Curious about what it’s like to plan a long road trip as an electric vehicle owner? Tesla thinks you just might be, so now it’s launching a web-based version of its trip planning tool, which was previously only available to Tesla owners via the in-car navigation system. The tool allows you to map out a route and includes the best charging spots along your route, complete with how long you’ll spend charging at each point, and your estimated fuel cost savings for the trip.
It’s a simplified version of what Tesla car owners get in-vehicle, but it’s plenty useful for either giving a broad tea of what taking a road trip in one of Tesla’s electric vehicles would look like in practical terms, and it’s also a good way to get an understanding of what Tesla’s expansion of its Destination Charger and Supercharger network means for potential vehicle ownership.
The trip planner include a map with charger locations highlighted in red, and will tell you the total estimated trip time for your travel, too. You can add stops to the route, as well, for multi-stage trip planning, and there’s an option to display Destination Chargers nearby at the end point of the trip, so you can figure out how to fully charge while you wait to make the return journey.
This is a smart move by Tesla, and a good way to help consumers better understand what it means to actually own a Tesla vehicle and an electric car. Many traditional consumers still aren’t fully aware of what kind of charging options are available to them, and perhaps consider range anxiety a bigger problem than it might be in practice based on where they’ll be using their cars most regularly.