First Transcontinental Superchargers-only Road Trip: it's happening NOW!

stevezzzz said:

[It's happening right now and is generating some buzz on social media...but not so much on TMC. Thought I'd start a thread to allow us to follow along and celebrate this accomplishment, away from the big Superchargers threads, where it seems to get lost.]

A father-daughter team is currently in Utah driving westbound from NYC to SoCal, utilizing Superchargers as their only source of 'fuel'. They've weathered winter storms and frigid temps to this point, but seem to be in the clear for the home stretch.

Heading cross country! | Forums | Tesla Motors

Here's a Daily Kos post about the trip:

Daily Kos: UPDATE History by Ordinary People: Father-Daughter Pair Doing 6-Day Electric Car Coast-to-Coast

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They started in NY and are now in UT. Here is the latest updated from the duo.

"[email protected] | JANUARY 24, 2014Just charged at our 20th supercharger (JFK was #1) in Grand Junction. Speeds now 70-80mph and I rarely check the range. Thanks to our Leaf friends for joining. We are natural allies in the revolution. Perhaps when the model e comes out you can trade the Leaf and join us on the Elon superhighway. I have been withholding judgement about the model s as a touring car but now that we have logged 2500 miles (3400 since Kentucky) I think we can draw some conclusions. First, it is very comfortable, no backaches or any soreness. Second, the infotainment system is awesome. We have listened to music and audiobooks from our I-phones. Music, news and podcasts from internet radio and Jill watched a movie on the I-pad (margin call) and we streamed the sound over the speakers. I had seen the movie so I just listened.the only thing we haven't listened to is am or fm radio, the staple of road trips for decades. Since the car is so quiet,we can have audio relatively low and hear it fine. Third, the amount of space is over the top. Elon may disagree with 5 small children in the car but he may just need a screen shielding the drivers cabin. Fourth, have I mentioned that I haven't had to pay for fuel. I would give the model s 5 stars as a touring car."

They are very lucky.

Temps in Chicago area to plummet to -20 Monday or I'd bloody join them!

Had we known TeslaOwners Chicago would have given them a "pioneers" welcome.

sp4rk said:

They are very lucky.

Temps in Chicago area to plummet to -20 Monday or I'd bloody join them!

Had we known TeslaOwners Chicago would have given them a "pioneers" welcome.

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Looks like they didn't escape the north unscathed. -22 in MN.

"[email protected] | JANUARY 21, 2014Only issue today was heavy snow 60 miles outside Chicago. 10 mph for an hr. Ice cars stuck in the snow. Model s did great. Charged at sc in highland park. Beautiful new facility with service center and gallery. Had them look at my tire sensors that had been giving me a fault. Back on the road in short order. Stopped for dinner while charging in Madison. Only problem was that the car was finished charging before i finished dinner! It is so fast it seems like magic. Due to be -22 tonight in Minnesota. Think I will tackle Minnesota during the day tomorrow."

"Only problem was that the car was finished charging before i finished dinner!" -- Incredible. I was expecting we'd see the first across-US Supercharger trips in one or two months, so this is a welcome surprise. That's also the kind of problem I like to see :smile:

Electric700 said:

"Only problem was that the car was finished charging before i finished dinner!" -- Incredible. I was expecting we'd see the first across-US Supercharger trips in one or two months, so this is a welcome surprise. That's also the kind of problem I like to see :smile:

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Well, except for the tire blowout and cracked rim he had after hitting a pothole or some object on the road. He had to have Tesla come out and replace tire & wheel since it wasn't drivable. I'd consider that a big problem since their so susceptible to damage.

This is fantastic. It is very real.

stevezzzz said:

Well, to be fair, the blowout occurred before the transcontinental run started.

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lol same difference

stevezzzz said:

Besides, blowouts are not limited to EV's. What's your point?

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I think the difference is weight. Yes other cars with low profiles are susceptible to the same kind of damage. BUT, the MS is much heavier than the general ICE car. Even double the weight of many. If I remember my high school physics, force = mass * acceleration. therefore two cars driving the same speed, the force exerted on the tire/wheel in the MS will be much higher than it's non-EV equivalent. I think that's why we're seeing a lot of posts from people getting flats from potholes.

Don't get me wrong. I love the 21s. LOOOVE them. They look great. but if your roads aren't super smooth and they aren't maintained (NJ/NY) and they have lots of potholes, lookout - because one's got your name on it. lol

They're in AZ. Getting close!

[email protected] | JANUARY 25, 2014
It's our last day and we are getting an early start. Jill set an alarm for 4:15 and it sounded like a fire alarm. Being woken out of a dead sleep to the sound of a fire alarm in a strange place is disconcerting. We should be on the road by 5 am and we gain another hour to west coast time, so it looks good. I have been passing my pics along to Graham at Tesla who has passed them to the communications dept. and I think they will put them on their Facebook page. They may be waiting to see if we are going to make it. If we don't, it will be bad pr and I am sure there are people who would like to publicize the fact that the supercharger network doesn't work ( I recall a certain NY times article a year ago). We have 257 miles range so I think we will go straight to Flagstaff. My apologies to the person who wanted to meet in Holebrook. Contact me at my e-mail. I do plan to go to Freemont after a day off from driving and I hope I can get a tour of the factory. I haven't seen it since the open house they had a couple of years back and it would be one of the highlights of the trip. I will keep you updated during the day today when we will have a better idea of ETA. I think I can smell the salt air already, wish us luck.

lolachampcar said:

This is fantastic. It is very real.

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From reading their blog, Jill and John will probably make Hawthorne today.
Remarkable accomplishment.

Congrats to them AND to TESLA Motors for making this a REALITY.

I hope there is a contingent of Teslas waiting at the Hawthorne Supercharger this evening to congratulate the team -- and save them a charging slot

Good idea..there needs to be a plan to pry the locals away from the Hawthorne superchargers

> the MS is much heavier than the general ICE car. [yobigd]

Average car on the road most likely loading 1200 lb on each front tire (or more). MS runs 1200 lbs on each tire all around. Nobigd!!
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CalDreamin said:

I hope there is a contingent of Teslas waiting at the Hawthorne Supercharger this evening to congratulate the team -- and save them a charging slot

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Ill come if others do!

You CA types should meet them a few miles out of town and do a MS parade (of 50 MS'???). That would be a sight to see.

Alexander said:

Ill come if others do!

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If my Model S wasn't stuck in my garage, I would have left the Bay Area this morning to greet the team in Hawthorne. Unfortunately with the ongoing construction here I have no driveway, so no way to get my MS out of the garage.

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lolachampcar said:

You CA types should meet them a few miles out of town and do a MS parade (of 50 MS'???). That would be a sight to see.

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Pictures and video please!

lolachampcar said:

You CA types should meet them a few miles out of town and do a MS parade (of 50 MS'???). That would be a sight to see.

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Yes, this would be fantastic!

I requested that they post when they are leaving Barstow so we will have an idea of when to meet them.

Very cool. It any of you meet them for the final stop, post some pics for us!