[perl4ever]

>In my Tesla the brake pedal only controls the brakes

Are you sure about that? I have a hybrid that has paddles to adjust the deceleration resulting from letting off the gas, but using that or the brake pedal I'm pretty certain uses the regen the same way. The only difference I think is when exactly the brake lights go on.

I'm surprised if EVs are different, because it kind of applies an arbitrary semantic distinction between gas and brake pedals.

If the brake pedal only applies the friction brakes, then does that mean that moderate to heavy regen braking doesn't make your brake lights go on? That seems like a questionable design.

[theluketaylor]

Yes, the brake pedal only controls the friction brakes in Teslas. The brake lights come on when a certain amount of deceleration is achieved, not merely based on pressing the brake.

Once you stop thinking of the right pedal as 'gas' and start thinking of it as the 'accelerator' it makes perfect sense. You press down to accelerate, hold steady to maintain a speed (zero acceleration), and lift off to decelerate. The amount you press or lift off determines how much positive or negative acceleration you get. Then the brake is just there for a rare time regen isn't enough (and I go weeks without touching the brake).