CEO Elon Musk congratulated the Tesla team after Model 3 achieved 350 miles of autonomy on a single charge in a new autonomy mode test.
Officially, the Tesla Model 3 Long Range had a range of 310 miles on a single charge, but Tesla has found some optimizations in recent months, leading to an increase in EPA range to 322 miles.
Now Consumer Reports has conducted its own test on the car, confirming the EPA rating.
Even more interesting, they also conducted a test with autonomy mode and reached 350 miles on a single charge:
“In CR, we found that our autonomy tests met EPA tests in single-digit percentage points. Our proven Tesla Model 3 matched the 310-mile distance to which the EPA had anchored it, and in Long Range mode we reached 350 miles. “
Musk shared the report, which praises Tesla’s efficiency and thanked his team for the hard work:
Getting there was very difficult. Very proud of the Tesla team!
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 22, 2020
When it comes to long-haul electric vehicles, Tesla has been the industry leader for a while, but has even taken the overall lead in electric vehicle efficiency since the latest vehicle updates in 2020.
Last year, analyst Kevin Rooke published a report showing how Tesla’s focus on efficiency leads to an improvement of around 3% per year:
“Anyway, it’s fascinating to see how constant Tesla’s efficiency improvements are. Every year that passes, Tesla cars consume about 3% less energy than the previous year to travel the same distance (normalized for weight of the vehicle). “
Rooke also tracked efficiency against other electric vehicles on the market:
Other electric vehicles in circulation for some time, such as the Nissan Leaf and BMW i3, have also improved, but Tesla vehicles have received more consistent updates.
The S model is the best example as it has been around for the longest time.
From Rooke’s report, Tesla has again updated the Model S, which now has a range of up to 390 miles on a single charge and even better efficiency.
Electrek’s Take
When it comes to long-haul electric vehicles, Tesla has had an efficiency advantage for a long time, but recently I have seen Tesla’s renewed focus on range and efficiency.
I’m not saying Tesla wasn’t working on those things before, but they’re talking more about it now, like Musk sharing this CR report and sharing this chart during his last earnings:
I like that they talk more about it. It is something that will push the sector to improve and try to reach them because Tesla will not be in charge. They will continue to push.
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