In this blog: In 2014 it's already possible to drive an EV cross country in the winter.And at least with Tesla, it comes at no cost, but even if it was paid, it would still be three times chearer than driving a gas car. We're talking about the 76 hour trip made by Tesla team driving two Model S EVs from LA to New York...
I admit I often think about if this free Tesla charging is going to last forever, like Elon Musk announced some time ago. Right now there's no way to know, but what I know is the facts about the record trip of those two Model S from the West to the East coast and I'm going to share them in this blog.
Tesla posted lots of pics on its blog and Facebook page and they clearly show the team had to drive in severe winter conditions. Great, because now there's proof that EVs can make longer journeys in the cold. At least the ones made by Tesla ;).
You'll find the interesting facts from the trip in the table below, but in short it can be described like this:
As in every trip like this in (sometimes fierce) winter conditions, cars went through ice, snow, rain, sleet and freezing temps. In the end, at 7:30 am on Sunday morning February 2, 2014, the teams arrived at New York's Town Hall. With this epic trip Tesla's team not only set a record for crossing USA by electric vehicles, but also for overall shortest charging time.
| Tesla Model S Coast to Coast facts | |
|---|---|
| Total trip time | 76 h. 5 min. |
| Total driving time | 59 h. 34 min. |
| Total charging | 1,197.8 kWh |
| Tire chains mounting | 34 min. |
| Total charging time | 15 h. 57 sec. |
| Total distance | 5,518 km |
| Longest section b/w Superchargers | 398 km |
| Longest driving time b/w Superchargers | 4 h. 56 min. |
| Lowest temperature enroute | –20°C |
| Failed cars | 1 gasoline |
| Fuel saved per car (2 cars) | 515 l. |
| Fuel cost saved per car (at $3.2 per gallon) | $440 |
When I recall we wanted to make an EV trip around Bulgaria as early as 2012, and even Tesla made it in 2014 in US, well, yeah, we were soooo early :). Congrats to Tesla's team – they proved what EVs are capable of, big time!
Time will come to make our BG EV trip as well – and with all the info and experience we have, we'll be prepared. Thanks, you guys, at Tesla Motors!
Source: Tesla Motors blog
