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Top 5 Lessons from a First Tesla Road Trip

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Having followed my planning guide for taking a Tesla road trip, I’m happy to report that we made it to our destination and back, but not without a few lessons to be learned.

Adjusting the plan

Tesla road tripIn planning my first Tesla road trip I calculated the distance from my home to the first Supercharger and then to my destination. What I neglected to think about was that I also needed to go to work that day. Thats an 80 mile round trip that I had to add into my calculations. While I had a good safety buffer built into my plan, I didn’t have enough for an extra 80 miles. So I came up with three options:

  • Take a different car to work. That would be no fun!
  • Add an extra Supercharger stop at East Greenwich, RI.
  • Grab some extra charge somewhere during the day before heading out on my Tesla road trip.

I went with option #3 and used the free HPWC at the local Tesla Store at the Natick, MA mall. I plugged in after lunch and range charged to the full 265 rated mile limit. It took me just under 2 hours to charge from 185 rated miles to 265 rated miles using the HPWC but other than the walk to/from the mall it didn’t disrupt any of my plans.

LESSON #1: Factor in any miles that will be driven prior to the Tesla road trip itself.

Supercharging along the way

Prior to this trip my only Supercharger visit was to the East Greenwich, RI Supercharger which took place shortly after I took delivery. The main purpose of that initial visit was to make sure Supercharging worked, combined with my excitement to witness first-hand what a Supercharging experience was all about.

Tesla road trip - Darien South SC

On this Tesla road trip, Supercharging was required. I needed the range and it had to work. We arrived at the Darien, CT Tesla Supercharger with 66 rated miles remaining after driving 188 miles from MA. Of the six available spots, only one was occupied by an ICE car with a driver sitting in it. The Supercharger bays were all premium parking spaces right in front of the rest center, and we can see how this could be easily taken advantage of by non-Tesla vehicles.

We backed in, plugged in and began our charge. I was accustomed to always charging to 90%, since my daily commute often required it, so instinctually I charged up to the same level later to realize that the painful waiting time could have been avoided.

It took us 49 minutes to charge from 66 rated miles (25% charge) to 238 rated miles (90% charge). I only needed 102 rated miles to get to my destination plus a safety margin. We all felt the pain of this wait which was compounded by the fact that it was very late in the evening and we had just drove through pouring rain in crazy east coast traffic. This rest area was nice but it only had junk food options and a coffee shop – nothing for a real sit down dinner.

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LESSON #2: Charging more than you need is a waste of time, especially if there’s no intention to eat or rest while you wait.

After the charge stop, we headed on to our destination in NJ. There was a major accident on one of our highways forcing us to take a 12 mile detour. Thank goodness for the extra range.

Destination charging

Tesla road trip - NEMA 10-30

Dirty and broken NEMA 1-30

I knew destination charging was going to be a challenge especially since patience was wearing thin for all passengers due to the slow and tiring drive in the pouring rain. Plus, I was in no mood to hunt for a wall outlet in the dark so I waited until the next day. But that also meant I would lose 12 precious hours of destination charging.

A careful inspection of the property the next day revealed a dirty NEMA 10-30 dryer connection that I couldn’t use. I ended up plugging into a standard 110V US outlet (NEMA 5-15) that would give me a dismal charge rate of 4 miles/hour. It turned out to be a delicate balance between when I should be plugged in (as much as possible) and when to drive out to sightsee.

LESSON #3: Know, in advance, the exact location and plug type for your destination charge and plug-in as soon as you arrive.

We ended up using a mini-van for our day excursions because of range concerns as well as questionable parking at the local county fair. The Model S stayed plugged into the wall out the entire day and added roughly 100 miles of range.

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Supercharging on the way home

Supercharging on the way back was much less painful because I had learned to charge up to the amount I needed (plus a 25% safety margin) to save time. We arrived at the Darien, CT northbound Supercharger with 72 rated miles remaining and charged up to 202 rated miles in a painless 30 minutes. We shaved 40% off the charge time from the last time we were there which made it feel remarkably faster and more bearable.

Tesla road trip - Supercharger cones

One of the Supercharger stall was ICE’d (parked by non-Tesla vehicles that can not utilize a Supercharger) with nobody in the car while two other stalls had cones in cones in front of it. It turns out that the cones were there to discourage ICE’ing.

LESSON #4: Don’t assume a Supercharger is out of commission if there’s a cone in front of it.

After charging up to 202 rated miles, we had enough to get home. It was going to be dinner time soon so we decided to grab a quick meal at Panera at the East Greenwich, RI Supercharger. If we were going to stop and eat at a Panera, why not charge while we waited? Tesla road trip - Supercharger East Greenwich, CT

While Tesla advertises 170 miles of rated range added in as little as 30 minutes, this rate of charge only takes place within the “sweet spot”. The analogy that comes to mind is – imagine filing a bucket of water with a fire hose. You’ll fill it quickly while the bucket is near empty but as you approach 80%+ of fullness, you’ll need to dial down the flow in order to not spill the amount you’ve already put into the bucket. The same goes for filling up the Tesla battery.

Each time I charged from about 70 miles of rated range to about 200 miles of rated range it took 30 minutes.

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LESSON #5: Keeping your battery within the sweet spot will yield the fastest Supercharging experience.

Thanks to this extra Supercharger pit stop we arrived home with 165 miles of rated range left, plenty for the next day’s commute.

Summary

We drove 687 miles on our first Tesla road trip and were able to take away several great lessons to be learned. We only saw two other Teslas – one P85 at an ice cream store in NJ and another S85 at the East Greenwich Supercharger – during our journey across five states.

We experienced ICE’ing of Supercharger stalls at every Supercharger station we visited, presumably because there still aren’t that many Teslas out in the North East relative to the West coast, but also because they’re positioned in prime parking locations. I’d gladly park my car at the back of the lot and walk further if I could encounter less ICE’ing.

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"Rob's passion is technology and gadgets. An engineer by profession and an executive and founder at several high tech startups Rob has a unique view on technology and some strong opinions. When he's not writing about Tesla

Lifestyle

Tesla Semi futuristic sci-fi acceleration sound will never get old

Videos that capture the Semi moving at speed are most notable due to their sheer cool factor.

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Credit: Tesla Owners Silicon Valley/X

The Tesla Semi is not yet in mass production, but the company has accumulated over 7.9 million miles across its test fleet. With Tesla using the Semi for its operations, it is no surprise that sightings of the Class 8 all-electric truck have been abounding. 

These sightings from Tesla enthusiasts vary, but those that capture the the Class 8 all-electric truck moving at speed are most notable, possibly due to their sheer cool factor.

Tesla Semi’s Roar

There is something that just stands out with the Semi, particularly on the road. While the Semi does not have the Cybertruck’s brutalist, angular design, it is still very striking because it’s such a massive machine that moves far too quietly for its size. This is, of course, one of the reasons why the vehicle also becomes extra noteworthy when it fires up its electric motors and accelerates.

Take this video from Tesla Owners Silicon Valley, for example, which shows the all-electric hauler accelerating while pulling what appears to be a full load. In these situations, the Tesla Semi actually becomes audible, but unlike traditional diesel-powered truck, the Class 8 all-electric truck “roars” with its own, unique futuristic, sci-fi sound. In such situations, one could feel the Semi’s raw power, which comes from its three independent motors on its rear axles.

Tesla Semi Ramp

Tesla has been promoting the Semi quite a bit as of late, and recent reports have suggested that the company is putting in a lot of effort to prepare the vehicle for its production in Nevada. Tesla’s Careers website has gone live with over 80 Semi-related job openings recently as well, and a recent report has suggested that Tesla has ramped the Semi’s factory workers in Nevada to over 1,000 employees.

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The company has even shared an update video of the Semi factory’s progress near Giga Nevada, as well as the design of the vehicle’s new logo. The Semi’s updated logo is quite interesting as it features elements from the Tesla Model 3’s first logo, which was unveiled way back in 2016.

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Elon Musk jokes he will join Mr Beast’s “100 Men vs 1 Gorilla” challenge

It’s a good sign, if any, that the overworked Musk is becoming a bit more lighthearted again.

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Credit: Elon Musk/X

Following the first quarter Tesla earnings call, CEO Elon Musk seems to have become a bit more relaxed—relaxed enough to joke about fighting a gorilla with 99 other people, at least.

It’s a good sign, if any, that the overworked Musk is becoming a bit more lighthearted again and not too busy picking fights with politicians on social media.

The Viral 100 Men vs 1 Gorilla Challenge

Over the weekend, a post on social media platform X went viral. The post itself was quite simple, with user @DreamChasnMike stating that he thinks 100 men could beat one gorilla. “Everybody just gotta be dedicated to the sh*t,” the X user joked. The post exploded on the platform, garnering 284 million impressions as of writing.

The silly question also triggered a massive debate about whether 100 men would really stand a chance against a literal gorilla. Some users even lamented that the premise was a sign of male hubris. Nevertheless, the question proved to be a fun topic on X, with some more dedicated users even posting simulated videos of what the “100 Men vs 1 Gorilla Challenge” could look like. 

Mr. Beast and Elon Musk Join In

The premise is quite similar to other viral videos from noted YouTube creator Mr. Beast, so it was no surprise that edited images of Mr. Beast YouTube thumbnails with “100 Men vs a Gorilla” also started spreading on the social media platform. Mr. Beast, who tends to be game to such silly ideas, actually reposted the edited image, joking “Need 100 men to test this, any volunteers?”

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In true Elon Musk fashion, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO noted that he would join the challenge. “Sure, what’s the worst that could happen” Musk wrote in his post on X. Musk’s reply triggered quite a few laughs on X, with some stating that the world probably still needs the CEO.

While silly, Musk’s comment and his recent, more frequent posts about his companies’ products like Starlink and Grok have been received well by his supporters. Over the past months, after all, Musk has been very political and quite confrontational on social media. With Musk soon taking a step back from the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) daily operations, however, it seems like X will soon get a more tempered and lighthearted Elon Musk once more.

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Possible first glimpse of Tesla “Model 2” affordable car in Fremont Factory

The models that Tesla will release in the coming months will resemble the company’s current lineup.

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Image Credit: @metgodinwilderness7130/YouTube

During the Q1 earnings call, Tesla VP of Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy set expectations on the design of the affordable models that the company is expected to launch this 2025. As per the Tesla executive, the models that Tesla will release in the coming months will resemble the company’s current lineup.

Drone footage from the Fremont Factory earlier this month might have provided the EV community its first potential glimpse at Tesla’s affordable cars–fondly dubbed by EV fans and analysts as the “Model 2” or even “Model Q”–or at least their components and overall shape.

The Sighting

Tesla watcher and drone operator Met God in Wilderness, who has been posting aerial videos of the Fremont Factory for years now, recently shared some footage from his drone flyovers this month. While the Fremont Factory was abuzz with activity as usual, a couple of rather strange vehicles were quickly spotted by EV watchers on social media.

During the drone operator’s flyover on the 17th, for example, an unfinished vehicle could be seen parked next to what appeared to be fully-built Model S and Model Y units. What was especially interesting was the vehicle’s roof, which seemed to be slightly narrower than the Model Ys around it. Based on the video, at least, the vehicle seemed to be shaped like a crossover as well.

Footage from the 24th of April also proved quite interesting, with the drone operator capturing footage of another cryptic vehicle. Unlike the mysterious, unfinished, crossover-esque car spotted on the 17th, this particular unit seemed to have a more sloping rear, at least based on the shape of its covering.

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What Lars Moravy Said

In Tesla’s Q1 2025 Update Letter, Tesla noted that “plans for new vehicles, including more affordable models, remain on track for start of production in the first half of 2025.” Tesla also noted that the new vehicles will utilize aspects of its next generation and its current platforms. They will also be produced on the same manufacturing lines as its present vehicle lineup, likely the Model Y and Model 3. 

During the earnings call itself, Moravy specifically stated that the new models that would come out in the next months would resemble the company’s current vehicles. They will, however, be affordable. “Models that come out in next months will be built on our lines and will resemble, in form and shape, the cars we currently make. And the key is that they’ll be affordable, and you’ll be able to buy one,” Moravy stated.

Watch the drone operator’s footage from April 17 below.

The drone operator’s footage from April 24 can be viewed below.

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