Tesla Model 3 Breaks World EV Distance Record — 2,781 km (1,728 miles) Travelled In 24 Hours

July 5th, 2019 by Dr. Maximilian Holland

A Tesla Model 3 has travelled 2,781 km (1,728 miles) in 24 hours, breaking the 24 hour EV distance record. The new record was set by Bjørn Nyland and his co-pilots, on an autobahn in northern Germany.

Image courtesy of Bjørn Nyland/Youtube

The distance travelled exceeded the previous record (2,644 km, also set by a Tesla Model 3) by some 5%. The new record, livestreamed on Youtube, took place on a circular route along the A20 autobahn in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern region of northern Germany. The route was chosen partly due to the high driving speeds allowed on the autobahn, and partly due to proximity to a high power Ionity CCS charger (at Demminer Land), capable of refilling the Tesla Model 3 relatively quickly.

The average speed travelled over the entire 24 hour period was almost 116 km/h (72 mph), including recharging stops. The driving stages were conducted at high speeds of averaging around 100 mph (160 km/h) for just under an hour on each circuit. Then the vehicle was topped up by around 52% in around 15-16 minutes on the Ionity charger, to recharge for each subsequent driving session. The record was set despite frequent periods of rain, and headwinds.

At more normal highway speeds of around 120 km/h (75 mph), the Tesla Model 3 Long Range can travel an initial distance of 264 miles (425 km) driving from full down to 10%, and then recover over 2.5 hours of driving (188 miles, 303 km) from each 20 minutes of charging, on high power DC chargers. At the record setting attempt’s higher speeds, often over 100 mph (161 km/h), the overall range (as with all vehicles) is lower, but due to the Tesla Model 3’s high-speed charging ability, the overall distance travelled in a given period of time is optimized.

The Ionity high-power charging network generously stepped up to offer to support the successful record attempt, having caught wind of the event from a preview video Bjørn put out just a few hours before the start. Ionity temporarily bypassed the user authentication process at the CCS chargers at Demminer Land (saving a few seconds each recharge). The charging network also provided the team with repeated high-power charging sessions (delivering power at up to 195 kW) without requiring any payment.

Image courtesy of Bjørn Nyland/Youtube

Part of Bjørn’s motivation for the record attempt was to demonstrate how far today’s EVs can travel on highways, and to prove that “there’s really no reason not to go electric.”

You can review the new record on Bjørn’s Youtube livestream channel (see the final stage video below). Also keep an eye out on his regular Youtube channel in the coming days for his summary video of the successful record event:











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