Saturday, November 30, 2019

Testing the Limits of Tesla Range on My Trip to NY




The November 10 headline In Green Car Report says “Report from Germany: Tesla years ahead, German automakers falling behind.”

Well…on November 14 I corroborated myself that Tesla leadership is real, and it will take a while for any other car manufacturer to match it.

I live in Madison CT and I had to drive to Ithaca NY (285 miles) for a meeting in Ithaca NY. I have gone many times New York (95 miles) o Boston (120 miles) but never this far. It also was my first trip with cold temperature. The morning I left it was 20 F.

I  started my journey at 4:30 am with 350 miles available. Normally  I have used 300-330 Whr (watts per hour) per mile driven but with the cold weather I noticed we started with 450-500 Whr.

I set the destination and the computer calculated the route, found all Tesla Super Chargers on the road and suggested to stop in Roscoe NY after 164 miles. I decided instead to stop in Middletown NY after 135 miles. It was 6:30am and I was ready for a cup of coffee. I had 150 miles left when I stop and restarted with 250 miles after 20 minute. I also stopped for approx. 10 minutes in Roscoe for a coffee refill. Then I went all the way to Ithaca where I arrived at the Tesla super chargers with approx. 20% left. I charged the car for 45 minutes and left for my meeting. I will tell you more about my meeting in the future. On my way back the computer planned a stop in NewburghNY.  This is a very busy charging location. There were only 2 out of the 8 stations available. The computer was telling me to stop for 20 minutes and then stop for 15 minutes in Orange CT. I decided that I would stay longer enough so that I would make it back home with no more stops. I charged for 30 minutes and I made it back home.

My experience on the road was the living testimony of the headline on Green Car Report a few days early. It will take a while until any other electric car will be able to go from Madison CT to Ithaca NY and come back in the same day.

Tesla has close to 6,500 super chargers in the US.

Electrify America states that it will have 2,000 super chargers by the end of 2019, EVGO has approx. 1,200.

It will take a while until any alternative charging network will be able to match Tesla’s network.
It will be very important for the growth of these vehicles. It is true that most of the time home charging the prevailing mode but if you want you use an EV like any other cars the charging infrastructure becomes critical. 200 new EV models will be launched in to the US market in the next 2 years and many more DC fast chargers will be needed to allow drive across the US just as I was able to do with my Tesla.

Verdek is Nationwide provider of EV charging infrastructure with offices in CT, CO, TX, AZ and CA.
  
Tesla Middletown NY

Tesla Roscoe

Tesla Newburgh

Tesla Ithaca