100 years ago, you needed to seriously plan a car trip, both because roads weren't in existence, and because the infrastructure of gas stations was sparse. Today, you follow the superslab interstate and there are gas stations every exit. With the Tesla, you still have the roads but need to seriously plan your trip based on chargers, and mainly, Tesla's Superchargers. These are placed so that travel is possible long distance, but because they're designed to handle the S60, they need to be placed closer together than needed for the S85.
Google says a car trip from Colorado to Vegas is 11:15 hrs, 800 miles.
EV Trip Planner says the same trip is 12 hrs 30 minutes.
This can't be right. 6 half hour stops vs 2 ten minute stops. I seem to remember doing it in 11hrs without the time change. If we assume both gas stops are 30 minutes (which they aren't, but it makes math easier), the Tesla should take 2 hours longer to make the trip. That would be 11hrs vs 13 hrs. If we assume 20 minute charging stops, that's an hour less time.
The lower half of the Tesla battery charges three times faster than the upper half.
The Tesla should stop 6 times, only skipping one charger (Glenwood Springs). It could stop less times, but because its batteries charge fastest when empty and slow down as they fill, it's actually faster to fill more times for less charge. However, if I'm stopping for lunch or any other longer break, I'll let it charge and take advantage of the longer range.
The ICE car will stop twice minimum, as range is not 400 miles. It will use 80 gallons of gas round trip, which will cost (at $3/gallon) $240.
It will be a few years until electrics are on par with gas cars in range and recharging rate, but until then this is the new normal for electric car owners.
No comments:
Post a Comment