I agree that maybe this article would have been better suited if its headline was about how renting a Tesla for a tryout on a road trip is not a good idea (having never rented a car, I have no idea the lifestyle of people who rent when going on long leisure trips). It seems like many of her problems would have long been figured out by Tesla owners. But her complaints seem like the kind I would have if I were to try out a Tesla for fun -- I could definitely see myself underestimating how much research I need to do to properly plan a trip, compared to how little I have to plan when driving a gas guzzler. Obviously things will get better when infrastructure continues to improve, but unless Tesla is marketing its rentals as beta products, I don't think it's unfair to point out the limitations in the experience is as a paying customer today.

And as far as this being an indictment of EV in general, and how the author shouldn't have singled out Tesla. I thought it was more or less accepted that Tesla is the top-of-the-line EV brand. I agree this article applies to the EV experience in general -- and as a layperson, I'd want to hear what it's like for the car brand that I am far and away the most familiar with. If she had chosen a non-Tesla brand and written the same complaints, I have a feeling Tesla fans would complain how the author tarnished EV -- and by association, Tesla -- and thus how irresponsible she is for talking shit about EVs without trying a Tesla.

Tesla's navigation system has (and has had for some time) something called "Range Assurance". As long as you use the vehicle's navigation system, it will ensure you never run out of energy. It will route you to appropriate Superchargers on your route, and tell you roughly how long you need to dwell at each charger prior to continuing your journey. If you cannot make the return journey successfully, the navigation system will inform you of this. It shows you ever Supercharger on the navigation display without having to make any additional changes.

If you're going to write an article about roadtripping in a Tesla, and you don't know this information, don't mention it in your article, and just default to "I'm using Google Maps, whatevs", I have no faith in your journalistic ability. I am unsure what else Tesla could do to inform you of this if you're borrowing or renting the vehicle, as this information is in the vehicle manual, which is also available through the MCU when sitting in the car.

Disclaimer: Tesla investor and fan, Model S owner

> As long as you use the vehicle's navigation system

Again, I've never driven a Tesla. When you say "navigation system", is that something different than what the author refers to as the car's "dashboard"? From the article:

> About 50 miles from what I’d planned as my first pit stop, an inn near Chalons-en-Champagne, my dashboard tells me the Supercharger there is “temporarily unavailable.”

> I’m tired and hungry, and although my dashboard shows a Supercharger about five miles outside the city, I decide to go directly to my hotel, a half mile away.

She mentions using Google Maps, but it sounds like it's in conjunction with the info she's getting from the dashboard, e.g. to find other charging points that are near her current touristy destination that may not specifically be a SuperCharger:

> The area has several charging points, but after searching for one via Google Maps—like any other tourist—I’m directed to a shopping district with no place to plug in. I’m tired and hungry, and although my dashboard shows a Supercharger about five miles outside the city, I decide to go directly to my hotel, a half mile away.

The fact that Europe appears to have chargers compatible with Tesla and findable via Google Maps, yet can end up being dead-ends, seems like relevant information for people who are considering trying out EV road-tripping for the first time.

The OP just seems like another Tesla/Elon fanboy.

I fully support what Elon and Tesla are doing, but this Bloomberg article accurately points out the downsides of owning a Tesla, especially if it’s your primary car.

If you’re mostly using a Tesla to get around town and charging at home, it’s makes sense, but you’d be better off renting a car for road trips and not having to deal with this hassle.

A lot of people in America have not and still don’t buy diesels because those gas stations are not as ubiquitous as normal fuel. The problem exists to an even greater degree for electric cars, not to mention the amount of time you have to sit around waiting for charging.

> A lot of people in America have not and still don’t buy diesels because those gas stations are not as ubiquitous as normal fuel.

American diesel owner here and I initially had some concerns about this but it's the opposite problem of Tesla, thanks to trucks it's never hard to find diesel on road trips. It can be a little harder around town, but since the range is so far (500+ miles) I've never had a problem.

This is one reason I'm sad the Volt didn't take off more than it did. For me, 95+% of the time I only use electric (commute is 12 miles each way), but I never have to worry about "range anxiety" or doing detailed planning for charging stations on long trips. For me it really is the best of both worlds.

Fair enough, except it wouldn't have told her to waste time charging to 100%. Because charging gets slower the higher the state of charge, it's faster to charge twice like the car would tell her to.