Are the circles on the Supercharger website deceiving?

[Trnsl8r]

Looking at the Supercharger website: Supercharger | Tesla Motors
it kind of looks like you can drive from the supercharger in Wisconsin to the one in Minnesota, i.e. the circles intersect:

But for the heck of it, I pulled the Google directions from site to site and noticed that it was just a tad over 300 miles between them...

I realized that it's not enough for the circles to intersect, the circle actually has to reach the supercharger next to it for the corridor to really be open... I added circle outlines to my first screenshot to illustrate:

In hindsight I feel a bit silly, but wonder if others got caught thinking the same thing?

Ideally there are tons of improvements possible on the supercharger website. For example I would like to be able to click a dot on the map to get to the details, not have to hunt for the respective link in the list below. Not to mention seeing current status of how busy the stations are...

 

[Cottonwood]

I think that they are very deceiving for Supercharger to Supercharger (SC) legs. For first and last legs of the day, the shaded areas may be OK.

For reality doing SC to SC hops, use the Teslawiki Superchargers Map, and set the range to something like 80 miles for an MS85 and 60 miles for an MS60. You want some overlap, or look closer.

Beyond that, do serious planning with EVTripPlanner and put in the correct temperatures. This can be really important where there are significant elevation changes and/or extreme temps.

 

[montgom626]

More are being installed along these routes.

 

[PhilBa]

Also remember that the circles are "as the crow flies" vs the meanderings the road might take. On the interstate routes, it's fairly close but if it turns or you take 2 different roads then it might be deceptive.

As for the circles, you can also do it by setting the circles to what ever distance you are comfortable with. If the next SC falls within the circle, you are good. With an MS85, I feel comfortable with 200 google nav miles with a range charge on level roads in good weather. There are numerous rules of thumb for dealing with cold, elevation gain and head winds.

 

[Trnsl8r]

I think that they are very deceiving for Supercharger to Supercharger (SC) legs. For first and last legs of the day, the shaded areas may be OK.

For reality doing SC to SC hops, use the Teslawiki Superchargers Map, and set the range to something like 80 miles for an MS85 and 60 miles for an MS60. You want some overlap, or look closer.

Beyond that, do serious planning with EVTripPlanner and put in the correct temperatures. This can be really important where there are significant elevation changes and/or extreme temps.

Great tips, thanks.

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More are being installed along these routes.

Not really relevant to the question and of little comfort to someone traveling today. Also, I'm not planning to travel that route, just used it as an example.

My point was that what appears as a corridor on the supercharger map, is not really a corridor.

 

[Robert.Boston]

My point was that what appears as a corridor on the supercharger map, is not really a corridor.

Agreed for SC-to-SC trips. OTOH, if I want to know, "can I drive from the Burlington NC supercharger to Charlotte?" the circles as drawn are useful (assuming that I can charge in Charlotte). But there's no argument that Tesla drew these circles in a way that could lead to misinterpretation.