Tesla Navigate on Autopilot (NOA) is biased for the shortest time route. But my Prius experience revealed that shortest distance was the most efficient. Regenerative braking made stop signs and lights a no cost option and the moderate speeds avoided the aerodynamic loss. But how to do it in our Teslas? I use waypoints to choose more efficient routes. Add waypoints that get you off the fastest route and arrive a minute or so later but at a fraction of the energy cost. Bob Wilson
My experience is that the speed is more a factor in energy use than the distance......Coming back from the cottage, I can take A) the faster speed, shorter duration, longer distance route on major highways, or B) the slower speed, longer duration (5-10 minutes), shorter distance, route on county roads. Tesla Nav defaults to route A, even though it costs me more kW. I prefer route B, so I just drive that route, ignoring the Nav for a while, and eventually the Nav reroutes to the route I'm taking. I find that their Nav system usually defaults to major highways, which I sometimes don't want to take, so I use other navigational methods (my brain, or my phone) to look at my options.
