Range anxiety is common among electric vehicle owners. The worry of not having enough juice in a car's battery to ensure you can get where you need to go, or drive until you can find a charging station, can be a stressful experience.
Thankfully, charging infrastructure is improving in the United States, partially thanks to the Biden administration's goal of installing 500,000 EV chargers along the country's highway network and in communities by 2030.
That should help to settle the nerves of drivers and even encourage those on the fence about switching to an electric vehicle — which produces zero planet-warming pollution while out on the road — to take the plunge and invest.
A study published in the Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives journal, shared by ScienceDirect, found that insufficient charging stations was the second-biggest barrier to buying an electric vehicle among a group of 733 respondents.
But Tesla is also doing what it can to allay the fears of customers, releasing a software update that provides a more accurate reading of remaining battery life.
According to Teslarati, the company faced criticism because battery age was not factored into estimates given by vehicles when providing driving range information.
Software version 2024.2.6 addresses this issue, with the company saying range estimates will now incorporate "additional characteristics related to battery aging over time."
"The older a battery gets, the less life cycles it has and the less able it is to hold onto stored energy," Teslarati observed. "Battery longevity is something that many researchers are attempting to combat, but it is unavoidable. It can only be slowed down."
Indeed, scientists and industry experts are working on solid-state batteries that can provide up to twice as much storage as standard lithium-ion batteries and have a much longer life cycle.
Meanwhile, efforts between laboratories in Australia and Germany have resulted in a battery developed from aluminum, salt, nickel, and ceramic that is said to be safe and long-lasting and doesn't rely on costly and difficult-to-source materials such as lithium — all while being cheaper to make.
For now, though, improved range information will give Tesla drivers a little more peace of mind when they make their next long journey.
"My Model Y is now almost 5 years old so this is a welcome update," one commenter on Teslarati's report said.
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