In BriefA Tesla Model S was just used to set a new record for distanceon a single charge: 901.2 km. The drivers were able to achieve thismilestone by hypermiling (operating the vehicle with the specificgoal of increasing efficiency), taking nearly an entire 24 hours tocomplete the run. The Model S Record

ATeslaModel S P100D has just been used to set a new record for distance driven on a singlecharge: 901.2 km (~560 miles). Steven Peeters and Joeri Coolsmanaged to breakthe record for the lowest energy consumption for the vehicle as well, achieving 88 Wh/km (54.7 Wh/mile).

They did so by hypermiling (driving the vehicle with the specific goal of increasing efficiency). For example, because cars are not asefficient at high speeds, the drivers averaged only 40 km/h (24 mph) a speed that wouldnt be ideal for actual travel, but thats great for breaking records.

Most previous approaches to hypermiling have focused on driving cars in a straight line, but Peeters and Cools opted for a different approach, following a 26 km (~16 mile) closed loop in Belgium in order to learn to optimize the cars energy usage.

By the time we finished the attempt, we knew perfectly how to take every turn and roundabout to make sure we drove with the least possible consumption, Peeters explained in a blog post. They also learned how to drive under different temperature conditions as theattempt took them almost an entire day: 23 hours and 45 minutes.

In 2015, Elon Muskpredicted thata Tesla with a 950 km+ (~600 mile) maximumrange would be ready by 2017. This attempt was just shy of the prediction, butthe drivers think they did the best they could under their circumstances and explained what would be necessary to break the 1,000 km (~621 miles) record:Thatwould have to be a perfect run in perfect circumstances, which I believe are not possible in our country.

Hypermiling is not the way the vast majority of people drive, but it is a good test to show just how efficient a car can be. We must also consider that this test was undertaken in the error-strewn landscape of human judgement.If the Model Ss Autopilotwereadjusted to maximize efficiency, it could potentiallylearn more quickly than the drivers and make the appropriate adjustments.

The previous Tesla record holder, Casey Spencer,achievedan 885 km (550 mile) run last year, so this record-breaking run marks an impressive new milestone for the Model Ss efficiency.

While these scores are not particularly close to beating the records set by non-electric vehicles, we must remember that this is only the second Tesla car ever built (with the Model 3 coming soon), updates are arriving quickly, and a lower maximum milage is a happy sacrifice for a more environmentally friendly mode of transportation.

If Teslas cars continue progressing at this rate, it wont be long before their environmentally unfriendly counterparts are matched in performance the only category theyre really ahead in anymore. Electric cars are now closing in fast on their fossil fuel-poweredcounterparts, with other recent feats including a Nio EP9 achieving a staggering time of 6:45:9 around Germanys Nrburgring track. Soon, theyll be ready for full industry domination.

Read this article:

A Tesla Just Drove a Record Breaking 900+ Kilometers on a Single Charge - Futurism