The quick answer to: Can you go on long trips in a Tesla? Is, Absolutely Yes!
Read more to find out about our take on long road trips in a Tesla Model 3. The charging stops we had, the time it took and the difference it made from a gas car.
Previously, we drove a gas car, Audi and we loved it. Expensive on the gas but nevertheless sturdy for long distances. We switched to a Tesla Model 3 about 2 years back. We have approximately put about 10-15k miles per year on our Tesla, I know that is a lot. This is similar to the miles we drove in our gas car too, so it has made no difference.
Yes, I know most people are still skeptical about driving an electric car long distance. Maybe because charging stations are not so prevalent as gas stations yet. Also, the mileage on an electric car is less compared to a gas car. However, Tesla is different.
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Let's talk about Charging first.
Tesla has an excellent Supercharging network spread all across the U.S. These superchargers are unlike the normal chargers. Superchargers charge the car to full charge in less than 20 minutes! That’s 310 miles in under 20 minutes for a long range version of a Tesla Model 3. Shorter range version of the car charges to full in less than 10 minutes!
Tesla also provides the adapter cable to use any EV charger with the standard J1772 connector.
We have driven to National parks where there is no cellphone network and still managed to find Superchargers all the way to the park and EV chargers within the park. It didn’t feel any different from a gas car.
$$ Tip $$: Find hotels/airbnbs on the way which have free destination chargers/EV charger in the garage. Put your Tesla to charge at night and be fully charged for the next day!
Supercharging stops.
All supercharging spots are in a complex where there is atleast a gas station store, grocery store or restaurants. We drove to Yellowstone National Park, which is 12 hours away from Washington State. The key difference we found between driving a Tesla to a normal gas car was, we did NOT get tired after a 12 hour journey and the reason – supercharging stops every 2-3 hours. It gave us a good break to stretch our legs, snack, rest, etc. In our gas car, we did not have a reason to stop and would push ourselves to finish the journey soon, get super exhausted and not enjoy the trip at our best.
And the time added to the trip? Hardly nothing. We would choose this option any day over getting exhausted and not enjoying the trip!
$$ Tip $$: To save time on the journey, club your lunch/dinner time with supercharging. Order right to your car and enjoy a movie while eating or go to a restaurant in the supercharging complex.
One of the best features of a Tesla is, it maps the route for you which includes supercharging! So you don’t have to worry about calculating your route with charging. Just put in the destination and the map is ready for you to go! Check out our route from Washington State to Yellowstone National park in our Tesla Model 3.
About the mileage.
310 miles is the long range version of a Tesla Model 3 and it is more than sufficient. You will hit a supercharger way before that and you will want to take a stop way before 310 miles! And guess how much the cost is for supercharging? Maximum of $12 for full 100% charge from 2%! A gas car for the same mileage would be approximately $50-$60, depending on the state in the US. It’s a steal! Also, you are doing some good to the environment. A sweet deal.
Cost of charging our Tesla for our Yellowstone National Park trip from Washington State, USA – $60 🙂
Driving strain.
Having a Tesla with full fledged Autopilot has cut down the strain of driving by almost 60%! That’s a SIGNIFICANT reduction! I remember going on long drives in my Audi, it did have cruise control and everything, however I still needed to change lanes, pay more attention while stopping at red lights, control how many car distance I should keep, etc. Tesla with full fledged autopilot eases such hassles. Of course, you do need to be alert and monitor what the car does. We use this feature ALL the time, not just the freeways but city roads where you don’t have to take any turns. We love it.
So.. Can you go on long trips in a Tesla? And the verdict is Absolutely Yes! Hope you guys enjoyed reading and the article answered most, if not all, of your questions Use our Tesla referral and get yourself a Tesla! 🙂
The long road trip to Yellowstone, in Tesla, is very interesting and useful specially as we are contemplating purchasing an EV. Thank you for sharing your trip details.
Thank you Sanjay for taking the time to read the article! Hope you do buy yourself an EV 🙂