- The 2021 Model Y Long Range falls just short of its EPA-estimated range of 326 miles, covering 317 miles on Edmunds' real-world EV range loop.
- That total puts the Model Y Long Range in 5th place on our EV range leaderboard, 54 miles ahead of the Model Y Performance.
- To date, no Tesla has matched its EPA range estimate in our test.
- Edmunds' EV range leaderboard is embeddable and dynamic, meaning it will update in real time whenever we add a new electric vehicle.
The 2021 Tesla Model Y Long Range has an EPA-estimated range of 326 miles on a single charge. While 326 miles is well above the luxury EV norm, it's still just an estimate. We wanted to see how the Model Y Long Range would perform on our standardized EV driving loop.
Would the Model Y Long Range become the first Tesla to match or exceed its EPA range estimate in our testing? Here's what we found.
Testing the Model Y Long Range in the Real World
Edmunds tests every new electric vehicle on the same real-world driving loop to see just how far it can travel from a full charge down to zero miles remaining. If you look at our EV Range Leaderboard, you'll see that most EVs have matched or exceeded their EPA range estimates in our testing. No Tesla has done so yet and (spoiler alert) the Model Y Long Range didn't manage to buck that trend.
Specifically, we traveled a total of 317 miles in our Model Y Long Range, which is about 2.8% less range than the EPA estimate of 326 miles. That's a close enough margin that we believe the Model Y Long Range is technically capable of matching its EPA number if you take into account the emergency buffer past zero. This is the extra distance an electric vehicle can go after its range meter indicates zero miles left. While the EPA factors this distance into its testing, we find it unrealistic to expect anybody to drive that way. So we look for EVs to match their EPA number without the buffer — and as noted, most non-Teslas have been able to do so.