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It may seem odd, when I ask about fuel in regards to Tesla. I yet do not own one, but some acquaintance ( with Tesla Y Long range, with total battery capacity of 326 miles) has tole me when I asked about buying, per the person Tesla loose about 7-10% fuel every weekend if not driven. So if the person leave it at 55% on Friday evening and do not put the car to charge or drive the Tesla on weekend, then on Monday morning it will show fuel left at 48% or 47%, that is a loss of 7-8% ( or 22-26 miles), per the person Tesla says that is normal. Does the ICE car's EPA mileage v/s Tesla EPA mileage calculation take that part in to account.

I feel ( I hope I am not biased), that most of the buyers of Tesla are middle class+ so they are not taking that part in to account and not noticing the loss and hype.

Does other electric cars have the same issues ?

puzzled
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2 Answers2

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I think all electric/hybrids (which use a battery) have the same issue. Even lead acid batteries lose power over time. The problem is, all batteries self-discharge over time. All batteries are going to discharge at different rates (the Wiki article has some self-discharge rates), but it's pretty much a given all of them do it. I'm sure it isn't news to anyone, but most people I know who own plug-ins charge their vehicle on a regular basis, so probably don't notice. Also, I'm not sure about it, but I believe that if you maintain your batteries with a charger, it will lose far less power overall than with it just sitting stagnant.

Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2
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There are a few things happening here.

  1. Always-on technology. Teslas are packed with technology, much of which is on all the time, even when the car is unoccupied. I've heard them called rolling iPads, and just like a tablet the car's computer is always on and running background tasks which require power. Syncing data to the cloud won't drain a car flat, but it will impact the range.
  2. Normal discharge: As @Paulster2 points out, all batteries discharge over time, it's unavoidable
  3. Temperature: lithium ion batteries perform best in a specific temperature range. Cars.com did some testing on Tesla Model Y range at different temperatures and found that at the extremes of temperature the batteries' range dropped

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65-70°F (about 18-21°C) was about optimal, there was a gentle decline below 60°F then it decreases more sharply below 10°F.

So, much of the decrease could be likely to the simple fact that it's colder in the morning than the evening. It would only take a difference of 15°F or so. It's just one of those things EV owners have to get used to, no matter the make.

GdD
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