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Who Needs Superchargers When You Can Charge a Tesla by Towing It?

Of course, the question is absolutely rhetorical, and the answer would be "everyone," because having another vehicle pulling the Tesla just to recharge its batteries is a terrible idea.
Tesla Model S towing recharging 1 photo
Photo: YouTube screenshot
Doable, but terrible. For one thing, it provides an abysmal energy equation. Just think about it (and we'll take the example of Bjorn Nyland, the author of the clip below): you have a 5,200 lbs (2,300 kg) SUV pulling a 4,600 lbs (2,100 kg) sedan, so the former is going to be under tremendous load form the latter.

To make matters worse, the Model S is essentially braking at all times, because how else but through friction are you going to turn kinetic energy into electric power? So not only is the Model S a fat elephant, it's also a stubborn one that doesn't want to go forward.

Tesla states that you should use a flatbed for transporting its vehicles and not tow them whenever possible, and we imagine that posting a video on YouTube while you do the exact opposite is not such a grand idea if you ever want to make use of that warranty again, but it didn't stop Bjorn Nyland from trying it.

OK, so the setup is complete. One EV is going to provide the pulling power while the other will use its energy regeneration capabilities to recharge the batteries. The test was carried over a distance of 6.6 miles (10.7 kilometers) and took 15 minutes, which means the two cars went pretty slow.

In the end, Bjorn came out with some pretty interesting results. The Model X consumed a staggering 14.9 kWh over a distance it shouldn't have needed more than two, maybe three kWh to cover. On the other hand, the Model S registered a gain of 7.2 kWh, which means the charge/consumption ratio is roughly 1:2.

Could this charging method ever be useful to someone? We seriously doubt it, but strictly as a "what if?" experiment, it's quite interesting. Besides, since battery swapping isn't possible, perhaps you could find yourself in the situation where you absolutely had to drive one particular EV that was out of power but had access to one that wasn't, plus a very strong rope. If that ever occurs, now you know what to expect.

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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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