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A pair of Tesla fanatics in Kingdom of belgium proved you can drive a Tesla Model S more than 560 miles (900 kilometers) on a single charge. That is a record, for now. Information technology involves some tradeoffs, though: flat roads, light traffic, slow speeds, and no climate control.

Steven Peeters and Joeri Cools collection at speeds around 25 mph (xl kph) as the car ran for merely under 24 hours on the 100-kilowatt 60 minutes battery of a new Tesla S P100D.

The record-setting Tesla P100D. Belgian police at kickoff idea it was a self-driving paradigm. Credit: Steven Peeters

How they set up for the challenge

Co-ordinate to a mail by Peeters, the previous endurance record for a Tesla was 452.viii miles (728.7 km) in a Tesla P85D. An 546.8-mile (880-km) run was discounted considering information technology included downhill segments. Peeters had just acquired a Tesla P100D with a 100-kWh lithium-ion battery. He swapped Michelin Primacy tires on 19-inch alloys. The Model South P100D is rated at 315 miles range in mor east ormal driving.

They searched Google Maps and Street View for a course that was flat and with little traffic, a challenge in Belgium, and settled on a circuit about the port of Antwerp. They so waited for a expert weather forecast.

The 26-km (sixteen-mile) loop used for well-nigh of the endurance test.

23 hours, 45 minutes with no AC

The distance-racers set the beginning and terminate signal as a 22-kW charger shut by the main "track" of 26 km. By repeatedly driving the same loop, they learned the best line for lowest energy consumption. They experimented with speeds, and found small-scale differences really did touch efficiency. Peeters write in his blog:

The offset few rounds we were really looking at all the different options and what they meant for our power consumption. Of grade, A/C was out of the question, but would using the fan only exist more than efficient than cracking the windows slightly to get some fresh air? Would folding the mirrors be more than efficient? What is the optimum speed to drive at? Etc.

You would be surprised to notice out that 40kph [24.8 mph] is actually the most efficient speed. Both 38kph and 42kph already showed quite a departure in consumption. We were definitely not expecting that. As for the other questions, nosotros did larn a lot about driving economically, but we'll keep that [t]o ourselves for now and let the other potential nut cases figure that out on their own :-).

At ane point they were pulled over by the police, who suspected the "TEST" sign in the rear window indicated a self-driving car; assured that it was just a slow-moving endurance test car, the cops radioed their colleagues to leave them lone. As dark turned to twenty-four hour period, the forecast for 22 degrees C (72 degrees F) became 26 degrees C (79 degrees F) and the car, with no AC, reached 38 degrees C or 100 degrees F. "It was merely like sitting in hell and the dominicus was really burning," Peeters wrote. "We let a sigh of relief every time we turned back around and had the sun behind united states of america, were the tinted windows provided some protection."

During the nighttime portion of the drive, they worried they wouldn't fifty-fifty reach the old record of 729 km. Merely as outside temperatures increased, so did battery efficiency, aided also by taking the best line effectually corners. Subsequently breaking the 900-km barrier with the machine running on the last electrons ("can inappreciably [say] running on fumes"), they turned off the airtight course and headed dorsum to the charger. Full elapsed mileage on a unmarried charge: 901.two km, or 560.0 miles, over 23 hours, 45 minutes. Peeters said he believes 1,000 km is possible from a 100-kWh Tesla.

By mode of comparison, in the 24 Hours of Le Mans last weekend, the winning Porsche 919 (a hybrid), covered five,002 kilometers, or 3,108 miles at about 130 mph. Using a lot more energy, of form.