expectations of range since it is very hard to hit the EPA number. BTW, they do this with their current models as well. The EPA range for the Model S 100 is 342 miles, but they asked for a reduction to 335 miles.

SanJoseDriver - 11/12/2017 2:46:49 PM

+1 Boost

Considering it is documented with the EPA, yes I do expect a thinking human being to believe this.

TheSteve - 10/26/2017 3:07:51 PM

+1 Boost

I'm all for "under promise, over deliver," so I support Musk's request to lower the EPA stated range to 310 miles.

When people get upset that they can't make the EPA numbers, they blame the automaker (and in many cases, they should, because automakers have been known to optimize their vehicles for the test rather than for real life). But consumers rarely question the EPA's testing methodology to understand that it doesn't reflect real-world driving conditions, so it's not realistic to get those number when using the vehicle in the real world.

MDarringer - 10/26/2017 8:43:56 PM

-1 Boost

People are morons and so they believe the EPA number. In their snowflake-should world when they get less than what the EPA says, they are "victims" and need to sue somebody.

MDarringer - 10/26/2017 9:51:53 PM

+1 Boost

It's the EPA's protocol and their number.

TomM - 10/28/2017 7:38:03 AM

+1 Boost

Although I am not a Tesla Lover - this is not a problem for me

IT is clear that there is enough variance between Battery packs of the same vehicle - that they would not want to publish an overly optimistic figure. In my company - there were quite a few Fusion Hybrids in the last generation of company cars - and the ALL Electric range between them varied widely - often I could get 20% more mileage than others in mine - yet when we switched cars - the advantage stayed with the car - not the driver.