Two men in Colorado have set a new record for the longest distance covered by a Tesla on a single charge.
Electric vehicle fanatics Sean Mitchell and Erik Strait drove a Model 3 606 miles (975km) over a 32-hour drive that ended when the car broke down.
Tesla says the vehicle’s range is between 220 and 310 miles (350-500km) on a single charge but the pair extended this by driving their Model 3 as efficiently as possible.
They drove at between 20 and 30 miles per hour (32-48kph) around a mile-long (1.6km) loop of closed road at Denver Airport.
Mr Mitchell and Mr Strait comfortably beat the previous ‘hypermiling’ record distance of 560 miles (900km) achieved on a single charge by a Tesla Model S last year.
Two men in Colorado have set a new record for the longest distance covered by a Tesla Model 3 on a single charge. Electric vehicle fanatics Sean Mitchell and Erik Strait drove a Model 3 606 miles (975km) over a 32-hour drive. Mr Mitchell later tweeted about the trip
Known as ‘hypermiling’, this form of competitive driving sees electric vehicle owners try to drive as far as they can on a single charge by sticking to forgiving routes.
Mr Mitchell and Mr Strait’s route had very little traffic and featured an elevation change of just 10 feet (3 metres) to keep the strain on the battery as low as possible.
During a livestream of their journey on YouTube, the pair caught takeaway burritos using a fishing net to keep themselves from getting hungry.
The Tesla’s battery died at the end of the journey forcing them to hook it up to a Tesla supercharger.
But the next day Mr Mitchell and Mr Strait found the car’s battery would no longer charge, which meant they had to call a tow company to take it to a service centre.
‘Getting our hypermile #Model3 towed to the Service Center. After leaving it charged overnight at a Supercharger it is still not taking a charge,’ Mr Mitchell wrote on Twitter following the breakdown.
He later added: ‘Service Center is not open today so status of #Model3 has to wait until tomorrow. I’ve been assured the best hands will look into tomorrow.’
Tesla’s Model 3 is the company’s first lower-cost, high-volume car and is vital to the company’s goal of becoming a profitable, mainstream automaker.
Tesla has reportedly received over 450,000 pre-orders for the vehicle but has struggled to meet promises it made on production rates.
It was revealed on Monday that Tesla has begun upgrading the braking software on its Model 3 after Consumer Reports refused to recommend the car over its poor braking distances.
Tesla says the Model 3’s (file photo) range is between 220 and 310 miles (350-500km) on a single charge but the pair extended this by driving their vehicle as efficiently as possible.
While the influential magazine said the car has exhilarating acceleration and handling, testers were troubled by its 152-foot average stopping distance from 60 miles per hour in emergency braking tests.
Now, Musk claims the performance has been improved in a firmware update being sent to cars.
‘Firmware fix for upgraded brake performance on standard Model 3 started rolling out yesterday,’ he tweeted.
WHAT IS TESLA’S MODEL 3 ELECTRIC CAR?
Tesla’s Model 3 is the company’s first lower-cost, high-volume car.
The electric sedan is crucial to Tesla’s goal of becoming a profitable, mainstream automaker.
The five-seat sedan will travel 215 miles (133 kilometres) on a single charge.
It will be sporty, accelerating from zero to 60mph (0-100kph) in under six seconds.
The Model 3 is Tesla’s first lower-cost, high-volume car. The first models of the $35,000 (£27,000) electric vehicle began production in July 2017
The car has no traditional dashboard, but instead a computer monitor in the center of the car which shows details about the car and its route.
It will be controlled via a touchscreen and each side of the steering wheel will have a single scroll button.
The first models of the $35,000 (£27,000) electric vehicle began production in July 2017.
But the company has suffered production woes ever since, frequently missing the targets it set itself when the vehicle was announced in 2016.
‘Should improve braking distance by ~20 ft for repeated heavy braking events. Thanks Consumer Reports for excellent critical feedback!’
Consumer Reports said it was getting a 152-ft average stopping distance from 60 mph, while Tesla claimed an average of 133 feet in their own tests.
Musk initially responded to the article saying that it was surprising, but the results would be investigated to see if something could cause the braking distance to be inconsistent.
He later said that they found an issue with the ‘ABS calibration algorithm’ that could result in some inconsistent results.