One of the biggest questions we receive from new and experienced Tesla owners alike is about range estimations. Those questions usually come after the owner looks at their remaining battery capacity, and does a little math to compare it to the rated range of the car.
Those numbers don’t always line up for a whole host of reasons, most of which are too complicated for this article. If you want to learn more about this, read this great “Battery Longevity” article by the creator of the Tesla Stats App
Hopefully the amount of times questions get asked about range estimations will be reduced soon based on the latest information from a Tesla employee.
An owner in California, @sacramentotesla, recently contacted his local Service Center to have his vehicle remotely tested to determine the health of his battery. The good news is it was determined to be in good condition with 92% of its original capacity after more than 107,000 miles (172,000kms) driven.
The even better news was the Tesla employee revealed the automaker is working to improve its algorithms to provide “more accurate” range estimations. The new algorithms will also come in a future software update.
BREAKING: Tesla is working on better algorithm for range! OTA Update will come later with this! 🍾 #legacyisdead pic.twitter.com/IJej1xDAsm
— Sacramento T Ξ S L A (@sacramentotesla) November 19, 2020
It is important to keep in mind this doesn’t mean the car will get a range boost, like what may soon be coming to the Model Y. Instead the car will simply provide more accurate range estimations.
Until the updated algorithms arrive, do yourself a favour and set your set your car to display the remaining energy by percentage. There is a common saying among owners who prefer this method – “set it to percent and forget it.” Doing so takes away the stress of “is my battery degrading?” (hint: it’s not), and if you really need to know how many kilometers you can still drive, use the Energy app on your display instead (set it to 50km and ‘Average Range’ for the most accurate results).
