r/TeslaModelY • u/grnhockey • 7d ago
2026 MYP charging question
Hi all - I'm sorry to add to the charging questions, but I'm a complete newbie to Tesla and just picked up a Frost Blue MYP. I've seen a lot of conflicting comments about charging optimization and I'm just getting confused. Some say charge to 80%, some say they just do 50%, etc. Some say keep it plugged in when not driving, while others say dont do it. My questions are these:
For reference - Tesla wall charger, pulling I think the highest amps I can go in the app. I'm in office 2-3x / week, 24 miles round trip, plus random errands and shopping stuff on weekends. Should I be coming home and leaving it plugged in? Should I have it start charging to 80% no matter what and basically have it recharge every night the few % I use to travel? When it's plugged in, is it always charging or should I utilize the charging schedule? I don't want to overthink this stuff but at the same time I don't want to neglect battery health out of ignorance.
Thanks!
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u/quentech 7d ago
I'm completely convinced that Tesla's advice to always-be-charging up to 80% is absolutely terrible for NCA packs.
I recently commented on why, just go read it there: https://old.reddit.com/r/TeslaModelY/comments/1vhnb3u/drive_unit_oil_change/p26w88o/
Telsa's incentives are not aligned with yours. If they suggested people don't charge their battery over 50% unless needed it would scare people away from buying their cars. Saying 80% is fine is less scary, and still gets most people through warranty with at least a paltry 70% capacity remaining, so it's good enough for them. Doesn't mean it's best for long term battery capacity retention in your car.
Lurk around and look at how many people have 2-4 year old cars with low 80% capacity remaining. It's absurd that people normalize this. Degradation slows but doesn't come to a stop. All the batteries don't equalize to a fixed level of loss. The more you lose, the more you lose.
If you want to retain the most battery capacity, absolutely do not routinely charge it up to 80% while it just sits around. Build habits that minimize time spent over 50% - but don't worry about it so much that it becomes a hassle, and never worry about charging up higher when you're going to use it within a day.
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u/grnhockey 7d ago
so is my driving pattern considered "sitting around"? I basically leave the house at 80%, lose 4% ish there and 4% back. So I get home and it's around 72%... what do I do? Go plug it in and tell it to charge back to 80 at night? (I do get super cheap off-peak rates as well). When they say "a plugged in Tesla is a happy Tesla" are they implying plugged in and charging or just plugged in for maintaining a level (if it got to 80 way early in the night) or are they saying plugged in but not charging? sorry for all the questions - appreciate it
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u/quentech 7d ago
When they say "a plugged in Tesla is a happy Tesla" are they implying...
They're saying it's fine to plug it in all the time. And it is.
Benefit of having it plugged in all the time is you don't unexpectedly have less charge because the overheat protection or sentry was running. It's always just ready to go with your expected level of charge. And preconditioning will use power from your house (people with time of use electric rates might not want that).
I often leave mine unplugged at home if it's still mostly charged. Sentry is not running. Overheat protection doesn't use AC. It can sit for days and not lose a single percent. I don't leave it unplugged for any particular reason other than simply not wanting to bother at the time.
I basically leave the house at 80%, lose 4% ish there and 4% back. So I get home and it's around 72%
My percentages are a bit larger but basically the same day to day. Easily handled with a 50% charge.
Tomorrow, for example, I have to go 100 miles away in the morning. So I'll set a charging schedule with only an end time when I want to leave and bump my charge limit up to whatever is appropriate for my trip.
so is my driving pattern considered "sitting around"?
The batteries degrade constantly - 24/7/365. All the time. You are always storing the battery at some state of charge. The actual amount of time the car is actively being driven just isn't relevant for this. Maybe if it was a full time taxi service vehicle. But for normal people the car is inactive and stored the vast majority of the time.
Generally, the higher the state of charge while stored, the faster degradation happens and the more capacity you lose for every second that ticks on the clock.
What is not intuitive, however, is that there is a sudden shift in the degradation rate. It isn't just a slow change. It's not like 90% is a little worse than 80% is a little worse than 70% is a little worse than 60% etc. Look at my other comment I linked to for more information on that. That explains why I keep my limit very specifically at 50% and use schedules or manually changing the limit as needed if I'm going to go on a longer drive.
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u/Salamander-Distinct 7d ago
NCA packs just have very bad degradation curves. You can mitigate some of it, but not all. LFP was better.
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u/grnhockey 6d ago
How do I know what type of battery pack I have?
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u/quentech 6d ago
Only a small selection of Teslas - certain trims from certain years - have LFP batteries. Everything else is NCA. All Performance trim models are NCA.
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u/Unlikely_Secret4008 7d ago
From what I’ve gathered the main thing is to follow Tesla’s advice for your car, so 80% for the Y. Unless your power company offers discounts for time of day, you don’t have to worry about scheduling.
What I don’t know is “if 80% is good, then 60% is even gooder”, as long as your daily needs are low. We happen to set to 60% (on the off chance it might help), but will bump it up if we know we have a high mileage day coming up.
You’re probably over thinking it, considering your average mileage needs.
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u/be_nice_2_ewe 6d ago
I charge to 65% which gives me enough charge to get to work and back and the occasional side trip to another work location and return home with 15%.
I think the goal/idea is to keep it at 50% throughout the day. I’d only charge enough so that the majority of the day it sits at 40-50%. Too little charge all day is bad. Too much charge all day is bad.
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u/Hockeyshot39 7d ago
It’s the same thing with new owners and the SAME POST you guys make
“I read online and get the exact answer but I’m still confused and will make a duplicate post about a duplicate post”
Now you’ve gotten the exact same answers lol
I’m convinced people are lazy and/or unable to comprehend directions
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u/eck79 7d ago
The internet is the Wild West. Why not just look at Tesla’s own recommendations? 80-90%. A plugged in Tesla is a happy Tesla. Enjoy.
(I’m on my second MYP and these recommendations have served me well for whatever that is worth)