Tesla drivers set a new record for miles driven on a single charge

By Lulu Chang Published December 11, 2017

tesla 1000 km model s stranded — Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you’re looking to go on a road trip before the end of the summer, you may think about taking your Tesla. The Tesla Owners Club Italia set a new record for the longest distance traveled in an electric vehicle on a single charge over the weekend: an impressive 1,078 kilometers (just under 670 miles) on a single charge. The Club used a Tesla Model S P100D to achieve this impressive accomplishment, and its members became the first to drive a production EV over 1,000 km. The previous record stood at a little over 900 km (around 560 miles).

It took the Club 29 hours to travel its 1078 km, and the route was planned throughout the suburban roads of Salerno in southern Italy. While the EV is indeed a normal production car that featured standard low rolling resistance tires, the drivers gamed the system as much as they could to ensure that the vehicle stayed running for as long as possible.

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The average speed of their trip was just 40 km per hour, or 24.85 mph — so if you’re looking to get anywhere fast, don’t expect your Tesla to last quite so long on a single charge. Moreover, the Club noted that the AC was kept off the entire time, and drivers sought to maintain a “smooth driving approach.”

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Apparently, Tesla’s semi-autonomous driving system was hugely helpful in ensuring a longer range. As driver Rosario Pingaro noted, “[This system] helped us to keep a constant speed in the middle of the lane.”

While managing to get over 1,000 km in an EV on a single charge is an impressive feat in and of itself, the Club noted that its goal was to underscore just how feasible transitioning from fossil fuels to more sustainable and eco-friendly power sources really could be. “To complete the 1078 km record distance, we used 98.4 kW/h of electricity, which is equivalent to 8 liters of gas (or 3.78 gallons),” explained Tesla Owners Club Italia President Luca Del Bo.

Elon Musk, founder of Tesla, took to Twitter following the impressive feat to congratulate the team. “Officially verified as the first production electric car to exceed 1000km on a single charge,” the entrepreneur wrote. “Congratulations Tesla Owners Italia!!”

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