We know that various external factors can affect the estimated range advertised by EV makers, one of which is temperature, including extreme heat and cold, but it seems that Tesla EVs are less susceptible to the phenomenon in hot weather than rivals. How exactly heat affects range has been studied by Recurrent, which came up with the answer after analyzing battery readings from 7,500 vehicles.
The research included EVs from various brands, including the Chevrolet Bolt EV, the Hyundai Kona EV, and the Ford Mustang Mach-E, to name a few. some cars got more range in hot weather and eventually lost some, while others fell, and the Kona, for example, stayed relatively stable. But the standout models were the Tesla range, which had the least range degradation in hot weather conditions. In fact, the curve is so smooth that you’d think the test was conducted in dissimilar conditions.
According to the research, the slow EV range degradation across varying hot temperatures results from Tesla’s use of a heat pump instead of standard automotive air cooling systems.