Electric Vehicle Myths: #1 EVs Do Not Have Enough Range to Be Viable

[Miguelito Loveless]

52. No,

Li-Ion batteries don't have the "memory" effect that Nickel-Cadmium batteries had. You can run them down, but you are fine charging them every night. The major thing you don't want to is charge them to 100% in high temp, then leave them in that state for days, as this prematurely ages the battery.

The normal charging range is 40%-90%. You save charging to 100% for time when you really need the max range (like on trips). All batteries have a "taper" effect in that they start of charging REAL fast when they are almost empty, but start to slow down when they get past 50%. The reason being is that as battery charge, they heat up, and to protect batteries from over-heating, the battery management system (BMS) throttles back the power once the temp hits a certain point (usually around 50%-60% full), then power start to decline.

You can usually hit 70%-80% full in 20-30 minutes, then the last 20%-30% will take another 30 minutes. But if you think about it, this is not a big deal, since again, distance you can drive is a factor of your bladder size, and the age of your children. Generally, a "pit stop" for fuel, food, and bathrooms, is going to be in the 20-30 minutes range, which gets you about another three hours of driving if charging on a quick charger (150kW+).

My model 3 can recover about 200 miles after 20 minutes.

Battery packs are rated at around 1,000 cycles before they begin to degrade, which doesn't seem like a lot, but a cycle is the equivalent of charging to 100%, then running to 0%. If you did that EVERY day it would be the equivalent of traveling 315,000 miles in 2.7 years. If you charge to 100%, drain the battery 25% (about 78 miles) each day, then it would take take 4 days to complete one battery cycle, and you would hit that 1,000 limit in about 11 years.

The average daily commute in the US is 35 miles, which is about 15% of the battery capacity, so that means the 1,000 cycle battery will last 6000+ days.

(This is "back of the envelope math", using a Model 3 battery as the benchmark).

The next generation batteries coming out next year should double, or triple cycle life.

Battery packs are getting larger, cheaper, more reliable, and the charging is getting faster. Tesla's V3 SC is 250kW, with 350kW coming in a few years, thanks to their battery redesign.

I've been driving electric since 2014, 100% electric since 2018. I've never been stranded anywhere.