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Around the world in 80 Days in a Tesla Model S

Published

9 years ago

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Alan Soule with his Tesla Model S

On June 15, Alan Soule of Sebastopol, California left Barcelona, Spain in his 2012 Tesla Model S. Over the next 80 days, he will travel more than 15,534 miles through 20 countries and across North America, Asia, and Europe before arriving back in Barcelona on September 4.

Soule is part of an event called 80dDays designed to demonstrate that electric cars can be used to travel long distances sustainably. In all, drivers from 7 countries — Switzerland, Germany,  China, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria, and the US — are entered in the event.

The route will cross the Alps and the Rockies, traverse the Gobi desert, and visit many of the world’s major cities before ending back where it started. If all goes as planned, all 11 teams will drive together through the Arco de Triunfo in Barcelona 80 days after their journey began.

Soule, a 66 year old retired commercial building contractor, has been planning his journey for more than a year. “I have always been interested in alternative energy for vehicles,” he said. “I had a car that ran on propane back in the ’70s, and then when General Motors came out with the EV1, I leased one of those, and that was in 1999.”

He purchased a Tesla Roadster when they were first introduced in 2008 and took it on a trip down Route 66 in 2012. “From all the research that I’ve done, I’m almost positive it’s the first electric vehicle to drive Route 66,” he said. That same year, he bought his Model S.

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One day at the Tesla Service Center in Menlo Park, California, he met Rafael de Mestre. The Spaniard was attempting to drive his Tesla Roadster around the world in 80 days. He failed in his quest but the two men kept in contact. When de Mestre mentioned the 80eDays event, Soule decided he and his Model S would join the fun.

Preparing for the trip has been a full-time job, Soule says. Obtaining visas from China, Kazakhstan, and Russia took quite a lot of time, as did planning the route they would take. “I originally wanted to go through Turkey because I like Turkey, but there are problems there,” Soule says.

“And I’ve been told that Belarus has a lot of gangs. And the southeastern portion of Ukraine is where the Russians are trying to make a stronghold. But if you go up through Latvia, that’s an extra 600 miles, and we don’t want to do that, so we’re going to take a chance and go through northern Ukraine and see what happens.”

The route from Barcelona leads southwest to Lisbon, Portugal, where the teams have chartered a plane to take their cars to Halifax, Nova Scotia. From there, they head west to New York, Chicago, and Denver. After making their way to Los Angeles, they will  again go by plane to the southeastern edge of China in Guangzhou. From there, they will continue their journey west across Asia and Europe before arriving back in Barcelona.

Soule has lined up a rotating crew of five co-drivers who are friends and friends of friends. They will meet him and his Model S at various places along the route. To help people follow his journey,  set up a Twitter account, Periscope, and a team website. His car is equipped with a 360 degree camera which he will use to upload video as he travels.

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Photo courtesy of Alan Soule

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"I write about technology and the coming zero emissions revolution."

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Elon Musk seemingly confirms Cybertruck gift to 13-year-old cancer fighter

Diagnosed in 2018 with a rare form of brain and spine cancer with no cure, the teen has undergone 13 surgeries by the time he was 12.

Published

2 weeks ago

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March 6, 2025

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Credit: Tesla

Elon Musk has seemingly confirmed that he will be sending a Tesla Cybertruck to 13-year-old Devarjaye “DJ” Daniel, a 13-year-old Houston boy fighting brain cancer. The teen was recognized as an honorary Secret Service member by U.S. President Donald Trump during his address to Congress on Tuesday. 

A Chance Meeting

The Tesla CEO’s Cybertruck pledge was mentioned during DJ’s short interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. When Collins asked the 13-year-old what he told the Tesla CEO, DJ answered that he asked for a Cybertruck.

“I said, ‘can you do me a big favor, when you get back to Houston can you send us a Cybertruck down there?’” the cancer fighter stated.

Daniel noted that Musk responded positively to his request, which was highlighted by Collins in a post on X. Musk responded to the post with a heart emoji, suggesting that he really will be sending a Cybertruck to the 13-year-old cancer fighter.

Teen’s Cancer Battle Inspires

Diagnosed in 2018 with a rare form of brain and spine cancer with no cure, Daniel has undergone 13 surgeries by the time he was 12. During his speech, Trump highlighted the 13-year-old’s long battle with his disease. 

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“Joining us in the gallery tonight is a young man who truly loves our police. The doctors gave him five months at most to live. That was more than six years ago. Since that time, DJ and his dad have been on a quest to make his dream come true,” Trump stated.

Daniels officially received an honorary badge from U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran, to much applause during the event.

Surprisingly Partisan

While Daniels’ story has been inspiring, Trump’s focus on the 13-year-old cancer fighter has received its own fair share of criticism. MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace, while referencing Daniels’ love for law enforcement, noted that she is hoping the 13-year-old never has to defend the U.S. capitol against Trump supporters. “If he does, I hope he isn’t one of the six who loses his life to suicide,” Wallace stated.

Anti-Musk and Trump accounts on X have also thrown jokes at the cancer fighter’s honorary badge, with some dubbing the 13-year-old as a “DEI hire” that should be looked into by DOGE.

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Tesla owner highlights underrated benefit of FSD Supervised

Published

2 months ago

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January 31, 2025

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Credit: Tesla

Elon Musk has been pretty open about the idea of FSD being the difference maker for Tesla’s future.

If Tesla succeeds in achieving FSD, it could become the world’s most valuable company. If it doesn’t, then the company would not be able to reach its optimum potential.

FSD Supervised’s safety benefits:

  • But even if FSD is still not perfect today, FSD Supervised is already making a difference on the roads today.
  • This was highlighted in Tesla’s Q4 2024 Vehicle Safety Report.
  • As per Tesla, it recorded one crash for every 5.94 million miles driven in which drivers were using Autopilot technology.
  • For comparison, the most recent data available from the NHTSA and FHWA (from 2023) showed that there was one automobile crash every 702,000 miles in the United States. 

FSD user’s tale:

  • As per an FSD user’s post on social media platform X, FSD Supervised was able to help him drive a relative to a medical facility safely even if he was exhausted.
  • During the trip, the driver only had to monitor FSD Supervised’s performance to make sure the Tesla operated safely.
  • In a vehicle without FSD, such a trip with an exhausted driver would have been quite dangerous. 
  • “This morning, Tesla FSD proved to be an absolute godsend. I had to take my brother-in-law to the hospital in Sugar Land, TX, which is 40 miles away, at the ungodly hour of 4 AM. Both of us were exhausted, and he was understandably anxious about the surgery.
  • “The convenience of sending the hospital’s address directly from my iPhone to my Tesla while still inside my house, then just a single button press once inside, and 40 miles later we were precisely in front of the hospital’s admissions area.This experience really underscores just how transformative this technology can be for society,” Tesla owner JC Christopher noted in his post.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

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Tesla Optimus “stars” in incredible fanmade action short film

Published

2 months ago

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January 14, 2025

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Credit: @SoKrispyMedia/YouTube

There are few things that prove an enthusiast’s love towards a company more than a dedicated short film. This was highlighted recently when YouTube’s SoKrispyMedia posted a 10-minute action movie starring Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot, as well as several of the company’s most iconic products. 

The video: 

  • Shot like a Hollywood action flick, the video featured a rather humorous plot involving a group of thieves that mistakenly targeted a Tesla Model 3 driver. 
  • The Model 3 driver then ended up speaking to Tesla for assistance, and some high-octane and high-speed hijinks ensued.
  • While the short film featured several Tesla products like the Model 3, Superchargers, and the Cybertruck, it is Optimus that truly stole the show.
  • Optimus served several roles in the short film, from an assistant in a Tesla office to a “robocop” enforcer that helped out the Model 3 driver.

Cool inside jokes: 

  • The best Tesla videos are those that show an in-depth knowledge of the company, and SoKrispyMedia definitely had it. 
  • From the opening scenes alone, the video immediately poked fun at TSLA traders, the large number of gray Tesla owners, and the fact that many still do not understand Superchargers.
  • The video even poked fun at Tesla’s software updates, as well as how some Tesla drivers use Autopilot or other features without reading the fine print in the company’s release notes.
  • The video ended with a tour de force of references to Elon Musk products, from the Tesla Cybertruck to the Boring Company Not-a-Flamethrower, which was released back in 2018.

Check out SoKrispyMedia’s Tesla action short film in the video below.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

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