The Tesla Model Y Performance fell 23.6% short of its official range in a laboratory test of 44 electric cars that Forbrugerrådet Tænk, the Danish consumer council, published on 9 November 2026. The car covered 443 km against its WLTP rating of 580 km, a gap of 137 km. Only the Renault Twingo (32.6%) and the Kia EV5 (26.5%) missed by a larger share, according to the ranking TV 2 Fyn compiled from Tænk's results.
None of the 44 cars reached its official figure. In 11 of them the measured range was more than 100 km shorter, TV 2 Fyn reports, and Tænk says that models from Hyundai, Opel and Audi each lost more than 140 km.
A test with more motorway
The official figure comes from WLTP, whose laboratory cycle lasts 30 minutes and covers 23.25 km. Tænk's laboratory ran the same cycle plus about 31 km of motorway driving, about 48 minutes in all at 23°C. The added part includes phases at 130 km/h, slowdowns to 80 or 110 km/h followed by acceleration back to 130 km/h, as in traffic or roadworks, and constant-speed stretches at 80, 100 and 120 km/h.
"We have chosen to test differently from the WLTP standard because we believe our laboratory test gives a more realistic picture," said Thomas S. Pedersen, who is responsible for the test at Tænk. Both figures are only a guide, he added, because the real range depends on where and how the car is driven.
Furthest from the official range
| Rank | Model | Official | Tested | Shortfall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Renault Twingo | 261 km | 176 km | 32.6% |
| 2 | Kia EV5 | 505 km | 371 km | 26.5% |
| 3 | Tesla Model Y Performance | 580 km | 443 km | 23.6% |
| 4 | Kia EV2 | 317 km | 245 km | 22.7% |
| 5 | Nissan Micra | 416 km | 322 km | 22.6% |
| 6 | Hyundai Ioniq 6 | 680 km | 532 km | 21.8% |
| 7 | Kia PV5 Passenger | 412 km | 323 km | 21.6% |
| 8 | Kia EV4 | 625 km | 490 km | 21.6% |
| 9 | Citroën ë-C3 | 322 km | 255 km | 20.8% |
| 10 | Opel Grandland | 694 km | 550 km | 20.7% |
At the other end, the Mercedes-Benz CLA came closest and went furthest: 744 km against 792 km, a gap of 6.1%. The BMW iX2 was second, with 419 km of its 449 km (6.7%). Tænk says the best models measured only 6–7% below their official range.
Where the other Teslas stand
Tænk also tested two other Model Y versions, listed as the Model Y and the Model Y Premium, and its product pages give Grünheide as the factory for all three. Neither appears among TV 2 Fyn's ten cars closest to or furthest from their official range, so their shortfall lies between 12.3% and 20.7%. Tænk's detailed results per model are for members only.
The 443 km is the same figure ADAC measured for the Model Y Performance in its October comparison with the Mercedes GLC, BMW iX3 and Volvo EX60, where the Tesla had the shortest range of the four.
What it means for buyers
The gap varies widely from model to model, so similar WLTP ratings can hide very different results. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 covered 500 km of its 570 km, and the XPeng G6, a direct Model Y rival, 504 km of its 570 km. Both went more than 55 km further than the Model Y Performance, which is rated at 580 km.
Winter shortens every figure here. Tænk's tests on a smaller group of cars found 25–31% higher consumption on long trips at 0°C, and up to 107% on short 23 km trips at −7°C, when warming the car up costs the most.
The official figure still helps when comparing cars, Karsten Meyland Lemche of the Danish motorists' association FDM told DR: drivers will get somewhere near it, and slow driving on hot summer days can even beat it.