Our Last Gas Trip

Back in April, we took a family day trip to Carowinds amusement park. We drove our SUV and started the trip with a 1/3 of a tank of gas. 30 minutes into our trip, we stopped for gas and drove to a nearby fast food place for breakfast. Then we stopped a 2nd time at an interstate rest area before getting to the park. On the way back, we stopped for food and a rest area. The next time I drove the SUV, I stopped and refilled the SUV making the round trip to Carowinds about 400 miles (643 km) ~$52 for gas (22 gallons at $2.34/gallon).

Route from Home to Carowinds route in blue. 182 miles (293 km)

Since we are getting a Tesla Model X with a 100 kWh battery in June, I started thinking about what the same trip would be like in the Tesla. We would leave home with 100% charge, and I would still drive 75 mph most of the way. We would stop for the fast food breakfast just like we did. No gas needed this time and no need to charge. The same 2nd stop at the I-85 rest area would be needed. I don't see how we couldn't stop. Too much AM coffee.

Now here's where some discussion is needed. Google says it's 182 miles from home to Carowinds driving past and not stopping at the supercharger on the north side of Charlotte. It's 25 miles (40 km) from Carowinds back to the Charlotte supercharger. So to go from home to Carowinds then to the supercharger it's ~207 miles (333 km). If we go from Home to the supercharger that is only 160 miles (257 km). Stopping at the supercharger on the way probably still means stopping at the supercharger on the way home. with kids antsy to get to the park, and having charged to 100% before leaving home, I'd skip the supercharger on the way and opt to get to the park sooner.

Carowinds to Charlotte Supercharger route in blue. 24.7 miles (40 km)

Going home is simpler. We'd leave the park and head to the supercharger. I'd set the charge limit to 100%, and we just leave once we finished eating. We'd only need to add 160 miles of range and since the car is near flat, it would charge fast. We'd stop again on the way home at the same rest area. So with the 100 kWh battery, I'd say we get to/from the park in the same time we would have in the SUV. The only angst would have been whether to stop at the supercharger on the way to the park or not (207 vs 160 miles). 80 kWh at the supercharger would cost $16, and 80 wKh at home would to cost $7 for about $23 total in electricity.

I don't see any inconvenience doing a day trip like this in the Telsa. With summer vacation coming soon, I'm sure we'll be making similar trips and evaluating our experiences with the actual Tesla.

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