2013 Tesla Model S Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

2013 Tesla Model S Long-Term Road Test

It's time for a road trip in our 2012 Tesla Model S. Charging stations now extend into Washington.

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fordson1

I sympathize with him that it's a family roadtrip and that is the point of it, but editor after editor is considering this car for road trips and then passing on it due to range/charge time/schedule issues. This car and the Supercharger network were designed, are being marketed and promoted as the road trip solution for EVs, but they're not being tested as such by Edmunds. Long trips are this car's weakness. Fuel economy is for example the SLS' weakness, and handling is the Hyundai Santa Fe's weakness...but you don't just decide not to test and report on those aspects of those cars just because they won't do well at them - you're supposed to give a complete picture. You guys are treating the Tesla S like it's a glorified Nissan Leaf. There is a limit to how many Sunday drives, evenings out and airport pickups you can do before people get the idea that's all it's good for.

greenpony

fordson1, you've convinced me to fall into your camp. They should definitely give this road trip a try, despite the gap in Supercharger coverage. There are bound to be other non-Supercharger options along the route. A quick glance at plugshare.com shows dozens of them. I see a lot of Tesla Model S's around here (NE IL / SE WI), at least one a week, and there are NO Superchargers here. I'd like to see if a little extra planning and a little extra downtime are fairly easily workable into a family road trip schedule, and if not, what great sacrifices must be made. I don't currently have the money to experience it for myself, but if I keep my current car and save for another couple years, I could easily afford a Model S.

jim_in_nj_

I agree too. But if Edmunds is going to use the Model S on a road trip, they have to prepare by getting signed up with the relevant charging systems. That means getting key fobs for Chargepoint, Blink, etc. Perhaps Edmunds already have these from the time they had their Leaf and Volt.

Also, a good resource for charging information in Washington and Oregon can be found here:

http://www.westcoastgreenhighway.com/electrichighway.htm