The problem with this argument is that it's just like comparing IC vehicles. One guy can get 25 mpg but another guy with the same vehicle only gets 15 mpg. It all depends on driving style (how heavy on the pedal you are), the geographical region being driven in (hilly area is going to do worse than a flatter area), highway vs in town, and even in town can vary depending on how many traffic lights you get stuck at. Plus manufacturer mpg/range are almost always a bit generous, even after the changes made several years ago in how they were calculated.
I can theoretically get 25 mpg in my Alpha at city speeds if I don't have to keep stopping. But since my commute has terrible traffic light coordination I end up stopping at every light along the way most days, thus my actual mpg tends to be 13 mpg or so. I get better mileage on my way to work than I do going home because my work is lower in the valley than my house is, otherwise it is relatively flat. Biggest hill I climb on my commute is to go up an overpass that goes over the freeway and some railroad tracks. Plus the air is thinner up here (~4500 feet above sea level). And since I drive something that has the aerodynamics of a brick (and proportionally weighs like one) when I get over 55 mph my fuel economy drops down to about 16 to 18 depending on my speed.
With the battery driven electric cars the ambient temperature also has a major influence in range. A cold battery can't discharge as efficiently or provide as much available charge as a warm battery. A quick google search shows most electric car owners have already figured this out, they have noticed they get poorer range during colder months than during warmer months, and it's a fairly noticeable difference. I think I read somewhere that the manufacturers actually put heaters in the battery packs to keep them from at least freezing. The reason for this is if they get too cold they just stop being able to discharge or at the least there is a dramatic loss in available charge.
So just because someone you know that has a brand new, top of the line electric vehicle (an SUV I might add) and can only get 150 miles on a single charge, doesn't mean that is what everyone that owns that car actually gets (which from my search indicates, they don't, they get better in most cases), nor does it mean that the technology isn't there to get greater range. Tesla isn't the only name in the game anymore, and just because they were the leader, doesn't mean they still are or still will be in the future. And frankly I think Elon would be Ok with that.
And to the other end, just because a manufacturer claims a certain range, Tesla or otherwise, doesn't mean that's what you'll actually get. The battery tech, while certainly improving every day, is still not quite where it needs to be yet. Hydrogen is still a better option aside from cost, since you can fill it nearly as fast as filling your gas tank, and it still provides clean energy, possibly even cleaner since you're not dealing with heavy metals and such like you have to with batteries.
Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
