Electric vehicle giant Tesla reduces range estimates of some of its models in the United States amid the Department of Justice’s investigation into unrealistically high range claims.
Range adjustments
Tesla’s range estimate adjustments affected some variants of its Model S, X, and Y. As you can see in Tesla’s online configurator, the Tesla Model S Plaid with 19″ wheels setup saw its range decline by 37 miles from 396 miles to 359 miles.
Interestingly, Tesla also lowered the Model S Dual Motor AWD’s top speed estimate from 149 MPH to 130 MPH.
The Tesla Model X Plaid’s range also decreased to 326 miles from its original figure of 333 miles.
Likewise, the world’s top-selling vehicle Model Y in the Performance variant now displays a 285 range. It indicates an 18-mile range reduction from its prior 303-mile estimate. Likewise, the Tesla Model Y Long Range variant also had a range estimate reduction of 20 miles to 310 miles.
Reasons
Tesla’s range estimate reductions were primarily due to the EPA’s new testing approach. It initially introduced the new process in July 2022, as per Teslarati. However, its application to new testing only covered 2024 model-year vehicles and beyond.
For context, the EPA now requires all electric automakers in the US market to test acceleration and ride height modes in best and worst-case settings to “ensure all label data is generated in a consistent manner that will better reflect real-world performance, and to reduce testing burden for the industry.”
According to TSLA investor @SawyerMerritt, the EPA’s new mandate prompted Tesla to lower its range estimates in its official online configurator in the US.
On the other hand, The Verge suggests that Tesla lowered its range ratings due to the DOJ’s investigations on the EV giant’s alleged overstated range estimates. However, it must be noted that multiple factors can reduce battery range, such as driving habits and temperature.
Tesla Cybertruck fell 20% short of its claimed range in first real-world test
As EV-a2z recently reported, the Tesla Cybertruck only delivered a 254-mile range in one of its first real-world range tests on January 4. Out of Spec Studios put the Cybertruck on a highway range test at 70 mph (113 km/h) from 100%-0% state of charge. The temperature during the testing was 46 F (8 C).
For context, Tesla estimates the all-electric pickup to offer a driving range of up to 340 miles for the all-wheel drive variant. Meanwhile, the top-tier Cyberbeast can enable 320 miles. The currently unavailable RWD variant will only have 250 miles, which will hit the market in 2025.
It is also worth noting that Tesla initially expected the Cybertruck to offer a maximum range of more than 500 miles when it first introduced the electric pickup. Considering Tesla’s failure to deliver this promise, it launched a “Range Extender” as an extra accessory to boost the Cybertruck’s range to 470+ miles for the AWD and 440+ miles for the Cyberbeast. Refer to the table below:
| Tesla Cybertruck | Rear-Wheel Drive | All-Wheel Drive | CyberBeast |
| Range | 250 miles | 340 miles | 320 miles |
| Range with extender??? | Not mentioned | 470+ miles | 440+ miles |
All that said, the new EPA policy is indeed crucial for the electric vehicle industry to maintain integrity when it comes to range estimates claims. It can protect customers from misleading information about certain EV models. Moreover, it can also substantially lessen the testing baggage for the industry.
It must be noted that Tesla’s range rating updates do not extend to the UK and EU markets. Moreover, Tesla did not change the range of its other offerings, including the popular Model 3 sedan, Model Y RWD crossover, and the all-electric pickup Cybertruck. It would be interesting to see how other players would start to change their range figures due to the EPA policy changes.
