In order to remain at the top of their game, Tesla electric cars exhibit a level of performance and range that is rarely seen in any other electric or gasoline-powered vehicles.
One distinct feature that differentiates Tesla electric cars from gasoline-powered cars is that all Tesla vehicles are designed to operate on a single gear system.
Gasoline-powered vehicles, on the other hand, need at least three gears.
How Many Gears Does a Tesla Electric Car Have?
Although Tesla electric cars share many similarities to traditional gasoline powered vehicles, one of the features that sets them apart is the gear system.
While traditional gasoline powered vehicles are designed to operate on a three to seven-gear system, Tesla electric cars only need a single gear to move forward and reverse.
This single gear mechanism is a common characteristic in most other electric cars, and it does not affect or hinder their performance or drivability in any way.
On the contrary, a Tesla electric car’s single gear system makes learning how to drive far less complicated, and driving becomes easier and more convenient for people of all ages and physical capabilities.
Continue reading to learn how a Tesla electric car’s single gear system works, and how one can drive an electric car with only one gear.
Moreover, this article will also shed light on why traditional gasoline powered vehicles require a minimum of three gears to operate and how this affects their drive compared to electric vehicles.
Read Why a Tesla Car is So Expensive
How Does a Tesla Electric Car’s Single Gear System Work?
People who have ever driven a traditional manual gasoline powered vehicle are well aware of how the multi-gear system works and how a change of gear affects the vehicle’s drive and speed.
For a brief overview to understand why electric cars such as a Tesla do not have a multi-gear system, you must know that unlike gasoline powered vehicles, electric vehicles do not have internal combustion engines and instead come with an electric battery.
This means that Tesla electric cars do not have the need for a multi-speed transmission, and only need to rely on the performance of their built-in electric motor.
How Does the Electric Engine in a Tesla Electric Car Work?
Although the built-in system of a Tesla electric car is called an electric engine, in reality, it is completely different from the traditional combustion engines found in gasoline powered cars.
The engine of a Tesla electric car has only 10% of moving parts similar to those found in a combustion engine. Instead, the remaining 90% of the electric engine is made up of the following components:
- A battery that is responsible for storing electric charge in the form of chemical energy. The larger the Tesla electric vehicle, the bigger the battery it will require to store more charge.
- An electric motor that is the main powertrain of the Tesla electric car. The motor functions by using the stored chemical energy from the electric battery and converting it into kinetic energy with heat energy as the byproduct. The produced kinetic energy is passed to the wheels of the Tesla electric car, allowing the car to gain mobility and speed.
- A built-in inverter is responsible for converting the direct current into an alternate current, which is far more powerful and manageable.
- A plug that allows electricity to flow from an external power source into the battery.
- A single-speed transmission, which is the gear of the Tesla electric car, allows kinetic energy to flow from the electric motor to the vehicle’s wheels.
The main reason why a Tesla electric car has a single-speed transmission or a single gear system is that it does not have the limitations that a traditional combustion car does.
While a gasoline powered vehicle cannot run below a particular speed and need gears to increase the power distribution, the mechanism of a Tesla electric car allows it to go at any speed and does not have this caveat.
For a better understanding of what multi-speed transmission is and why are Tesla electric vehicles designed to operate on a single gear, let us now look at how the multiple gear system works on traditional combustion engine cars.
How Does the Multiple Gear System Work in Gasoline Powered Vehicles?
Whether a gasoline powered vehicle driver decides to floor it or drive for efficient fuel consumption, they need to understand how to switch gears effectively.
Shifting the gears of a gasoline powered vehicle allows the vehicle to generate different amounts of power at different RPM (rotation per minute) ranges.
Hence, when a person shifts gears, they are able to adequately distribute the power produced by the internal combustion engine, which allows them to accelerate or drive at a power-efficient speed.
When a person drives their gasoline powered manual vehicle, they are advised to gradually move up each gear one by one as their vehicle picks up speed.
This means that the car should be in the first gear after it has been started, and should be shifted to the second gear once it begins to pick up speed.
While most people usually drive their vehicles in third gear in high-traffic urban areas, people shift to the fourth or fifth gear when driving on highways where there is little traffic, higher speed limits, and no stops.
Driving like this not only allows a smooth acceleration but also protects the combustion engine from damage while allowing the driver to control and reduce their fuel combustion.
In general, the amount of power needed to move a gasoline powered vehicle from a standstill on a low gear requires the highest torque output.
As the car eventually gains speed and the momentum becomes smoother, the torque output eventually decreases.
This is exactly why different gears are manufactured and installed in vehicles of different body and engine sizes.
The bigger a vehicle, the larger its engine will be, and hence, the higher the number of gears it will require for fuel efficiency and a higher top speed.
Continue reading for a more detailed understanding of the three main reasons why combustion vehicles need gears and Tesla electric cars do not.
Read How to Clean a Tesla Electric Car’s LCD Touch Screen
Three Reasons Tesla Vehicles Do Not Need Gears While Traditional Combustion Engine Cars Do
Modern-day electric cars such as Tesla are based on the same blueprint as traditional gasoline-powered vehicles.
However, their base technology and mechanisms are completely different from one another.
The three main reasons traditional gasoline powered cars cannot function without a detailed gear system while Tesla electric cars only need a single gear are as follows:
- Traditional gasoline powered vehicles come with internal combustion engines that burn fossil fuel in order to generate energy that makes the vehicle mobile.
- Internal combustion engines are designed such that as soon as the vehicle is turned on, they begin turning and burning fossil fuel immediately, and do not stop this process on their own.
- When the car has to come to a stop or needs to be parked, and no longer needs to burn fuel, the gear system allows the engine to disconnect from the wheels, allowing it to come to a halt.
- On the other hand, Tesla electric cars are not designed this way. Since they do not come with internal combustion engines, they do not need a system that will disconnect the wheels when the car has to stop.
- Instead, whenever the driver has to reduce the speed or park their Tesla electric car, they can simply stop giving power to the EV’s built-in electric motor.
- The power distribution mechanism of a traditional gasoline powered vehicle is completely different from a Tesla electric car.
- The internal combustion engines of a gasoline powered automobile will only be powerful in a relatively narrow RPM range, which is usually between 2000 to 4000 rotations per minute for most cars.
- This is primarily why these cars need a complex multiple gear system, as switching to a different gear will change the ratio of engine revolutions to wheel revolutions, allowing better usage and distribution of power.
- When the driver tries to accelerate, they need to shift to a higher gear (third, fourth, or fifth).
- Doing so increases the ratio of wheel revolutions to engine revolutions, allowing the car to pick up speed without requiring an excessive increase in power output.
- Without this mechanism, the motor will burn itself out, or will use up all the available power every time the car tries to push beyond a certain speed limit.
- On the contrary, the mechanism of a Tesla electric car is completely different and does not require the gear systems to control wheel revolutions.
- Since a Tesla does not come with a combustion engine, it does not need to control its revolutions. Instead, the driver simply has to give more power to the motor every time they wish to accelerate.
- Since internal combustion engines have a more traditional and dated design, their mechanisms have many limitations.
- One such limitation is that an internal combustion engine can only turn or revolve in one direction. As a result, a gasoline-powered vehicle can only move forward on gears 1-5.
- Hence, in order to allow the vehicle to reverse and go in the opposite direction, a reverse gear is an absolute must.
- Tesla electric cars do not need reverse gear as they come with an electric motor instead of an internal engine. The motor is designed to simply run in the opposite direction every time the driver has to reverse their car.
Hence, since traditional combustion engines need to control the ratio of engine revolutions to wheel revolutions, they will not function without a multiple gear system.
On the other hand, Tesla electric cars lack an engine and instead depend on a built-in electric motor that delivers power instantly, and does not require a slow and gradual build-up.
Tesla electric vehicle designers and manufacturers have incorporated carefully pre-calculated gear ratios in order to maximize the energy efficiency of the built-in electric motor.
Hence the need to switch down or up to a different gear simply does not exist in a Tesla.
Final Thoughts
A Tesla electric car is a true fusion of modern car technology, futuristic designing, and consumer convenience.
Unlike a traditional gasoline powered vehicle, learning how to drive a Tesla does not take too long. You just have to get familiar with the initial acceleration and braking systems.
This is primarily because the rider does not have to get used to switching different gears to maintain high speeds and energy efficiency. Instead, the driver simply has to increase or decrease the power they give to the Tesla electric motor to control the speed in a highly energy-efficient manner.
You may like the following Tesla electric articles:
- How Many 18650 Batteries Are there in a Tesla Electric Vehicle
- What is Camping Mode in a Tesla?
- How Does the Air Conditioner Work in a Tesla?
- How Much Electricity Does a Tesla Electric Car Use?
- What Color Tesla Electric Car Should I Get?
My name is Matthew, staying in Seattle, Washington. Electric Vehicles (Electric Cars & Electric bikes) caught my attention for the last few years and my love for electric cars and bikes is everlasting. I spend many of my weekends traveling to various places all over various cities with my electric vehicle (e-bike and electric car). Here I am sharing my expertise, experience, and invaluable information about electric cars and electric bikes. Check out more.