Tesla is now starting to account for “battery age” in its estimated range calculation for its electric vehicles.
I have long been advocating for prioritizing accurate range prediction over a longer range in curbing range anxiety.
Don’t get me wrong, a longer range can be useful, but if you know what where you are going, the main thing is that you know you can get there and your range doesn’t start dropping faster than anticipated.
Range calculations are difficult regardless of the type of powertrain – electric or internal combustion engine.
There are just so many factors that can affect the efficiency of a vehicle on a road that it is hard to determine how far it can go on a full battery pack or tank of gas.
Tesla has been a leader in efficiency and long-range electric vehicles for a long time, but despite that, it still has issues predicting the energy consumption of a trip.
When entering a destination in the navigation system, Tesla gives the driver the expected range remaining at the destination, and it is often not exactly what you would expect based on the vehicle’s EPA range, but you shouldn’t have range anxiety as long as the range prediction stays true.
Over the last few years, Tesla has invested more into its range calculation and added “crosswind, headwind, humidity and ambient temperature” in a software update in 2022.
A few months later, it also added tire pressure to the calculation. Last year, Tesla also revealed everything that affects its range calculation.
Now, we learn that Tesla added a new factor: battery age. I would have thought that this is something already accounted for, but apparently not.
Not A Tesla App spotted the release notes of the new 2024.2.6. Tesla wrote:
Your estimated battery range now incorporates additional characteristics related to battery aging over time.
It’s possible that Tesla has made new findings about how battery aging can affect range in certain conditions.
The new software update also adds another feature that could help a bit with range: Tesla will now let you know how much pre-conditioning time the battery needs before going to a Supercharger station.
If the driver puts a Supercharger location in the navigation system, the vehicle starts to pre-condition its battery pack for more efficient charging on the way there.
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