As a participant in the rally (Roadster), something I've learned in a way that just doesn't work to read about - after driving through Washington and Oregon and seeing how the Leafs and iMiev did with the DC charging network, the importance of DC charging capability if you want to go somewhere just can't be understated. When the Superchargers got switched on along 101, the Model S's took off and drove circles around everybody else. It's easy to know that in your head, but seeing it in person emphasized it that much more.
And in Washington and Oregon when there weren't superchargers available, even with twin chargers, you are arguably better off in a Roadster (ignoring space constraints!) than a Model S simply because 4 miles/kWh is easy in the Roadster, and MS is more like 3 miles/kWh. That difference in efficiency is paid back in charging time, and when charging time at a 'fast' charger is (generously) mile/minute, the MS needs 33% more charging time to get back the same driving distance.
The Leafs and iMiev, when the charging network is well built out, are arguably better cars for traveling middle to longish distances than the Roadster, for the simple reason that they have the chademo / DC charging capability, and the Roadster doesn't. At the very least, they aren't worse off. (That means they are also in the same ballpark, or better at some distances, than Model S - the infrastructure is that important).
My takeaway is that Tesla is spot on with the emphasis on building out the Supercharger network. Driving a Model S along the network looks like its functionally equivalent to driving a gas car. Anybody coming along with a new electric car that doesn't have DC charging capability is building and selling a NEV, whether they call it that or not (or maybe it'd be a MEV - Metropolitan EV).