YouTuber breaks world electric car record by driving Tesla Model 3 for 2,781km in 24 hours

YouTuber Bjørn Nyland drove a borrowed Tesla Model 3 Long Range AWD for 2,781 in 24 hours in Germany, setting a new multi-charge distance record.

Unlike a single-charge distance challenge that often requires slow speeds to maximize range, Nyland drove the Model 3 at an average of 115km per hour.

He also reached 170km per hour on the Autobahn — Germany’s highway network that contains de-restricted sections with no speed limits. As a result, Nyland’s efficiency tanked, staying around the not-great-not-terrible 311Wh/km mark. In most cases, the rating is substantially behind the average 160 Wh/km that most EVs could achieve under normal conditions.

The entire attempt cost over 850 kWh in electricity, translating to roughly ten cycles of the Model 3 Long Range AWD’s battery. Electrek said Nyland only replenished his car to around 50 percent at each station for the fastest charging speed.

Similar to how a smartphone handles charging operation, charging rate on a vehicle dwindles when the battery reaches a particular state. For Nyland, 50 percent was the ideal level.

Austrian team G-Electric held the previous record at 2,644km in 2018 by driving an unspecified Model 3 EV with the help of German Horst Lüning. Lüning also used a Tesla Model S to reach 2,424km.

Electrek also pointed out that the IONITY quick charging network in Germany contributed to his success through sponsorship and better charging speeds.

According to Nyland’s earlier experiment, a Tesla Model 3 could draw an upwards of 180kW from an IONITY charger, making the third-party charger a much faster alternative than the prevalent V2 Superchargers in Europe.

Tesla recently launched the latest V3 Tesla Superchargers with a 250kW power ceiling. The company also rolled out a software update in March that allows Model 3 Long Range, Model S and X to charge faster on existing V2 Superchargers.