Long distance: How to make the Tesla road trip a success

Do you want to drive hundreds of kilometers on vacation in your Tesla and are unsure how and whether it will work? Don't worry. Long distances are no longer a problem with an electric car. Nevertheless, a certain amount of preparation is necessary.

Tesla long distance - optimal preparation

First of all, it is important to charge the battery to 100 %, unlike usual in everyday life, in order to have the maximum range available and not have to visit a charging station shortly after departure.

To determine the approximate travel time including charging stops, it is sufficient to enter the destination once in the Tesla's on-board computer. The navigation system not only calculates the route to the destination, but also plans suitable stops at Supercharger stations. Thanks to this computer optimization, you arrive at your destination comfortably and relaxed with the shortest possible charging time, - after all, the regular breaks also keep you fitter and more concentrated.

By the way: the on-board computer constantly monitors the route during the journey and also flexibly adjusts the charging plan, for example if consumption develops differently than planned due to rain, wind or high speeds.

Speaking of high speeds: How fast should you drive in order to be as economical on the road as possible and have to charge as little as possible? Well, if you want to achieve the official WLTP range, you should aim for an average speed of 47 km/h on your vacation trip. It is obvious that this is quite unlikely. If you want to drive particularly economically without being too slow, you should set the cruise control to 100 km/h. However, the ideal combination of economy and rapid progress on the highway is between 120 and 130 km/h, i.e. roughly in the same range as a combustion engine.

While model calculations have usually shown higher speeds of around 160 km/h to be the fastest overall arrival speed, it will hardly be possible to achieve or maintain such an average speed even in Germany - let alone in other countries.

Do you have any tips or questions about long-distance driving with the Tesla? Share your experiences in the comments.