Thread by @RL_Miller

on the #Tesla5000 road trip last week I had plenty of time to think about places where Tesla needs to be. And the rental car market is one of them. Short thread.

https://twitter.com/JimPethokoukis/status/1452774719950831626

Places where Tesla is:
1. Everywhere in California cities.
2. Sheetz, which is a PA-based convenience store chain. (Llike 7-11 or AM/PM)
3. Kum & Go, Midwest-based convenience store chain. Also 7-11/ AM/PM type) No, coastal elites, you don't get to make jokes about its name.

and these are all good things. Tesla chargers are not at EVERY Sheetz or Kum & Go, but enough to provide good, highway-offramp-convenient, charging every 100 miles or so.

And the row of 8 Supercharger stations has a tiny footprint compared to 8 gas station pumps/ bays. Gas stations take up, what, 1/4 to 1/2 acre average? much of which is devoted to underground storage tanks? You could fit, IDK, 30 or 60 EV chargers in an 8-car gas station.

and that's important for urban planning. What will we do with all those half-acre gas station sites? parking? housing? urban gardens?

also, 4. Tesla chargers are getting prevalent at suburban malls. I didn't get routed to those as much because I wanted quick highway offramps. But they're ideal customers: mostly rich people with an hour to kill. Must. Buy. Stuff.

Meanwhile, places where Tesla is NOT:
1. Haven't broken into the big truck stop sites yet: Loves, Pilot, Flying J, TA, Petro (oh that name!).
2. Rental car market, until today.
3. That LONG stretch of I-70 to I-40, WV to NM and everything in between. Srsly. NO Teslas on the hwy.

I did run into other Tesla drivers at the charging stations. But no other Teslas on a couple of major interstates in the middle third of the country. Wow. #Tesla5000

Finally, range anxiety. Lots of folk fret about range anxiety, time wasted charging, etc. Let's talk about that. I drove from L.A. to DC and back, with a stop in Madison WI, total mileage 5745, which I've called the #Tesla5000.

Mostly the car calculates the nearest charging station and how much time I need to spend at Point A to get to Point B and then Point C, etc. Drive 100-150 miles, stop to charge 20-30 minutes, lather, rinse, repeat.

Mostly you do NOT need to spend an hour at a time recharging.

And if you're driving an ICE car you stop for 20 minutes anyway to refuel the car and pick up snax at the Sheetz/ Kum & Go. Driving a Tesla isn't really different.

2017 Me: I will walk a mile at each Tesla supercharger stop and exercise and develop healthy body habits.
2019 Me: I will read emails while charging the car.
2020 Me: I will cower in my car afraid of plague carriers.
2021 Me: zzzzzz I can nap in my carzzzzzz

Can you drive cross-country in 3 days? That's a true test. Short answer: BARELY/ MAYBE. #Tesla5000 Return Trip:
Day 1, leave Washington, DC at 6 AM. Heavy rain in southern Illinois, stop at Effingham, IL, total journey 800 miles.

Day 2, leave Effingham (south/ east IL) at 6 AM, stop in Tucumcari, NM too close to midnight. Total distance 1000 miles.

Day 3. Wake up at 7 AM. I really wanted to get home on Day 3. But somewhere in Holbrook AZ I got sick, too much coffee/ not enough food, too much driving. Needed to nap for an hour outside the car in fresh air. Ended up stopping in Barstow for the night.

IF I had made it past Effingham to the next IL supercharger. If I hadn't gotten sick in Holbrook. If a second driver had taken turns with me. Point is: it's theoretically possible to drive a $TSLA x-country in 3 days. I just couldn't quite do it. #Tesla5000

FYI I'm driving an older Model S, range started at 250 miles but now down to about 215 miles. Free supercharging for life. Newer Model 3s and Ys can get up to 350 miles per charge but they pay for charging (I think it's about $10-20/ charge, much less than an ICE car fill up)

also you East/ Midwest states charging me to drive on your pot hole filled turnpikes, your roads SUCK and your toll roads violate the Interstate Commerce Clause, and that is all.