> We've never owned a gas vehicle that met it's EPA range and the Tesla is no different. No one takes EPA MPG * GALLONS of gas and expects it to be a real life estimate of range.
Because gas stations are still far more common than fast chargers. We'll get there with EV charging, but right now range does matter, especially if you routinely see half of what was advertised.
I had a similar thought before we purchased our Tesla. Our actual experience has been much better than expected. Here's why:
1) Everyday Driving / Commuting: Much like an ICE vehicle where one thinks about 1/2 tank, 1/4 tank, etc... we think about percentages. For us, a round-trip to the in-laws is 50% in the summer and 60% in the winter, for example. Commuting round trip is ~15% in the winter, and ~12% in the summer. This combined with the fact that the car starts every morning charged to 80% means that we really don't ever worry about super charging in our day-to-day life.
2) Road Trips: The navigation software on the tesla automatically add charging stops where needed, and critically, it is very accurate when predicting range as a percentage when it knows your destination. We typically charge until it say we'll reach our destination/charging stops with 10%. That reserve has always been more than enough even on 1000 - 2000 mile road trips.
My general advice to anyone with a Tesla who has range anxiety:
1) Put the round trip into the trip computer. (e.g. Home => Place I Want To Go To => Home)
2) Always make sure you'll get to your next charging stop with 10 - 15% left according to the trip computer.
3) Relax and enjoy the auto-pilot :)
I agree generally, I've never really had a range anxiety problem on either of my Teslas. And 100% agree on the daily charging, too.
But I do think we're not to the point where we can just nonchalantly hit the road without really thinking about charging. It is part of the planning in more detail than I'd usually spend with a gas car. Totally manageable, but still.
Right now it varies a lot where in the world you are. I don’t have exact numbers but I have a feeling there’s more fast charging locations around me than gas stations. (There may be more gas pumps but it doesn’t matter because most EV owners here don’t use fast charging as their main method of charging)
I guess this is only true in like 2-3 countries in the world right now. But it’s changing very rapidly.
Because gas stations are still far more common than fast chargers. We'll get there with EV charging, but right now range does matter, especially if you routinely see half of what was advertised.