WOW, this is an epic achievement and will continue to follow @myfastlady's journey.

Safe travels.

 

Pictures of the 26 year old daughter is going to determine my interest level.

 

Are you so desperate?

 

If you can go cross country in an EV1 or a Nissan Leaf then why not a Model S? For sure it has more range.

Reports of these trips always make me think of blogging about digging fence posts with a teaspoon. You're just calling attention to the one thing a BEV can't do, which is go long distances without a lot of fussing.

 

Reports of these trips always make me think of blogging about digging fence posts with a teaspoon. You're just calling attention to the one thing a BEV can't do, which is go long distances without a lot of fussing.

I suppose everyone has their our own interests. I remember being very interested in Lyle's first long distance trip in the snow after he got his Volt, wondering, "How is the battery effected by cold? What's the engine really sound/feel like on a long trip? How does it handle in snow and ice?" I'm sure my wife finds these things to be about as exciting as pumping gas.

Likewise, I find this Tesla cross-country thread to be fascinating for many of the same reasons (cold, ice, snow) but with rear-wheel drive as an added twist, and the addition of charging every 150 to 200 miles. I remember when I was originally going to get my Volt I was thinking of a Leaf as an alternative. We regularly take the Volt on a 340-mile round-trip to visit family, and even if there were DC fast charging capability, there's no way a Leaf would work for such a day trip and allow time to visit family. With other cars, we usually stop at least once on the 170 mile trip there and also on the way back, so a Tesla might actually work.

 

This Tesla crossing reminds me of the Vin Fiz Flyer

The publisher William Randolph Hearst had offered a US$50,000 prize to the first aviator to fly coast to coast, in either direction, in less than 30 days from start to finish.
Calbraith Perry Rodgers, grandnephew of naval hero Oliver Hazard Perry and a risk-taking sort of sportsman, had taken about 90 minutes of instruction from Orville Wright in June 1911 before soloing, and had won an $11,000 air endurance prize in a contest in August. Rodgers became the first private citizen to buy a Wright airplane, a Wright Model B modified and called the Model EX. The plane's 35 horsepower (26 kilowatt) engine allowed a speed of 50 miles per hour (80 km/hr) at 1000 feet (305 meters).[2]

Since the airplane would need a considerable support crew, Rodgers persuaded J. Ogden Armour, of meatpacking fame, to sponsor the attempt, and in return named the plane after Armour's new grape soft drink Vin Fiz. The support team rode on a three-car train called the Vin Fiz Special, and included Charlie Taylor, the Wright brothers' bicycle shop and aircraft mechanic, who built their first and later engines and knew every detail of Wright airplane construction; Rodgers' wife Mabel; his mother; reporters; and employees of Armour and Vin Fiz.
The flight began at 4:30 pm, September 17, 1911, when Rodgers took off from Sheepshead Bay, New York. Although the plan called for a large number of stops along the way, in the end there were 75, including 16 crashes,[2] and Rodgers was injured several times. Taylor and the team of mechanics rebuilt the Vin Fiz Flyer when necessary, and only a few pieces of the original plane actually made the entire trip.
On November 5, having missed the prize deadline by 19 days, Rodgers landed in Pasadena, California, in front of a crowd of 20,000. On the 12th he took off for Long Beach, California, but crashed at Compton, with a brain concussion and a spinal twist. He was hospitalized for three weeks. Finally, on December 10 he landed on the beach, and taxied the Flyer into the Pacific Ocean, completing the unprecedented journey of over 4,000 statute miles (6,400 km). Actual flying time totalled under 84 hours. Rodgers was killed in an air crash on the Pacific shore of the US shortly after the flight across the US.[3]
The aircraft was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1934, and eventually joined the collection of the National Air and Space Museum, after being fully restored for display by the Smithsonian in 1960. As of August 2009, the plane was still on display at the NASM but was undergoing further conservation.
In 1986 the Vin Fiz flight was re-enacted in a replica to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the original journey. The pilot was materials scientist Jim Lloyd.[4]


Hopefully the Tesla will avoid the crashes...

 

I would say that any press around this should now show that we are on the cusp of kicking our oil habit, tesla and their supercharger network/technology have a game changer. This is the turning point.

Tesla are undervalued as they are a tech company and not a car company, supercharger tech is a game changer.

 

I would say that any press around this should now show that we are on the cusp of kicking our oil habit, tesla and their supercharger network/technology have a game changer. This is the turning point.

I agree. If you look at the 2015 Supercharger map the whole country will be covered. Beyond that, I can see businesses along major roadways clamoring for Tesla to install Superchargers because it will encourage relatively wealthy travelers to spend a half-hour or more at your restaurant/store/mall. Harris Ranch is a good example. Originally, the owners of the Harris Ranch restaurant balked at allowing Tesla to install a Supercharger, but grudgingly allowed a single Supercharger. Realizing that it brought the right type of clientele to their restaurant, Harris Ranch happily agreed to add six more Superchargers to the location.

 

This is no different than the towns that dotted the old railway lines. I'd be really happy to see this type of resurgence, and it doesn't just need to Tesla. I would love to see a company take the lead and start installing DC/CHAdeMO charging stations at various rest stops and other business venues along the highways. Imagine a 60-100kW charging station at every Denny's.

 

I agree, except that I really don't see this working for cars with less than a 200 mile range. With the current cars available (~80 mile range), I just can't see fast charging working. Problem 1: You would need to have fast-chargers every 60 miles. By my calculation that which means 3x as many fast chargers to cover the USA vs. fast-chargers placed every 120 miles, or 4x more vs. fast chargers placed every 180 miles. Problem 2: On a long-distance trip, an ~80-mile-range EV would need to stop every hour vs. every 2 to 3 hours for a 200 mile EV.


I understand GM is planning a 200 mile range EV, so perhaps we'll see a DC/CHAdeMO build out in the next few years. It'll be interesting to see if one standard trumps another. Will there be a Beta vs. VHS battle coming up? Or will Superchargers coexist with DC/Chademo, like Apple and PC's today. Or, will Tesla license their DC charging tech? It's going to be a fun decade to watch!

Edit: It looks like they made it to Hawthorne, CA at around 5PM. The driver and co-pilot are the ones in red and yellow, I think:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rrnik6jjmipvcsa/Photo Jan 25, 18 41 19.jpg

 

Nice. Welcome to California!

I fully understand that a fast-charging network would be pointless without longer range EVs to take advantage of it (something of a chicken-egg problem), though I think installing the chargers is the first priority. The 200-mile EVs are already being planned, so it's just a matter of ensuring the network is there for them to use. And in regards to the DC vs CHAdeMO, some charging manufacturers (which can use the Chargepoint network) already have dual DC/CHAdeMO charging stations, so that the customer can use whichever adapter is appropriate.

Also, I think that Tesla can get away with only putting one Supercharging station every 180 miles, because their stations are proprietary and directly proportional to their car sales. If we are talking about addressing the need for fast chargers for all vehicles from all manufacturers, they system would require a great bit more redundancy. We would want a charger every 30-40 miles. Not because an EV could only travel that distance, but rather because so many different vehicles will be on the road, coming from and going to so many different locations, that the redundancy is necessary to serve everyone's needs.