Electric vehicles

test drove and really liked the VW ID.4.


A poorly written article, but the gist is Tesla lied about the range on their vehicles.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-x-sued-afp-092937183.html

Elon Musk’s Tesla is facing a legal battle with drivers over claims the company falsely advertised how many miles its electric cars can travel on a full battery.

Three Tesla owners have proposed a class action lawsuit in the US alleging that their cars failed to achieve their advertised ranges and that the company had failed to address complaints.

James Porter, one of the plaintiffs who owns a Model Y, said that on one trip he “lost approximately 182 miles of range – despite only driving 92 miles”........

Tesla’s legal battle comes after it was claimed that the company had created a so-called “Diversion Team” in Las Vegas to block customers from making complaints about the range of their electric vehicles.

Reuters also reported that Tesla rigged the algorithms for its dashboard range meter to show “rosy” projections of how far the car could travel on a full battery.

The order to provide the optimistic range estimates is said to have come directly from Mr Musk.

The new complaint is seeking class-action status to represent everyone in California who has bought a Tesla Model 3, Model S, Model Y or Model X. It seeks unspecified damages.


Well that’s interesting but not necessarily shocking. 

I wonder if the range display is calculated using an assumption of level driving and minimal electrical usage from accessories like headlights and hvac. I know that electric vehicles can capture some of the energy from braking and recharge the battery. But if you were, say, driving from the shore to the mountains you’d be fully leaning on the battery the whole way. If you were running the ac full tilt, and maybe stuffed the car full of luggage you’d also increase the battery drain. 


I have followed this story, and have owned EVs since 2014.  The range issue has way too many variables.  Driving style, weather, cargo weight, terrain, all have an effect.  The bigger issue in the Reuters article is the possible subterfuge in the customer service department, cancelling appointments without running the remote diagnostic for customers who complain about range.  Kia takes a smarter approach. They under promised on range for my car, and I constantly see numbers that exceed what was promised.  Of course, no one ever runs an EV all the way down, just like no one drives a gas car until it's completely empty.


DanDietrich said:

 just like no one drives a gas car until it's completely empty.

maybe not, but I am pretty sure that I have refilled my tank when I had about a teaspoon of gas left.


Does Kia give a set of use conditions to achieve a particular estimated range? Like total passenger/cargo weight? 


I'm not sure, to be honest.  I assume that everyone does.  I know that for the government approved ratings they can use either the two step or five step method.  I'm not sure which they use, but after the number is approved a manufacturer is free to advertise less range if they want to.  



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