Driving Electric: For summer road trips, Tesla is the best

Posted on June 01, 2017 by Matt Pressman

When it comes to taking an all-electric summer road trip, nobody has you covered like Tesla. After all, Tesla recently announced that by the end of 2017, they'll double their worldwide charging infrastructure to total more than 10,000 Superchargers and 15,000 Destination Charging connectors all around the globe. That said, what if there were no electric vehicle chargers available for your summer road trip — which electric car would actually take you the furthest?

Above: A Tesla Model S embarks on a road trip in the UK (Image: The Telegraph)

Recently, two different companies created infographics to show you how far you could go in an electric vehicle (on a single charge) in both the U.S. and Europe. First up, the folks at EV-Box have looked at the summer road trip in Europe while noting that, "today’s most popular electric cars will take you a very long way, even on a single charge... [take a look at] how far your electric car can go from our home city, Amsterdam. A perfect plan for your weekend getaway or euro trip this summer." Without any stops for charging, guess which electric car takes you the furthest? You guessed it — an electric car from Tesla.

Above: Starting from Amsterdam, no other electric car will take you as far as a Tesla — although we wouldn't recommend driving across water to London (Source: EV-Box)

However, when planning a euro trip this summer, remember that, "NEDC is the official measurement for electric-car range in Europe, yet we’re aware that the given numbers are sometimes overly optimistic. The actual range is dependent on the way you drive, whether you turned on your AC, weather conditions and so on. Most importantly though, plan your route based on the availability of charging points." For Tesla owners, this is much easier based on the vast network of both Tesla Superchargers and Destination Chargers already available across Europe.

Above: The all-electric road trip across Europe in a Tesla (Youtube: Tesla)

To that end, you'd want give yourself some breaks at charging stops along the way. After all, "you may ask yourself if 1000 km on a single charge is really needed. What driver with a clear conscience can manage to stay on the road for that long without making any stops... [you'd] surely need to find a restroom, and stretch your legs. Not to mention that any combustion engine car would need to stop and fill up the tank to be able to reach 1000 km," and you'd probably want to stop for a bite to eat after driving that long of a distance anyhow.

Above: Stopping at a Tesla Supercharger (Image: Tesla Adventures)

That said, it's still fun to see how far an electric car can go without any charging stops in the U.S. as well. For that, the folks at Plugless put together another informative infographic with San Francisco as the starting point. Using range data complied by InsideEVs, this "infographic only includes the in-production, U.S. plug-ins with ranges that exceed the U.S. average daily driving of 37 miles... [and] of course, Tesla dominates the high range segment."

Above: Starting from San Francisco, no other electric car will take you as far as a Tesla (Source: InsideEVs via Plugless)

One caveat: these infographics don't include all of the longest range offerings from Tesla — the Model X 100D, with its 295 miles of range, didn't make its way onto these infographics. Regardless, even in a lower range Tesla, if driving conservatively, you might be able to make it all the way from San Fran to LA (or Amsterdam to Stuttgart) without having to stop for a single charge. You just have to plan appropriately and use a few tricks along the way. In any event, it's time for you to get on out there... take that summer road trip in your Tesla. Just be sure to check out our top 11 Tesla road trip tips before you head out onto the open road.

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