Tesla Owners: Time to dispel the EV myths.
I recently had a conversation with a woman about electric vehicles wherein she emphatically told me that until there was an EV that could go over 200 miles on a single charge and road trip 600 miles per day with no more than 45 minutes in charging stops, she wasn’t interested!
I tried to tell her my Tesla Model 3 could do that…and more!
But she didn’t want to hear it because one time…a few years ago…she spoke with the owner of a Nissan Leaf…who told her the range was barely 100 miles and it took 10 hours to charge. That woman’s opinion is now frozen in that ICE age. No matter what actual facts, combined with real-world experience, I tried to offer her, she was unwilling to give up something she felt she knew. And she was spreading her misinformation to others.
I’m pretty sure you have friends like this, too. And as a self-appointed Tesla evangelist I find this frustrating because I know the real story. So how do we convince the EV naysayers that battery technology has changed and is on a fast-track to change even more? And that every EV (regardless of brand) that sells now contributes to that better future.
We have to continue to hammer them with NEW FACTS!
RANGE:
It began as a chicken and egg scenario. In order for EVs to become reasonably viable, the range or battery size needed to improve. In order for batteries to improve, someone (Elon Musk) needed to create a desire for electric vehicles. Musk achieved his goal and set the bar. Currently Tesla has the longest battery range on the market, the Model S can go 375 miles on its 100 kWh battery. It should be noted that achieving this level of range was not based solely on battery technology but a combination of that and Tesla’s amazing design engineering which wrings out every last mile. Also, Musk wisely controls this all-important supply chain by assembling the Tesla batteries in Gigafactory 1, the highest volume battery plant in the WORLD!
Largely thanks to the Tesla effect, there are now those who are out to push that envelope believing that it’s possible to achieve 500 or even 1000 kWh batteries, which could offer a range of 600 miles.
All this sounds great. But what about that Nissan Leaf? Well, the initial battery in a Leaf was 24 kWh and it did take 8-10 hours to fully charge. Of course I’m partial to Tesla, but even a new Leaf is preferable over an ICE car (ICE = internal combustion engine) and the new Leaf models have a 62 kWh battery which offers a range of 239 miles.
New high-speed Level 3 charging stations are being installed daily. It’s reported that there are over 40,000 currently in operation across the US. Level 3 charging can fill a battery from 0-80% in as little as 15 min. Heat is the reason why the last 20% of charge takes longer than the first 80%. Because heat affects battery life and could cause battery degradation…blah, blah, blah. But the real information that needs to be communicated to that non-EV-loving woman mentioned above is that ACTUAL range on a road trip has a lot to do with the finesse of driving an EV.
ROAD TRIP FINESSE:
Americans love their road trips. According to AAA 4 in 10 or 100 million U.S. adults embarked on a road trip this year.
The finesse of a road trip is that at each charging stop you only charge long enough to get you to the next stop. Save the longest part of the charging for nighttime, while you’re sleeping. (Note: it’s not difficult to find hotels on the road with destination, Level 2 chargers for guests. All the big chains have them. And often the charging is free.) But back to charging stops. While it might take an hour to go from 0-100% charge on an electric vehicle, you don’t need all of that range. Instead plan (or let Tesla do it for you) convenient charging stops along your route. Most likely you’ll be ready to stop then anyway. In every case, during the two road trips we’ve made in our Model 3, our car was charged up and ready before we ever received our food or drinks.
The other part of the finesse is how you drive. Your driving style combined with road conditions can either extend or shrink your range. Drive conservatively, under perfect conditions, and you can extend your range even further than the number published by the EPA. It’s true! Check out this Tesla battery range table. From this table you can see how just driving slower can give you more range.
Now go out there and spread the word. More EVs on the road is a plus for all.
For more tips, tricks and facts to hard-sell your non-EV driving friends check out our user’s guide below:
