Tesla exaggerated battery range article - Reuters, July 27, 2023

[Deleted member 4581]

I wonder if algorithms for reporting battery 'SoH' estimates might also be designed to boost SoH in early years and get more realistic as the battery ages.

Tesla years ago began exaggerating its vehicles’ potential driving distance – by rigging their range-estimating software. The company decided about a decade ago, for marketing purposes, to write algorithms for its range meter that would show drivers “rosy” projections for the distance it could travel on a full battery, according to a person familiar with an early design of the software for its in-dash readouts.​

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Then, when the battery fell below 50% of its maximum charge, the algorithm would show drivers more realistic projections for their remaining driving range, this person said. To prevent drivers from getting stranded as their predicted range started declining more quickly, Teslas were designed with a “safety buffer,” allowing about 15 miles (24 km) of additional range even after the dash readout showed an empty battery, the source said.​

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The directive to present the optimistic range estimates came from Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, this person said.​

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“Elon wanted to show good range numbers when fully charged,” the person said, adding: “When you buy a car off the lot seeing 350-mile, 400-mile range, it makes you feel good.”​

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Tesla’s intentional inflation of in-dash range-meter projections and the creation of its range-complaints diversion team have not been previously reported.​

Reuters: Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints