Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

Im not defending Tesla or any company. But these games are not currently happening (if they do they get caught), and one thing for sure, Tesla is just as guilty as any larger company getting away with whatever they can when they can, they are no saints.. But this took place almost or 10 years ago.

Not possible to get away with it anymore, now that vehicles have to live up to the EPA MPG-E and would get trashed in the media if current claims were false.
 
dogememe said:
Yeah, the guess o meter on any EV is so hard to get right. But they can improve it with a software update eventually and hopefully get closer to accurate.
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Tesla uses a lot of inputs to get the calculation as close as they can.

Id be curious to know which companies use what data to compute this.

Of course free driving without a destination entered uses a much smaller subset of data.

https://www.notateslaapp.com/news/7...predict-energy-usage-and-reduce-range-anxiety
 
If the so called team was secret, how do we know about it ?

This is another example of the world we live in where any media outlet can print any story they want and then claim either "unnamed sources" or fail to corroborate the story with multiple sources or witnesses.
It makes for a sensational story and feeds the Elon/Tesla/EV haters who salivate over any negative story that reinforces their opinions.

Perhaps Reuters should hire some true investigative journalists and then publish a follow up story with some hard facts, documentation and multiple named witnesses. Nah. Too much work when it's easier to publish clickbait.
 
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DwightFrye said:
If the so called team was secret, how do we know about it ?

This is another example of the world we live in where any media outlet can print any story they want and then claim either "unnamed sources" or fail to corroborate the story with multiple sources or witnesses.
It makes for a sensational story and feeds the Elon/Tesla/EV haters who salivate over any negative story that reinforces their opinions.

Perhaps Reuters should hire some true investigative journalists and then publish a follow up story with some hard facts, documentation and multiple named witnesses. Nah. Too much work when it's easier to publish clickbait.
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I hope the day comes with GM where you can defend them the same...
With that said it is proven, even today that other makers vehicles better estimate range -
I would expect if Tesla is the technology company that it is it would have been held to a higher standard than the companies below that have been tested more accurate even today. Right?

"Recurrent tested other automakers’ in-dash range meters – including the Ford Mustang Mach-E, the Chevrolet Bolt and the Hyundai Kona – and found them to be more accurate. The Kona’s range meter generally underestimated the distance the car could travel, the tests showed. Recurrent conducted the study with the help of a National Science Foundation grant."
 
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alarmguy said:
Not possible to get away with it anymore, now that vehicles have to live up to the EPA MPG-E and would get trashed in the media if current claims were false.
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Aren't the EV ranges manufacturers can use much more variable than ICE cafe tests? With the standard ICE EPA test - the vehicle drives a very specific route - every car has the same test and the EPA hands the OEM what they can print. I didn't think EV's were that way. Are they going that way now?

Also, ICE vehicles do burn more gas in the cold, but its a smaller percentage vs the loss with a EV. As described using the heater in an EV causes a lot of drain, vs an ice your using heat there trying to get rid of anyway. So there needs to be an EPA rules update for that.

Obviously like many new technologies, the standards haven't caught up with reality - like the rules for the internet that were written in 1980.
 
The range does seem to be based on ideal circumstances. In the real world there is heat or cold, head winds and cross winds, hills, passing, speeding, water on the road, etc. And only occasionally do you start with 100% charge and you never run the battery down to 0%. So yes the predicted range is optimistic. But I rarely consult the miles (kms) remaining on the battery anyway and keep the read out reporting the % charge remaining.

One thing that does work quite well is the prediction of the remaining charge at your next Supercharger stop. On our long trip we intended to always arrive with 15% charge left on the battery. [Seems experienced long distance EV drivers often go for 10%.] The prediction was fairly accurate but the final result got as low as 12 or 13% on a few occasions (typically when there were head or cross winds, or we were driving too fast).

One thing that surprised me (but shouldn't have) was that leaving the car in "dog mode" on a several hour long ferry ride cost a couple of %. "Dog mode" is one of Tesla's better features. It keeps your pet safe and comfortable on a hot or cold day while you're off doing whatever you're doing.
 
every car I have driven with a MPG indication is optimistic by 2 to 4 MPG. Or there is a vast conspriacy of overcharging gas pumps.

every car with gages now has a stablized temp display. Sometimes oil too

Why should tesla be different.
 
DwightFrye said:
If the so called team was secret, how do we know about it ?

This is another example of the world we live in where any media outlet can print any story they want and then claim either "unnamed sources" or fail to corroborate the story with multiple sources or witnesses.
It makes for a sensational story and feeds the Elon/Tesla/EV haters who salivate over any negative story that reinforces their opinions.

Perhaps Reuters should hire some true investigative journalists and then publish a follow up story with some hard facts, documentation and multiple named witnesses. Nah. Too much work when it's easier to publish clickbait.
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Secrets leak all the time, people leave companies, get fired or decide the company they worked for was unethical and they want to make it known. Not all people who expose companies are lying, and many want to remain unnamed sources. Bottom line not all stories like this are BS. That could be the case here.
 
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BMWTurboDzl said:
Reminds me of the time when BMW installed buffered coolant temp gauges in order to avoid having to deal with constant visits to the dealership over cars running too hot.
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Buffered coolant temp gauges first showed up in the 80s. They’re not new.

They’re not exclusive to BMW, either. Many manufacturers use them. Very, very few don’t use them.
 
redhat said:
You've gotta. When its -5 degree with -15 windchill you gotta stay warm and melt that window.
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Maybe electric vehicles aren't all they're being cracked up to be. We certainly don't have the electric infrastructure to support them.
Speaking of 'electric infrastructure'....a European friend of mine was surprised to see that most of America still has a 1900s overhead wire electricity supply network. He said that most of western Europe has underground electric supply. I don't know if this is totally true but shame on our 'leaders' if so.
 
Probably they should have put at asterisk beside the estimated range or labelled it "potential range" as many factors effect energy consumption while driving.
Our Subaru had a very optimistic range calculation initially as well, but it didn't switch to a realistic number even as the low fuel light went on... There was a software update that took care of it and now the range calculation and the low fuel light jive.

Its early days for EV's and it will take a while for people to understand how they work.
 
pbm said:
....a European friend of mine was surprised to see that most of America still has a 1900s overhead wire electricity supply network. He said that most of western Europe has underground electric supply. I don't know if this is totally true but shame on our 'leaders' if so.
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Our whole area in Edmonton had underground electric supply. Maybe the whole city.

Our immediate area on Vancouver Island has underground electric supply - though there are wires on poles in part of the neighbourhood. In defense of the electric company we're built on rock and underground lines would be very costly. But I'd like the power company to put them all underground anyway (and put the cost on our bills) - as we have a few power outages a year when tree branches contact power lines during wind storms.
 
pbm said:
A lot of those who oppose free speech want Elon in prison.
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I have a degree in Journalism and push free speech Elon is a hypocrite. Only what he considers "free speech " is published.

Twitter Appears To Censor Doug DeMuro Video on Used Tesla Values Dropping​

Some Twitter users reported that the social media platform wouldn’t let them repost a video about dropping Tesla prices.

Elon Musk says he wants free speech, but his track record suggests otherwise​

 
UncleDave said:
The leaf wins the award for least accurate range meter.
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Mine has about 80% battery capacity left and still shows over 100 miles of range some times. Not falling for that. I would have to drive about 30mph for my car to be able to really go 100miles, ain't nobody got time for that.
 
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