Since the advent of electric cars, range anxiety has plagued drivers, limiting their road trips based on the number of miles one could conceivably travel on a single charge. Although Tesla is rapidly solving that problem for owners of their cars by expanding the Supercharger network at lightning speed, many intrepid Tesla drivers still like to toy with testing the limits. Tesla owners and enthusiasts Bjørn Nyland and Morgan Tørvolt wanted to see how far a Tesla Model S P85D really can travel on a single charge, so they embarked on a test to find out. This pair of friends was able to stretch an amazing 452.8 miles (728 km) out of a single charge in their effort, which they documented on video.
Although TechCrunch reported that the Tesla in the video posted on Nyland’s YouTube channel is the two-year-old Model S P85 he calls The Millennium Falcon, it’s not. (That one is red.) Instead, the vehicle in question belongs to his friend Tørvolt and is a P85D which hit the market last December. The Tesla enthusiasts set off on a road adventure unlike no other. The two took turns at the wheel, starting at the Supercharger station in Rødekro, Denmark intending to demolish all previous attempts at the longest range ever for a Tesla Model S on a single charge.
Related: Tesla reveals Model S update that will end range anxiety
If it had been a regular road trip, the journey wouldn’t have taken more than seven or so hours. However, these two had quite a different strategy in mind to accomplish their lofty goal. Instead of cruising along at 60mph, the pair realized that they would need to travel much slower to conserve battery power. In the end, after nearly 19 hours of drive time, their average speed was just 24.2mph.
The other key factor that made this range record possible was elevation or, rather, the lack thereof. If the route had been full of hills and valleys, the engine would have needed a lot more power to climb. Instead, they stuck to relatively flat roadways, reaching a maximum elevation of 310 feet above sea level. Combined with the slow speed (which they warned other motorists about with giant signs on the back of the Tesla), the flat terrain made it possible to stretch every last kilowatt out of the battery.
Nyland isn’t the first Tesla owner to try to push the range to its max. In 2012, Tesla reported that an American father and son drove 423.5 miles on a single charge. They used similar tactics, keeping their speed around 25mph and driving on flat roads in Florida. Those two were the first on record to break the 400-mile range record.
Via Tech Crunch
Images via Bjørn Nyland/YouTube screengrab
