It is different, because range can change depending on external factors you have no control over. You can charge the car thinking you have 300 miles of range, and you do. Then you make the same trip again, but an overnight frost takes a huge chunk of that away from you, and now you can't make it back. That's the apparent situation, anyway. It won't happen often but can happen in special situations: ski trips, having to park your car outside due to lack of indoor spots, an extra day in the airport parking lot, etc.
It's different because when you realize your mistake with a gasoline engine, as long as you aren't driving in eastern Utah or some similar remote location, you can easily stop at any one of thousands of convenient gas stations to correct your error. Perhaps that will be true someday for Tesla, but it isn't today.
That combined with the charging time is the only difference.
I thought it strange in the Top Gear review of the Roadster that they even mentioned it only got 55 miles on a full charge on their track (and faked it running out of charge). Most gasoline cars won't do much better when driving so flat-out. That is nothing unique to electrics whatsoever.
Using that as a basis to say "It simply doesn't work" was why Musk (rightly) is trying to cover himself when the press reviews. They seem to have some motive to defame Tesla. Nobody could say for sure if oil is behind it but it certainly smells fishy.
"that they even mentioned it only got 55 miles on a full charge on their track (and faked it running out of charge). Most gasoline cars won't do much better when driving so flat-out."
Uhm, even NASCAR vehicles go farther than 55 miles flat out. Most sports cars do not degrade that far. Even dropping down to 8 mpg would still net almost all sports cars over 100 mile range flat out.
If finding an electrical outlet the owner of which is set up to charge you money for your electrical charge and then sitting there for several hours seems as convenient to you as stopping at a gas station for several minutes, you should buy a Tesla.
Nobody is claiming that it is as convenient as filling up a petrol tank.
This reviewer went out of their way to fabricate a sub-optimal experience in the vehicle. Tesla owners seem perfectly capable (or we'd surely hear about it) of avoiding these same mistakes.
This reviewer went out of their way to fabricate a sub-optimal experience in the vehicle
Can we stop this? Until Musk posts data saying otherwise, it looks like the 90-mile range dropped to a 25-mile range while the car was parked overnight. Parking a car is not something crazy.
