Tesla Model S P85D breaks EV world record with 1,500 miles in 24 hours on German Autobahn

Last week, a Tesla Model S P85D set a new world record for electric vehicles by driving 1,506 miles (2,424 km) in 24 hours on the German Autobahn while using Autopilot 90% of the time.

Using a Samsung Galaxy 4 with a GPS tracker app, a member of the TMC forum - along with his son as co-driver - set off to break the EV record by driving on the new stretch of Autobahn 8 from Ulm Superharger station towards Munich back and forth 16 times in 20 hours while spending 4 hours worth of charging.

In the beginning with the full charge we drove a long leg just close to Munich. The following legs were shorter and we turned just ahead of Augsburg. We had to recharge 16 times at the Ulm Supercharger with charging times around 15min. With the last leg we returned to the Supercharger with 2 mi (3km) left.

The drivers took turn slept part of the night in the hotel nearby. The Model S used 611 kWh in total to cover the distance while averaging 406 Wh/mi (250Wh/km) and a speed higher than 80 mph.

There is an optimal speed, an optimal distance and an optimal charge time which all fit to each other. We fitted curves to measured data points for the energy usage and the charge speed. Then we were able to figure out where the optimum was. That depended on the traffic situation (95% optimal fee), the weather and the distance and time you drive off-Autobahn to the charger. We had to drive one leg shorter with a different speed and lower SoC due to a heavy rain at the end of the leg.

The driver made sure to have a safety range of 8 miles (12km) left during the trip on the Autobahn.
The record was supervised by the Austrian elektro auto mobil magazine.