Yes, because wet surfaces are more slick and therefore there is more wheel slippage. Plus either lower temperature or higher humidity means more HVAC usage.

 

^ This is the correct answer.

Yes, because wet surfaces are more slick and therefore there is more wheel slippage.

There is no more wheel slip on wet pavement than dry pavement unless you have exceeded the static friction in which case you need to accelerate or decelerate more gently, slow down, or reduce steering angle.

 

Additionally, if there's even a wee bit of standing water, the rolling friction increases dramatically. You can notice this by how a vehicle rapidly decelerates when driving though large (and deep) puddles.

Same in liquid fuel vehicles.

 

It's physics so doesn't matter the fuel source or method of propulsion. Remember, the primary reason (besides FUD) that EV drivers have "range anxiety" is because ICE manufacturers installed bigger fuel tanks to offset the inefficiencies of combustion.

Unfortunately, despite EVs being much more efficient, energy density of batteries has a long way to go. Plus, battery weight, being consistent whether full or empty, means installing bigger batteries for more range is another physics problem. ICE gas tanks have negligible empty weight so the vehicle gets lighter as fuel is burned; their only limitation is bulk and distance/protection from spark.

In the grand scheme, that 5% gets easier and easier to ignore with experience. Except for real adventurers (or those in charging deserts), it's pretty rare to pull in to a charging facility with less than 12-15% so going down to 7-10% still leaves a good buffer (in most locations).

 

Rain will affect it. As will colder temperatures. And snow. And wind.

Note that weather also affects combustion vehicles. But the inefficiency of combustion vehicles means that you don't notice the difference as much. Up to 75% of the energy created by burning gasoline becomes heat. Only the remaining 25% is used to move the car. That's why a car engine gets so incredibly hot. Since you're already wasting 75% of your energy at all times, an extra 5% on top due to rain isn't going to be noticed.

The quoted post below has a simple example:

Remember, you don't tend to notice the effects of weather and tires on the performance of a combustion vehicle because 50-75% of the energy used is doing nothing more than creating a bunch of heat. So what shows up as a 10% decrease in efficiency to an electric car appears as a 10% difference on the remaining 25-50% for a combustion vehicle (which means a 2.5-5% decrease in mileage). The inefficiency of a combustion engine "hides" these differences from you.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_efficiency#Gasoline_(petrol)_engines

 

the inefficiency of combustion vehicles means that you don't notice the difference as much. Up to 75% of the energy created by burning gasoline becomes heat. Only the remaining 25% is used to move the car

Wow, I hadn’t thought about that before and really should have! Thanks for summing it up plus the quote you used helped really bring the point home.

 

No, not Tesla only. ALL electric vehicles are influenced by the rain.
In fact, being a newcomer to the EV world, here are the things you should know (if you knew them before buying an electric car it would have been better)

The range of an EV is dependent on the 3 T :

• Terrain
• Temperature
• Technic of driving

Terrain
When driving uphill you use more energy than driving downhill. You never recuperate all the energy you used to drive uphill on your way back downhill. The average is around 70% of the energy used.
When driving on sand you use more energy than driving on ice. For the obvious reason, I hope I don't have to explain this one.
Temperature
When driving in cold weather you consume more energy than when you drive in warm weather. Why ? The air is denser as the temperature goes down. And yes, you consume less energy to keep the cabin colder than to keep the cabin warmer. Not to mention the wipers that use electricity too.
Technic of driving
Driving at a steady speed is more efficient than driving in stop and go traffic. Faster acceleration and abrupt braking will use more energy than using milder acceleration and braking. Driving at steady speeds doesn't do anything to the battery temperature. Only hard acceleration and hard brakes will change the battery temperature. A warmer battery is more efficient.

And now the last thing an EV owner should know : you can control only the speed. You can't control the route, you can't control the weather. So, when you see that you aren't gonna make it to the destination, drive slower, don't keep the same speed and expect a different result than the one posted in the screen. You can't beat Tesla in this issue.

 

No, not Tesla only. ALL electric vehicles are influenced by the rain.

All cars in general are, gas cars get worse mileage in the rain too. It's because lack of grip harms efficiency.

 

When it rains, there is water on the roadway. That water has to be pushed out of the way so that the tread can make contact with the pavement. Water that adheres to the tire tread is accelerated and then flung off as the tire rotates. It takes energy to accelerate the water either by pushing it out of the way or spinning it off the tire. The deeper the water, the more energy is used/lost.

This applies to all vehicles.

 

Just wait for the streets to dry. Problem solved.