Tesla Model 3 sets a new battery draw efficiency record on a 620-mile trip

A new 1000km (620-mile) electric car efficiency challenge test with Tesla's latest Model 3 Performance edition proved once again that Tesla makes the most frugal electric cars. Thanks to the one and only EV tester Bjørn Nyland's self-concocted race, we now know what Elon Musk has been saying for a while. Tesla obviously has a big head start in terms of powertrain efficiency indeed, and can reach ranges on a charge that other carmaker are able to pull off only with much larger and more expensive battery packs.

The 2022 Tesla Model 3 Performance covered the 620 mile distance for 9 hours and 15 minutes, a pretty amazing feat that beats the 2020 model year version by 40 minutes. The Tesla managed an average speed of 67 mph (108.1 km/h) and had to be charged only four times along the way, helping it top the previous record. Thus, the 2022 Model 3 Performance returned an average energy efficiency of 341 Wh/mile (212 Wh/km) in the balmy summer weather.

Given that the average electricity consumption of the lot tested so far in Bjørn Nyland's 1000km challenge is 441 Wh/mile, or 274 Wh/km, it's not hard to fathom why most of the cars in his top rankings are now Teslas. Other electric cars, particularly ones from Chinese EV startups like Aion are reporting extreme 620-mile ranges, able to cover the challenge's distance without charging, but they do it with much larger battery packs than what Tesla installs.

It's precisely this amazing power efficiency of Tesla's drivetrains that allows it to maintain a profit margin of at least US$10,000 on a car by being able to use smaller, more affordable battery packs, as it bests its rivals in distance covered per unit of capacity. Given the car's demonstrable frugality, Elon Musk's quip that a Tesla with a 600-mile range doesn't make sense from a value standpoint may hold water in the end.

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