MAR2023: My Experience Driving 1,367mi Down Into California and Back

Just drove down into CA and back home on a road trip with my family of five.
- Drove 1,367mi total.
- Used TESLA Superchargers mostly.
- Average TESLA Supercharger price: $0.40/kWh (MIN: $0.34/kWh | MAX: $0.48/kWh)
NOTE: I pay an average of $0.08353/kWh to charge at home, so paying $0.48/kWh is an abomination!!!
- Longest TESLA Supercharger Charge Time*: 50min (Est.) @ 250kW
- Longest non-Supercharger Charge Time*: 2.5hrs @ 8kW (32A)
- Spent $176.96 total on charging**.
- Total trip cost ICE equivalent (24mpg): $209.15 (Est. @ $3.67/gal)

* Charging sessions where we actively sat and waited, not counting charging passively at the hotel, etc.
** Charged FREE overnight at one hotel and paid a flat $10.00 twice to slow charge at an RV park in BFE.

Takeaways...

We have driven this trip and this specific route many times over the years, and it normally takes about 10.5hrs (in our ICE vehicle @ 24mpg) including stops for fuel and restroom breaks; plus, we lose 1hr going to CA and gain 1hr coming home (due to the time change). Heading to CA in our TESLA Model Y took us 15.5hrs, including time spent charging and restroom breaks, etc. There was substantial range anxiety on the way to CA, especially, because the normal route we would take was beyond the actual range of our TESLA (but not beyond the rated range). Our Model Y is rated at 321mi of range, but our first TESLA Supercharger was 254mi from our home (we left our home with 100% SOC). After much stress, we found an RV park in BFE (about 45min from the first TESLA Supercharger along our route) that allowed us to charge using my NIMA 14-50 TESLA Mobile Connector @ 8kW (32A) for a flat $10.00. Our SOC was very low, so we charged up there to about 15% SOC before heading on to the TESLA Supercharger, but by the time we arrived at that first TESLA Supercharger 45min away, we had -4% SOC. (Not kidding! NEGATIVE 4% SOC!!!) Not only did this stress us out immensely (we thought we weren't going to make it), but I feared that going below 0% may have damaged our battery pack. (It still may have damaged it and we don't even know it!) While at that first TESLA Supercharger along our route, we charged 81kWh in about 35-45min. My Model Y supposedly only has a battery pack that is 78.3kWh, so explain that one to me!

Why didn't you just enter your destination and follow the on-screen GPS and charge accordingly, you ask???? Well, because we always go that route, for one thing. Plus, the route that the car wanted us to follow was going to take us 2hrs in the wrong direction, which made no sense to me. I track my normal TESLA driving efficiency using the TezLab app, so I figured that I should be able to travel the 254mi from a 100% SOC if I go slower (I normally speed, going 10-15mi over the speed limit). I then drove 55mph and 60mph the whole way until our first charge, which seemed to help little or not at all. Tractor trailers were getting mad at me, passing me ASAP along the two lane highway.

Once we were near civilization and were able to use ALL TESLA Superchargers, it was a breeze and wasn't stressful at all, although it definitely added time to our drives. We knew we could charge for $10 at that RV park along our normal route on the way back, so that is what we did. Unfortunately, I did not know that you cannot install a software update while charging (or while driving) the TESLA, so shortly after I began charging @ 8kW (32A) at the RV park, I started the software installation, which promptly cut off my charging session, which fact I did not realize until about 25min into the install, which installation took about 35min total. We made sure to charge up to 100% SOC at that last TESLA Supercharger before heading to that RV park toward home. (This was the first TESLA Supercharger on our way to CA.) We had a 78% SOC when we arrived at the RV park, and we charged up to 95% SOC before heading on for home. We had 3% SOC when we arrived home. It was MUCH less stressful driving and charging on the way home than it was on the way to CA, but it still was not stress-free.

We learned the hard way on the drive home (after seeing the "red steering wheel of death" about 3x) that if you manually exceed the MAX speed TESLA allows for auto-steer (85mph), then that feature will be disabled for the rest of the drive. So, we kept having to pull over while driving on a two-lane highway; put the TESLA in PARK; open the driver door briefly; and then pull back out onto the highway to regain the use of this feature. Maybe I'm spoiled, but driving for hours and hours on a two-lane highway WITHOUT auto-steer sucks! (NOTE: Our HONDA Odyssey has lane keeping, which works well on a road trip, although it is not as good as TESLA's Autopilot.) We also experienced several instances of phantom braking that was most unpleasant. Our HONDA Odyssey has never once done this, and it has adaptive cruise control. It seems like Autopilot gets scared as the TESLA approaches the top of a ridge in the road.

Also, while we love how much storage our Model Y has, it really makes things fairly tight, as some of the rear storage space is deceptive and cannot fully be utilized while allowing the rear lift gate to latch shut. You must leave about a 6-8in gap between where the rear lift gate appears to close and your luggage or cooler, or else the rear lift gate will not close. I also did everything I could to avoid placing stored items on top of the rear shelf, but it could not be avoided on the way home, as we purchased some bags of merchandise. The frunk was fully utilized and so was the lower storage area below the rear cargo space (as well as the rear cargo space).

One other strange thing that occurred is that twice while I was charging at a 250kW TESLA Supercharger, steam or smoke started to rise from the passenger side, seemingly from underneath the hood of the car (under the frunk). This only lasted about 30sec or less, and both times it happened while it was colder and raining outside (maybe 47°F). Because it was wet out, it could have been steam from the thermal realities of Supercharging, or it could have been smoke. There were also a lot of clicks and a few thud noises that occurred while I was Supercharging.

I have estimated (pretty accurately, I might add) that we saved about $32 driving the Model Y on our road trip, as opposed to our ICE minivan that gets 24mpg and is much larger and more comfortable for the passengers. Was it worth it? I am unconvinced, even though I love driving my Model Y. However, my family all said that they wished we had taken the minivan.

I think the main takeaway is that until charging can be done even more quickly than it is today and until fast-charging locations are more prevalent than gas stations are today, then road trips in an EV for periods longer than 4-6hrs are not worth it, IMO. We would normally drive this route with a full tank of gas when leaving home and would have to stop once to fill up along the way, which is also our main potty break and food stop. This would add about 30min to our drive. Until EV's can do likewise, I am not sure that it makes sense to drive an EV on such a long road trip instead of an ICE vehicle. We hope to get a CyberTruck soon, but no one really knows how large and comfortable (or not) that EV will be. TESLA doesn't really make any large/r sized vehicles. The Model X is smaller than our HONDA Odyssey, which minivan is reasonably comfortable on a long road trip. (We drove it about 5,000mi on a 2.5wk road trip last summer and we were decently comfortable.) I could not imagine driving our Model Y on the same 5,000mi road trip. Also, I am utterly disappointed with the lack of savings from charging while driving our TESLA Model Y on road trips. My home electricity price per kWh is amazing, but I think it's ridiculous that I should have to pay 5x that price OR MORE to charge up on a road trip. That's the whole point of owning an EV! I've already paid damn near double to purchase this vehicle, so I should be getting more savings over ICE than a mere 15% at the Superchargers! (NOTE: My state also charges an additional $154 per year for my TESLA auto registration because it's an EV and I don't pay the fuel tax.)

"Tesla Model Y Dual Motor Solid Black (1)" by Damian B Oh is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Admin note: Image added for Blog Feed thumbnail

 

[THEbuz]

Regardless of whether it's his fault personally or not I think the larger issue here is the fake range estimates the government allows to be used.

The 330 miles of range claimed on my 23MYLR is a fake number. Just as the 371 miles on my 21MXLRP was fake.

The made up range numbers need go away.

Thank you. I agree 1,000%!!!

 

[GreenCoffee]

I think most respondents are not considering that I happen to live in a locale that does not have enough SC locations to accommodate convenient travel to and from CA. Like I said in my OP, the GPS told me to drive 2hrs east (in the wrong direction) when I needed to head to the southwest. It’s not like I had other reasonable options and chose to ignore them. To me, telling me to drive 2hrs the wrong way is not reasonable. There actually were two rapid charger stations along our route (I think they were Blink chargers), but I did not have the correct adapter to use them (and they even had two different charging handles!). Thankfully, my Mobile Connector with NIMA 14-50 saved us at the RV park! Did I put my family “at risk”, as some have suggested…??? I don’t think so. We have excellent roadside assistance coverage. (It’s not like I sent them that way without me.) I’m a pretty inventive little F-er, so I knew I could figure out something—which I did. Now that we’ve driven this route, we know what to expect: Will have to stop to charge 15% at the RV park until TESLA installs that much-needed SC location in McDermitt, NV. Will continue to take this route if we go again, rather than driving 2hrs the wrong way.

Or as you stated you could get the (CCS?) adapter needed for this trip but if the destination is the trip as it is for most people then the minivan seems the way to go.

 

[THEbuz]

I think most respondents are not considering that I happen to live in a locale that does not have enough SC locations to accommodate convenient travel to and from CA. Like I said in my OP, the GPS told me to drive 2hrs east (in the wrong direction) when I needed to head to the southwest. It’s not like I had other reasonable options and chose to ignore them. To me, telling me to drive 2hrs the wrong way is not reasonable. There actually were two rapid charger stations along our route (I think they were Blink chargers), but I did not have the correct adapter to use them (and they even had two different charging handles!). Thankfully, my Mobile Connector with NIMA 14-50 saved us at the RV park! Did I put my family “at risk”, as some have suggested…??? I don’t think so. We have excellent roadside assistance coverage. (It’s not like I sent them that way without me.) I’m a pretty inventive little F-er, so I knew I could figure out something—which I did. Now that we’ve driven this route, we know what to expect: Will have to stop to charge 15% at the RV park until TESLA installs that much-needed SC location in McDermitt, NV. Will continue to take this route if we go again, rather than driving 2hrs the wrong way.

There is only one SC location in my valley with 800k+ population. The next closest SC is 1hr to the west (which direction I was not going on this road trip; we were headed SW). The next closest SC location after that is 2hrs to the east of my valley where I live. It’s not like it is in many other parts of the country. I am definitely an early adopter among my geographic peers.

 

[THEbuz]

Or as you stated you could get the (CCS?) adapter needed for this trip but if the destination is the trip as it is for most people then the minivan seems the way to go.

Yeah—CCS adapter was what the Blink chargers required. I’ve already been outvoted 4-1. Minivan it is next time.

Another related thought: TESLA just doesn’t make a large vehicle. We own a HONDA Odyssey, which has ample room for a family of five AND ample storage space. I’ve never owned a Model X but test driven one twice. I still don’t think it’s as large as the Odyssey. I know the CyberTruck is supposed to be pretty large, but then Elon shrunk it 3%. Guess we’ll have to see how large it really is/n’t. I would like to see TESLA make an EV as large and as comfortable as a Suburban.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Yeah—CCS adapter was what the Blink chargers required. I’ve already been outvoted 4-1. Minivan it is next time.

Another related thought: TESLA just doesn’t make a large vehicle. We own a HONDA Odyssey, which has ample room for a family of five AND ample storage space. I’ve never owned a Model X but test driven one twice. I still don’t think it’s as large as the Odyssey. I know the CyberTruck is supposed to be pretty large, but then Elon shrunk it 3%. Guess we’ll have to see how large it really is/n’t. I would like to see TESLA make an EV as large and as comfortable as a Suburban.

Tesla is unlikely to do that. Your choices now are the Rivian SUV and the Hummer (ugh). Maybe in 5-7 years Ford or GM will come out with a suburban sized EV.

I will say that the Model X is bigger than you think. The six seater version can accomodate 5-6 people with a decent amount of storage. And it has more range than the Y.

 

[TacoGuy]

I don’t agree that it’s impossible to calculate. The GPS does it when you enter a destination, so why can’t the SOC be accurately updated based on your destination entered into the GPS, especially on road trips?

Until you enter a destination no other factors other than EPA rated range are taken in to account. Looking at miles remaining is like trying to assess when the planet will be destroyed by aliens.

 

[alexgr]

My actual range for my Model Y (LR/AWD) is 219mi. That’s 68% efficiency. It’s accurate.

It looks about right for somewhat intense highway driving. You can get 300+ miles in good weather (70F) with little or no wind for in-town driving. I managed to beat the nominal expectation in the city without any significant effort. Driving on highway requires more energy, no surprise here. I did 220 miles on a highway (local highway with no superchargers within 60+ miles of it) in my 19 M3 LR (310 miles nominal). It was somewhat stressful for the first half of driving, then I saw I have no problem making it to my home.

I made drips from OK to CA, to Houston, to Salt Lake City, Moab, Denver, etc. with family and without problem.

 

[alexgr]

I think this story exemplifies a major general confusion with EV technology. The range of gasoline vehicles depends on driving conditions (highway/city, wind/calm, etc.) too, but (1) general users often don't care about it because of the abundance of gas stations and (2) the range change is smaller than in EVs because of the much higher EV efficiency (remember, some 70% of your gasoline is waster no matter what you do with your gasoline car and only up to 30% goes into driving).

We do need more chargers on highways.
We need better general public education about the use of EVs.

By the way, a new Supercharger is scheduled to get online in McDermitt this quarter that will solve the SSW travel direction issue for Boise people. Rejoice the people of Idaho.

 

[EVRob78]

TESLA just doesn’t make a large vehicle. We own a HONDA Odyssey, which has ample room for a family of five AND ample storage space.

We traded our Odyssey for a Chrysler Pacifica PHEV. It gets 80 MPGe around town for 30+miles/day, it's most common use, but it is the family long road trip car of choice, getting 30 MPG plus whatever plugging in we can find. Wth a full tank and charge, range is 500 miles, and the room can't be beat. Our adult kids borrow it for trips, and it will be passed down to them as I trade up to a Model Y! The deal is, if we need it for a long road trip or local hauling, we can borrow it back.

We've taken our Model S LR on several California road trips, and never had an issue. We drive carefully, stick to the speed limits, avoid over-heating/cooling the cabin, so consistently get the advertised 400 mile range, which dramatically reduces range anxiety. We also pick hotels that have charging, so wake up with a full battery, and have never needed to supercharge more than twice in a day (lunch and dinner). Admittedly, we've never taken a trip during extreme heat or cold, or deep into major mountains. If our plans included that, or we were to go on a longer trip in an area without a robust supercharger network, we'd take the PHEV.

 

[THEbuz]

Tesla is unlikely to do that. Your choices now are the Rivian SUV and the Hummer (ugh). Maybe in 5-7 years Ford or GM will come out with a suburban sized EV.

I will say that the Model X is bigger than you think. The six seater version can accomodate 5-6 people with a decent amount of storage. And it has more range than the Y.

Yeah, I’ve driven the Model X. It is obviously larger than the Model Y, but it’s not a good value at $135k, IMO.

 

[THEbuz]

We traded our Odyssey for a Chrysler Pacifica PHEV. It gets 80 MPGe around town for 30+miles/day, it's most common use, but it is the family long road trip car of choice, getting 30 MPG plus whatever plugging in we can find. Wth a full tank and charge, range is 500 miles, and the room can't be beat. Our adult kids borrow it for trips, and it will be passed down to them as I trade up to a Model Y! The deal is, if we need it for a long road trip or local hauling, we can borrow it back.

We've taken our Model S LR on several California road trips, and never had an issue. We drive carefully, stick to the speed limits, avoid over-heating/cooling the cabin, so consistently get the advertised 400 mile range, which dramatically reduces range anxiety. We also pick hotels that have charging, so wake up with a full battery, and have never needed to supercharge more than twice in a day (lunch and dinner). Admittedly, we've never taken a trip during extreme heat or cold, or deep into major mountains. If our plans included that, or we were to go on a longer trip in an area without a robust supercharger network, we'd take the PHEV.

How the hell are you getting 400 miles of range in your Model S (LR)???? I know it is EPA rated to 426mi of range, and my Model Y (LR/AWD) is rated to 321mi of range, but my actual MAX range is 219mi.

 

[THEbuz]

It looks about right for somewhat intense highway driving. You can get 300+ miles in good weather (70F) with little or no wind for in-town driving. I managed to beat the nominal expectation in the city without any significant effort. Driving on highway requires more energy, no surprise here. I did 220 miles on a highway (local highway with no superchargers within 60+ miles of it) in my 19 M3 LR (310 miles nominal). It was somewhat stressful for the first half of driving, then I saw I have no problem making it to my home.

I made drips from OK to CA, to Houston, to Salt Lake City, Moab, Denver, etc. with family and without problem.

When did you drive 300mi non-stop “in town”???

 

[alexgr]

When did you drive 300mi non-stop “in town”???

It is you who says "non-stop". You know how to see energy per mile consumption, right? If your average energy consumption is close or below nominal for several days of city driving, then your car is making over 300 miles per full charge.

 

[alexgr]

Also, over some 46,000 miles, I have 280 Wh/mi average consumption (including long highway trips). For a 310 original nominal miles, and 250 Wh/mi nominal consumption this means the car would make 277 miles on average full charge. Of course, over time, the battery degrades, so this number is probably closer to 250 miles, but this is significantly more than 219 miles you claim for a 326 mile range of your MY. Do you mean 219 miles for HIGHWAY driving?

 

[alexgr]

We've taken our Model S LR on several California road trips, and never had an issue. We drive carefully, stick to the speed limits, avoid over-heating/cooling the cabin, so consistently get the advertised 400 mile range, which dramatically reduces range anxiety. We also pick hotels that have charging, so wake up with a full battery, and have never needed to supercharge more than twice in a day (lunch and dinner). Admittedly, we've never taken a trip during extreme heat or cold, or deep into major mountains. If our plans included that, or we were to go on a longer trip in an area without a robust supercharger network, we'd take the PHEV.

Once upon a time, we were driving a MY west on I-70 between Salina and Hays ... in 115F and some 40mph+ headwind. You won't believe it, the consumption went well over 500 Wh/mi and the max range fell under 150 mi. This is why on some highways we need a lot more superchargers. EVs work the best in coastal CA at mild temperatures.

 

[JB47394]

(remember, some 70% of your gasoline is waster no matter what you do with your gasoline car and only up to 30% goes into driving)

That's a true number, but it's not really pertinent. The only significant difference - as you pointed out - is the infrastructure. If we had Superchargers every couple miles, nobody would think twice about range, energy efficiency or any of that stuff. Certainly no drivers think in terms of the total amount of energy in a gallon of gasoline, only the usable amount of energy.

How the hell are you getting 400 miles of range in your Model S (LR)????

How fast are you driving? Air drag effects increase by the square of the velocity.. If the air velocity doubles, that increases the air drag by four times. That's why cars kill their range at high speeds, regardless of their energy source. To illustrate an extreme, a couple guys went 600 miles in a Model 3 Long Range by driving at 20 mph for 30 hours. In contrast, I saw an account of a guy driving a Model 3 on the Autobahn doing 163 mph and consuming 586 Wh/mi. That gives a Model 3 Long Range a range of about 130 miles. That's a little over 45 minutes of driving at that speed.

A much lesser effect is rolling resistance. That's just a coefficient times the weight, but you need this chart to get an intuitive sense of how velocity affects the coefficient. Keep those tires properly inflated.

 

[alexgr]

How fast are you driving? Air drag effects increase by the square of the velocity.. If the air velocity doubles, that increases the air drag by four times. That's why cars kill their range at high speeds, regardless of their energy source.

While the air drag force is quadratic with speed, the power required to overcome the drag force increases as a cube of velocity. So the energy spent against drag at 60 mph can be 27 times more than the energy needed at 20 mph. At low speeds factors other than drag resistance are more important, but at higher speed the air drag gets progressively more relevant.

 

[Flat6ftw]

A couple of things. To hypermile, you follow tractor trailers. This increases range dramatically since it cuts down air drag. The Model Y is too small a car for a family road trip. Use ABetterRoutePlanner.com to plan out charging stops before heading out. Saving money on road trips is not, actually, the whole point of EVs.

In Arizona this will guarantee you a cracked windshield thereby negating any potential savings gained by sitting in the air void behind an 18 wheeler.

 

[Cosmacelf]

In Arizona this will guarantee you a cracked windshield thereby negating any potential savings gained by sitting in the air void behind an 18 wheeler.

I wasn’t suggesting it to save money, it is a tactic to do only when you absolutely need to hypermile to reach the next charging stop.

 

[THEbuz]

It is you who says "non-stop". You know how to see energy per mile consumption, right? If your average energy consumption is close or below nominal for several days of city driving, then your car is making over 300 miles per full charge.

Um—no. The ONLY way to accurately determine this kind of range is if you actually drove 300mi in a row without recharging, whether in the city or on a highway. Perhaps I should not have used the term “non-stop”, so let me clarify: I was trying to communicate that it should be without recharging at all. Otherwise, I don’t care what your gauges say; it’s all hypothetical unless and until you’ve driven 300mi consecutively without recharging.