What’s the range of a Tesla? Or of any other electric vehicle?

Take 60% of the usable battery capacity and divide it by the average consumption of the vehicle.

That will give you a realistic perspective on how far you can drive on a daily basis without any worries.

That’s also… pretty much it. 

If you want to understand more about the how & why, the feel free to continue reading. I’ll explain more right away.

The average electric consumption is rarely the one on paper

I’ve stated electric above, but the truth is that it's the same for diesel or gasoline. It’s often overlooked, as it just matters less in that case.

If you are checking the rated range or consumption digits of a vehicle to figure this out, as it’s displayed on the manufacturer’s website and promotional sheets, then hold on… there’s slightly more to it. Then again, if you’re asking your dream brand’s community for its honest, but usually biased thoughts, you may also end up far from reality.

One of the most sustainable approaches you can take to determine the average consumption?

Just rent the vehicle you’re after and check things yourself for a day. 

Or take a test drive, that will do it too.

You’ll then notice that the real consumption is far, far away from the one that each brand promotes.

Drive around with the car for some time and observe the trip’s data. I’ve found the consumption to be easily 15-30% higher than what was stated by manufacturers.

The closer you come to a realistic value for your driving style, the fewer disappointments you’ll have in the future.

Here are also some numbers: for a 2021 Tesla Model 3 with a heat pump, the rated consumption was 14.8 kwh / 100km. My numbers, after 30.000 km? 17.5 kwh / 100km. That’s 18% higher.

As soon as you have this value you can continue.

Look at the battery capacity

With some exceptions, the majority of the car makers may easily offer 2-3 configurations you can choose from when it comes to the battery. This may be more obvious & easier to pick with certain brands (like with a Skoda or VW), or somewhat more difficult (I’m looking at you, Tesla). Invest some time into it though and you will be able to figure out the exact capacity.

Now that you have the 2 variables: the battery’s capacity and the average consumption, it may sound pretty straightforward, right? Divide them and find out the range.

So for a Model 3, you may find yourself doing:

(79 kwh / 17.5 kwh) * 100 = 451 km

That would be cool 🙂. But. That's. Not. The. Real. Range.

You will almost never ever want to empty your entire battery and drive from 100% to 0%. And this is what most of the media outlets or people will avoid telling you.

60% of the capacity? Why?

On a daily basis, most manufacturers recommend you not to exceed 80% in charge and also to stay well over 20%.

You can of course do 100% → 20% or 100% → 5% and this is what you may experience on long trips. However, most of your days you’ll find yourself driving short trips around your area.

If you care about your car, you’ll want to stay within the healthy limits of the battery, hence you’d generally be using about 60% of the capacity.

The equation is totally different, and much more realistic, in these conditions:

((79 kwh * 0.6) / 17.5 kwh) 100 = 270 km

That’s the range you can usually count on. A value that will give one a more realistic set of expectations.

There's of course more into it. I won't dive into discussing whether that's good or not, or the tens of other variables that will influence one's driving conditions or days. Nor would I push you to lean towards any of the electric, diesel or gasoline vehicles. Take that decision for yourself. I've made mine already and couldn't be happier.