Tesla Model S officially rated at 89 MPGe with 265-mile range

The numbers are in, and they're looking good. According to the EPA, the Tesla Model S gets a miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) rating of 89 (combined), 88 (city) and 90 (highway). MPGe is defined as the distance a vehicle would travel on the energy contained in one gallon of gasoline, though of course the Model S runs on electrons, not gas.

To compare, other pure electric cars on the market include the Honda Fit at 118 combined MPGe, the Mitsubishi i with 112 MPGe, the Ford Focus Electric with 105 MPGe and the Nissan Leaf with "just" 99 MPGe. Even at the bottom of this particular list, these are impressive numbers for the Model S, meaning it makes efficient use of the energy available in its battery.

Tesla says the range has been declared to be 265 miles using the EPA's five-cycle testing procedure, which makes it the long-range mileage champ of the production electric car world. Using the EPA's older two-cycle testing protocol, the Model S would score more than 300 miles per charge – significantly greater than the 244 miles managed by the older Tesla Roadster. Still, that range figure only applies to the top-of-the-line version with the 85-kWh battery that starts at $69,900. There will be Model S sedans available with considerably less range and a smaller price tag, as well as a Performance model starting at $84,900.

We're on the lookout for more information from Tesla, and we expect it'll come before the first deliveries take place this Friday at the company's Fremont factory in California.