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Tesla Supercharger Network allows Model 3 owner to travel from NY to FL for less than $70
One of Tesla’s biggest advantages in the electric vehicle sector is arguably its Supercharger Network, which allows vehicles to recharge their batteries in a convenient, rapid, and affordable fashion. This was highlighted recently by a Model 3 owner who spent less than $70 in Supercharging fees during a two-day trip that spanned over 1,200 miles, from Buffalo, NY to Melbourne, FL.
Tesla owner Richard Clements shared some insights about his 1,248-mile drive in a recent post on the Tesla Owners Club New York State blog. According to the Tesla owner, the trip was not difficult at all, especially since the Model 3 provided all the information necessary to ensure that the vehicle always had sufficient charge.
Thanks to the Supercharger Network’s reasonable rates, the Model 3 owner only spent an average of $0.25/kWh during the New York to Florida trip. This meant that over the course of the two-day drive, Clements only spent a total of $69.96 in Supercharger fees. The Tesla owner noted that this amount was about half of what he used to spend when he was still making the trip with his Jaguar or CR-V. Even with low fuel prices, Clements noted that he would spend about $140 in fuel costs.
The Model 3’s total charging time at Tesla Superchargers stood at about 207 minutes, though 40 minutes of this was done in a hotel, where Clements spent the night. With this in consideration, the Tesla owner noted that the effective charging time of the Model 3 was actually just around 167 minutes. Based on his driving behavior, which involves stopping for bathroom and food breaks every 3.5 hours or so, the Tesla owner noted that the Model 3’s downtime was comparable to his previous ICE vehicles.
“To make a valid time comparison though, our Supercharging time in Wytheville VA was done right in the parking lot of the hotel where we were spending the night, so that charging time had no effect on our overall travel time. Deducting those 40 minutes makes the effective time 167 minutes. To make a valid comparison, there has to be some downtime on a trip like this. Any ICE vehicle still needs about 10 minutes to refuel at least 3 times on a trip of 1,250 miles, so by my estimate that’s 30 minutes for refueling.
“Also, as a practical matter, we don’t generally last more than about 3.5 hours without a need for plumbing or something to eat, so generally, we’d also be stopping for some meals… Assuming lunch and other miscellaneous breaks on our Florida run, that would easily account for about another 2 hours of downtime. So adding those two hours to the gasoline refueling time, the total would be 160 minutes. That compares to the 167 minutes in our Tesla—only an insignificant 7 minute’s difference,” Clements concluded.
Tesla’s ramp of its Supercharger Network would likely accelerate this year, particularly as the company doubles down on the expansion of its V3 chargers across the United States. Overseas, Tesla’s charging network is also making waves, with the electric car maker establishing a dedicated Supercharger factory just a few miles from Gigafactory Shanghai. The facility is expected to have an output of 10,000 Superchargers per year.
Clements’ full account of his sub-$70, 1,248-mile drive from Buffalo, NY to Melbourne, FL could be accessed here.
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Tesla gathers Cybercab fleet in Gigafactory Texas
Images and video of the Cybercab fleet were shared by longtime Giga Texas observer Joe Tegtmeyer in posts on social media platform X.
Tesla appears to be assembling a growing number of Cybercabs at Gigafactory Texas as preparations continue for the vehicle’s mass production. Recent footage shared online has shown over 30 Cybercabs being transported by trucks or staged near testing areas at the facility.
The images and video were shared by longtime Giga Texas observer and drone operator Joe Tegtmeyer in posts on social media platform X.
Interestingly enough, Tegtmeyer noted that many of the Cybercabs being loaded onto transport trucks were still equipped with steering wheels. This suggests that the vehicles are likely testing units rather than the final driverless configuration expected for the company’s Robotaxi service.
The vehicles could potentially be headed to testing sites across the United States as Tesla prepares to expand its Robotaxi fleet.
Additional footage captured at Gigafactory Texas also showed the Cybercab’s side and rear camera washer system operating as vehicles were being loaded onto transport trucks.
The growing number of Cybercabs at Giga Texas comes amidst the company’s announcement that the first production Cybercab has been produced at the facility. Full Cybercab production is expected to begin in April.
The vehicle is expected to play a central role in Tesla’s Robotaxi ambitions as the company looks to expand autonomous ride-hailing operations beyond its early deployments using Model Y vehicles.
Tesla has also linked Cybercab production to its proposed Unboxed manufacturing process, which assembles large vehicle modules separately before integrating them. The approach is intended to reduce production costs and accelerate output.
Musk has also noted that the Cybercab’s ramp will likely begin slowly due to the number of new components and manufacturing steps involved. However, he stated that once the process matures, Cybercab production could scale quickly.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s xAI, creator of Grok and Grokipedia, celebrates its third birthday
xAI Memphis highlighted several of its milestones over the years in its celebratory post.
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI has marked its third anniversary. The update was shared in a post from the xAI Memphis account on social media platform X.
xAI Memphis highlighted several of its milestones over the years in its celebratory post.
As per xAI, it has built three massive data centers in the city, launched a coherent cluster of 330,000 GBs, created over 3,000 jobs, and paid over $30 million in taxes to local communities.
xAI’s Memphis operation has become a key part of the company’s infrastructure as the company works to train and deploy its Grok artificial intelligence models. Elon Musk has been quite optimistic about Grok’s potential, noting in the past that the large language model might have a shot at achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI).
xAI’s Memphis’ crown jewel is its Colossus supercomputer cluster. The project was announced in 2024 and has since become the home of one of the world’s largest AI compute facilities. The first phase of Colossus reached its initial 100,000 GPU operational milestone in just 122 days, or just about four months.
Industry figures such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang have praised the facility, noting that projects of similar scale typically take two to four years to complete.
xAI has cited Memphis’ central location, skilled workforce, and industrial infrastructure as key reasons for selecting the city as the home of its AI training operations. The company has also emphasized plans to expand the site further as it scales compute capacity for Grok and future AI models.
News
Tesla Sweden’s Megapack Supercharger near Arlanda continues to aggravate IF Metall union
The charging site, located in Arlandastad outside Stockholm, appears to be operating despite ongoing union blockade measures tied to Tesla’s labor dispute in the country.
Tesla Sweden’s Megapack-powered Supercharger station near Arlanda Airport has continued to aggravate Swedish labor union IF Metall. The charging site, located in Arlandastad outside Stockholm, appears to be operating despite ongoing union blockade measures tied to Tesla’s labor dispute in the country.
Comments about the site were shared by IF Metall representatives in remarks to Swedish publication CarUp.
The Arlandastad location includes eight Tesla Superchargers powered by a Megapack battery system. Unlike traditional charging stations that rely on direct grid connections, the site uses a large battery installation to store electricity and power the chargers.
According to the Swedish publication, the setup allowed the station to come online despite sympathy measures from Sweden’s electricians’ union, which has attempted to prevent companies from cooperating with Tesla as part of the broader labor conflict.
IF Metall press manager Jesper Pettersson indicated that the union was not aware that the Superchargers had already been connected and activated.
“We do not know the details around this. But it is further proof of how Tesla systematically finds loopholes to circumvent the sympathy measures through active strikebreaking. Every time this happens it gives us reason to sharpen our conflict measures,” Pettersson said.
Union representatives also noted that the Megapack appears to be charged using electrical cables routed through nearby terrain, though the exact power source remains under review.
The Megapack-powered site has then prompted questions from Swedish labor unions about how electricity is being supplied to the system.
IF Metall has submitted a report to Sweden’s Energy Market Inspectorate asking the regulator to review whether the electricity supply arrangement complies with national regulations. The Megapack is reportedly charged using electricity from a local company, though the provider has not been publicly identified.
Peter Lydell, an ombudsman at IF Metall, previously stated that Swedish law limits electricity trading to companies with proper authorization.
“The legislation states that only companies that engage in electricity trading may supply electricity to other parties. You may not supply electricity without a permit, then you are engaging in illegal electricity trading. That is why we have reported this…
“This is about a company that helps Tesla circumvent the conflict measures that exist. It is clear that it is troublesome and it can also have consequences,” Lydell said.
IF Metall and Tesla Sweden’s conflict has been going on for over two years now.
Tesla gathers Cybercab fleet in Gigafactory Texas
Elon Musk’s xAI, creator of Grok and Grokipedia, celebrates its third birthday
