I finally had the opportunity to make a long trip with the Tesla and I am pleased to share my experience, for those who wonder if it is worth it or not to have an electric car now.
Data: Tesla Model 3 long-range battery, from Boca Raton, FL, to Atlanta, GA. 622 miles. Googlemaps gives me an estimated 9 hours and 36 minutes. The Tesla site, taking into account the superchargers gives me the same route (I do not have to deviate) but with the charging time the estimate is 12 hours. It is definitely a considerable increase in time, but don´t let this scare you.
I confess that before making the trip I thought that "losing" three extra hours on the road was going to be a serious inconvenience, and that this could be a very negative factor in my experience, otherwise excellent, with the car.
I was definitely wrong. I understand that for some it may be problematic, but for many others, like me, it only requires a small change of mentality, and being open to reconsider old habits. Like almost everything in Tesla, it is a paradigm shift for the better.
The five stops we made during the trip helped us to stretch our legs, rest, walk the dog, eat, go to the supermarket and reach our destination in better conditions than we would have done if we had made the trip only with the minimum breaks to refuel and eat something fast.
The superchargers were easy to find, they were on or near the highway, and next to some place where we could eat something. In all there were positions available so we had no problem.
I understand that for some it may be inconvenient to have to spend more time on the road, but in general, for many of us, especially when traveling with family, forcing us to rest for an extra time is really beneficial. Personally I am one of those who keep going because I want to arrive earlier to finish the trip and rest as soon as possible, but having to stop I arrived in much better condition, we made the trip with less stress, until the end, and I drove less tired until the end, therefore the safety of the trip clearly increases.
Finally, another factor to consider is the lack of noise. During normal city driving, it may not be as relevant to go in a quieter car, but after 12 hours being subject to much less noise pollution is noticeable.
In short, after trying it, I strongly recommend an electric car although those who must travel regularly for work reasons should consider whether the extra time they need to charge the car is productive for them, or not. Ah! I forgot to comment on the price, so that everyone can compare costs. They charged me $ 37 to use the superchargers much less than a single tank of gas (round trip).
What about you, have you had similar experiences?
