Competitors to the Tesla Model 3 will stop at nothing to denigrate their competition (Tesla in this case).
"The battle for the top of the midsize electric vehicle segment just got a bit spicier, as a Polestar-backed study recently deemed the Tesla Model 3 as the “least efficient” vehicle following a “real-world” test against two variants of the Polestar 2; the Audi e-tron, and the Jaguar I-PACE. The study came to this conclusion despite the Model 3 going the farthest distance while having the smallest battery pack of all three cars." – teslarati.com
I'm on the floor laughing over this. I guess Polestar figures, "Just say it, and say it in enough ads, to enough people, and they will believe it even though it's not true". That seems to be the credo of Madison Avenue (and politicians).
An efficiency rating should be based on range and battery size, period. And if this was done, as it would be in an honest test, the Tesla wins (because they have the best technology). But Polestar – who commissioned the loaded study – based the study on how far each car was able to drive compared to its EPA range rating.
As noted in a Roadshow report, the Audi e-tron was deemed by the Polestar-backed study to be “most efficient,” since it was able to travel 187 miles before running out of charge, which is 92% of its EPA range of 204 miles.
But this begs the question: Why did the Tesla only go 234 miles instead of closer to its EPA rating of 310 miles? It was 85 degrees out; was the Tesla's AC on, and the two Polestar vehicles' AC not on? Was the Tesla not fully charged before the test and the other two cars were? This could account for the results. But that would be cheating, and a corporation wouldn't cheat... would it?
For me, this is another reason to choose a Tesla over their despicable competition. A car purchase is the second largest purchase most people make, and I think that this money should go to an honest car company who has a mission of accelerating the adoption of sustainable transportation instead of the other car makers' mission of maximum profits.
I'm sure Elon Musk is not pleased with this deception, and equally sure he will address it in his own unique style.
FYI: Polestar is a Sino-Swedish automotive brand jointly owned by Volvo Car Group and its parent company Geely.