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Recently I drove a Tesla Model 3 on an electric roadtrip from Southern California to Portland and back. The total distance was around 2,200 miles, with the bulk of the driving happening over the course of 5 days (3 up, 2 down), and I only “waited” for charging for about 25 minutes total over the whole trip.

There are many travelogues and youtube channels that go into deep analyses of efficiency and charging speed, with lots of detail on how exactly to plan an electric roadtrip. Though I typically do enjoy those sorts of details, I didn’t actually think to keep track of any of them during this trip, since they’re all sort of unnecessary at this point, because electric roadtrips are easy.

The roadtrip included a mixture of heavy driving days on interstates and lighter days on state routes with side routes and sightseeing. We had two drivers in the car, along with luggage for three, and didn’t bother to plan the route ahead of time, except for the goal of getting a little time on the Northern California/Oregon coast and seeing some coastal redwoods along the way. Both of us have plenty of experience driving and charging electric cars, though this is the longest electric roadtrip I personally have been on.

And that 25 minute number – that counts the amount of time spent waiting for charging and doing nothing else productive. If we were getting a meal, that was “free” charging time, since we need to eat anyway. In other words, time spent charging that would have otherwise been spent driving if we weren’t charging.

Side routes? Detours? No problem

It has been said many times that electric roadtrips are doable, as long as you stick to the plan and don’t deviate at all. Most chargers are along main routes which see the most traffic – smaller routes have fewer chargers, or slower ones, or don’t have any at all.

Well… we didn’t have a plan. We didn’t plan our route ahead around charger availability, merely left in the morning and charged where we wanted to, once we got hungry or needed to take a driving break. In the car’s navigation system, it’s easy to pull up a list of chargers, see what services exist at each stop, and search the map nearby for restaurants, hotels, bathrooms, and so on. And if you’re new to this whole thing, you can ask the car to route you to your destination and it will tell you where to charge and for how long (you can modify the plan, if you’d like, and we usually did).

Everything was straightforward until the second morning of the trip, where right before setting out towards the coast from Williams, CA, I sustained an injury which needed urgent care (I won’t bore you with the details of how badly my insurance company, Oscar, dealt with the situation, but they deserve mention for being unhelpful). Turns out there’s no urgent care in Williams, CA, so off we went on twisty roads towards the coast. After a couple hours through mountains and trees, we got to Fort Bragg, which along with urgent care facilities, also had a supercharger despite being quite far from anything that might be considered a main road.

We continued on and drove through the Avenue of the Giants, an area of coastal redwoods, the tallest trees in the world, which were breathtaking to behold and only made better by the silence of driving with electric propulsion. At one stop, a man in a truck remarked “you’re the first Tesla I’ve seen in four days,” presumably suggesting that Teslas mostly stick to the main roads and don’t get out to the more empty regions. We thought that was odd, since at no point on the trip did we feel restricted by charging concerns (and we did see other EVs – but maybe not as many as we saw on the main roads or near the cities).

Unfortunately we had to end our side-route adventure the next day, turning in through the mountains towards Grant’s Pass, due to the time loss associated with our medical adventure. The coastal route would have added about 2 hours (of driving, not charging), along with sightseeing time, and we had a dinner to get to – though charging in Bandon and Lincoln City on the coast would have been just about as easy as our charges in Grant’s Pass and Harrisburg were.

Charging is available, fast, and pleasant

Charging was never a problem during our electric roadtrip. We chose hotels with chargers (by checking PlugShare), but these hotels were in the towns we wanted to stop in, so we didn’t have to go out of our way to find these overnight charges.

Each overnight charge was “free,” insofar as it was included with the hotel, and it was nice to leave in the morning with a 100% charge (rather than ~80% which is the usual state of charge to leave a supercharger at). This provided more flexibility on where to charge during the day, and saved some money on supercharging fees.

Every charge save one or two was associated with a meal or bathroom break, which meant we spent little actual time charging during the trip. Every stop, by the time we were done with what we needed to do on the stop, the car was already ready to go with 200+ added miles of range.

Whether it be walking to and eating fast food, waiting to be seen at urgent care (whoops), devouring the haul from a local fruit stand, or having free wine samples (only the passenger of course), there was plenty to do at each stop and only ever a few minutes, if at all, spent “waiting” for the car to charge enough to continue on.

On that wine tasting point, a special mention goes to the Olsen Run Winery at the Harrisburg, OR supercharger, which exists poetically on the property of an old gas station (though for some reason isn’t listed in the in-car search for nearby restaurants – don’t be fooled, stop there anyway).

Instead of serving up stinky, cancer-causing dino juice, it now pushes electrons and delicious burgers (with veggie option), fries, shakes, and free wine tastings, and even serves as an event space (in… the middle of nowhere). It was such a pleasant stop that even though we didn’t need a charge, we stopped again on the way back South from Portland just for the burgers and conversation. We hope to see more entrepreneurial innovation with properties like this, converting stinky old gas stations into something much more pleasant.

And we didn’t even take advantage of every charge opportunity – one of which was actually easier for non-Teslas. We stopped at a rest stop right after the CA border just to look around, and by chance happened to find a free CCS/CHAdeMO DC fast charger there. We didn’t have the necessary CHAdeMO or CCS adapter, but didn’t need a charge anyway – though we still got an emotional charge, standing by a pleasant river, breathing clean air unsullied by gas station fumes, and seeing some unnervingly bold deer crawling all over the place on the rest stop lawn which was clearly marked “no pets.”

All told, we probably only spent a total of about 25 minutes across the whole trip doing nothing but charging. This was primarily at the last charge on the last day, where we stopped at an outlet mall (Tejon Ranch East supercharger) after business hours and spent about 15 minutes watching a couple play with their dog in the parking lot while charging. The point is: the amount of extra time spent actively charging across the whole trip was no more than the amount of active time it takes to fill up at gas stations – and, perhaps, even less.

650 miles in one day

Typically on roadtrips, I don’t like to do more than around 300 miles in a day. After that point you start feeling like you’ve been in the car forever, like you haven’t gotten to see or do anything outside of the car, you feel cooped up and tired and stressed and so on.

But, sometimes you just want to get home and rest your broken toe, and don’t have any particular sights you want to see along the boring I-5 in California. So, you spend the morning tooling around Mount Shasta after an overnight charge, then set out to drive almost the entire length of California in one day.

And when driving in a car with one driver with a broken toe and the other with a bum knee, autopilot is nice to have. While the promise of full self-driving is not here (…yet?), autopilot does work well on highways and helps reduce fatigue on a long drive like this.

On this 650 mile day, we stopped for three charges – Woodland to get a pizza, Firebaugh for a taco, and Tejon Ranch. Again, we didn’t have to wait for the car until the very last charge, where we weren’t hungry and didn’t need a break, so waited about 15 minutes.

Even if people recognize that electric roadtrips are doable, they will often carve out an exception for these long driving days, suggesting that they would be hindered by charging when they really need to make a lot of ground quickly. Well, given that we only “spent” 15 minutes charging during this 650 mile day (again, not counting the two fast food meals + bathroom breaks which we needed anyway), that doesn’t really sound like much of a hindrance given that at least one 10-minute gas stop would be necessary if the roadtrip were done on gas (and don’t forget the ~5-7 other gas stops that would have been needed over the 2,200-mile trip).

Reminders why electric roadtrips are important

We did make a brief stop during our longest driving day to look at Shasta Lake, which put a bit of a point on why we spent 5 days doing an electric roadtrip instead of the more convenient option of burning fuel in a plane to get to where we were going:

California, like many parts of the world, is experiencing historic drought. Shasta Lake, the largest reservoir in the state, is at critically low levels. The lake feeds the Bay Area and the Central Valley, the most agriculturally productive land in the nation which provides more than half of the fruits, vegetables and nuts for the entire US.

This drought is exacerbated by climate change, causing dry weather and high temperatures in the area. And climate change is caused by human greenhouse gas emissions. Fossil fuel emissions from transportation are the largest contributor to climate change in the US (another major factor is animal agriculture – which not only produces methane emissions but uses large amounts of water).

The rest of the final day was spent driving through that valley, which also happens to be one of the more polluted places in the country. Air pollution from trucks and machinery gets trapped by the mountains, causing constant smog conditions. Despite being in a valley, you wouldn’t really know it, because much of the time you can’t see the mountains all around you due to the smog.

electric roadtrip contrast with gas and pollution
There’s supposed to be mountains in the background, but that thing in the foreground seems to obscure them…

So not only was an EV the right choice for the practical side of the roadtrip, but also for the greater picture – trying to avoid the environmental disasters caused by fossil fuel usage.

Your mileage may vary?

We encountered no charging reliability problems on the trip. There were a few supercharger connectors that weren’t working at some of the stops, but the car informed us ahead of time which ones were inactive and it never affected charge speed or the locations we chose to charge at.

Of course, this trip was on the West Coast of the US, mostly in California, the state with the most EVs. I have been assured that the trip would be more difficult elsewhere, or on a network other than Tesla’s superchargers (though, other cars will gain access to Tesla’s system soon™). Other networks probably wouldn’t be as easy, and other cars don’t have as elegant a routing and “nearby search” system as the Tesla system, or as simple of a “plug-and-charge” payment system like superchargers have.

But I have also been assured that this trip would be difficult, with so many people talking about how hard it is to take roadtrips in an electric car.

But it wasn’t hard, it was easy. So this suggests to me that those other trips, while perhaps not as easy as mine, may well be more possible than people think they are.

electric roadtrip map

I will reiterate, again, that we did not plan a route ahead. We didn’t plug our trip into ABRP or other route planners. We didn’t stick to a specific speed so we could make our charging plan. We changed routes frequently by whim, we charged when or where we felt like doing so, or where there was a restaurant we were interested in. None of this was an issue. It was just a regular roadtrip, but less polluting, more pleasant, and cheaper.

And yet, there is a persistent myth that since EVs are supposedly incapable (they are not, as displayed above) of doing this one thing that most cars will never do, they are therefore not an acceptable source of transportation. Nevermind that they are superior in normal driving tasks – and, as displayed above, not even inferior in this one – somehow this myth still persists.

It should also be noted that trips like this are not a common occurrence. As a practical matter, most cars will rarely if ever do a roadtrip like this. But, particularly in America, cars are not sold for what they’ll be used for, but for every conceivable purpose the buyer could ever imagine using them for. You’re not being sold a tool, you’re being sold a dream – the dream of freedom, in the form of a $1,000/mo car payment.

This is the reason the “electric roadtrips are impossible!” myth has gained so much traction – Americans are buying the dream of the Great American Roadtrip, and think that an EV makes that dream impossible.

Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s not impossible. In fact, it’s more than possible – it’s even better than the alternative.

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BMW ups the ante with the fastest, most powerful electric maxi-scooter

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BMW ups the ante with the fastest, most powerful electric maxi-scooter

BMW Motorrad’s futuristic electric scooter just got its first real refresh since beginning production in 2021. The BMW CE 04, already one of the most capable and stylish electric maxi-scooters on the market, now gets a set of upgraded trim options, new aesthetic touches, and a more robust list of features that aim to make this urban commuter even more appealing to riders looking for serious electric performance on two wheels.

The BMW CE 04 has always stood out for its sci-fi styling and high-performance drivetrain. It’s built on a mid-mounted liquid-cooled motor that puts out 31 kW (42 hp) and 62 Nm of torque. That’s enough to rocket the scooter from 0 to 50 km/h (31 mph) in just 2.6 seconds – quite fast for anything with a step-through frame.

The top speed is electronically limited to 120 km/h (75 mph), making it perfectly capable for city riding and fast enough to hold its own on highway stretches. Range is rated at 130 km (81 miles) on the WMTC cycle, thanks to the 8.9 kWh battery pack tucked low in the frame.

But while the core performance hasn’t changed, BMW’s 2025 update focuses on refining the package and giving riders more options to tailor the scooter to their taste. The new CE 04 is available in three trims: Basic, Avantgarde, and Exclusive.

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The Basic trim keeps things clean and classic with a Lightwhite paint scheme and a clear windshield. It’s subtle, sleek, and very much in line with the CE 04’s clean-lined aesthetic. The Avantgarde model adds a splash of color with a Gravity Blue main body and bright São Paulo Yellow accents, along with a dark windshield and a laser-engraved rim. The top-shelf Exclusive trim is where things get fancy, with a premium Spacesilver metallic paint job, upgraded wind protection, heated grips, a luxury embroidered seat, and its own unique engraved rim treatment.

There are also a few new tech upgrades baked into the options list. Riders can now spec a 6.9 kW quick charger that reduces the 0–80% charge time to just 45 minutes (down from nearly 4 hours with the standard 2.3 kW onboard charger). Tire pressure monitoring, a center stand, and BMW’s “Headlight Pro” adaptive lighting system are also available as add-ons, along with an emergency eCall system and Dynamic Traction Control.

BMW has kept the core riding components in place: a steel-tube chassis, 15-inch wheels, Bosch ABS (with optional ABS Pro), and the impressive 10.25” TFT display with integrated navigation and smartphone connectivity. The under-seat storage still swallows a full-face helmet, and the long, low frame design means the scooter looks like something out of Blade Runner but rides like a luxury commuter.

With these updates, BMW seems to be further cementing the CE 04’s role at the high end of the electric scooter market. It’s not cheap, starting around €12,000 in Europe and around US $12,500 in the US, with prices going up from there depending on configuration. However, the maxi-scooter delivers real motorcycle-grade performance in a package that’s easier to live with for daily riders.

Electrek’s Take

I believe that the CE 04’s biggest strength has always been that it’s not trying to be a toy or a gimmick. It’s a real vehicle. Sure, it’s futuristic and funky looking, but it delivers on its promises. And in a market that’s still surprisingly sparse when it comes to premium electric scooters, BMW has had the lane mostly to itself. That may not last forever, though. LiveWire, Harley-Davidson’s electric spin-off brand, has teased plans for a maxi-scooter-style urban electric vehicle in the coming years, but as of now, it remains something of an undefined future plan.

Meanwhile, BMW is delivering not just a concept bike but a mature, well-equipped, and ready-to-ride electric scooter that keeps improving. For riders who want something faster and more capable than a Class 3 e-bike but aren’t ready to jump to a full-size electric motorcycle, the CE 04 hits a sweet spot. It delivers the performance and capability of a commuter e-motorcycle, yet with the approachability of a scooter. And with these new trims and upgrades, it’s doing it with even more style.

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I found this cheap Chinese e-cargo trike that hauls more than your car!

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I found this cheap Chinese e-cargo trike that hauls more than your car!

If you’ve ever wondered what happens when you combine a fruit cart, a cargo bike, and a Piaggio Ape all in one vehicle, now you’ve got your answer. I submit, for your approval, this week’s feature for the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week column – and it’s a beautiful doozie.

Feast your eyes on this salad slinging, coleslaw cruising, tuber taxiing produce chariot!

I think this electric vegetable trike might finally scratch the itch long felt by many of my readers. It seems every time I cover an electric trike, even the really cool ones, I always get commenters poo-poo-ing it for having two wheels in the rear instead of two wheels in the front. Well, here you go, folks!

Designed with two front wheels for maximum stability, this trike keeps your cucumbers in check through every corner. Because trust me, you don’t want to hit a pothole and suddenly be juggling peaches like you’re in Cirque du Soleil: Farmers Market Edition.

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To avoid the extra cost of designing a linked steering system for a pair of front wheels, the engineers who brought this salad shuttle to life simply side-stepped that complexity altogether by steering the entire fixed front end. I’ve got articulating electric tractors that steer like this, and so if it works for a several-ton work machine, it should work for a couple hundred pounds of cargo bike.

Featuring a giant cargo bed up front with four cascading fruit baskets set up for roadside sales, this cargo bike is something of a blank slate. Sure, you could monetize grandma’s vegetable garden, or you could fill it with your own ideas and concoctions. Our exceedingly talented graphics wizard sees it as the perfect coffee and pastry e-bike for my new startup, The Handlebarista, and I’m not one to argue. Basically, the sky is the limit with a blank slate bike like this!

Sure, the quality doesn’t quite match something like a fancy Tern cargo bike. The rim brakes aren’t exactly confidence-inspiring, but at least there are three of them. And if they should all give out, or just not quite slow you down enough to avoid that quickly approaching brick wall, then at least you’ve got a couple hundred pounds of tomatoes as a tasty crumple zone.

The electrical system does seem a bit underpowered. With a 36V battery and a 250W motor, I don’t know if one-third of a horsepower is enough to haul a full load to the local farmer’s market. But I guess if the weight is a bit much for the little motor, you could always do some snacking along the way. On the other hand, all the pictures seem to show a non-electric version. So if this cart is presumably mobile on pedal power alone, then that extra motor assist, however small, is going to feel like a very welcome guest.

The $950 price is presumably for the electric version, since that’s what’s in the title of the listing, though I wouldn’t get too excited just yet. I’ve bought a LOT of stuff on Alibaba, including many electric vehicles, and the too-good-to-be-true price is always exactly that. In my experience, you can multiply the Alibaba price by 3-4x to get the actual landed price for things like these. Even so, $3,000-$4,000 wouldn’t be a terrible price, considering a lot of electric trikes stateside already cost that much and don’t even come with a quad-set of vegetable baskets on board!

I should also put my normal caveat in here about not actually buying one of these. Please, please don’t try to buy one of these awesome cargo e-trikes. This is a silly, tongue-in-cheek weekend column where I scour the ever-entertaining underbelly of China’s massive e-commerce site Alibaba in search of fun, quirky, and just plain awesomely weird electric vehicles. While I’ve successfully bought several fun things on the platform, I’ve also gotten scammed more than once, so this is not for the timid or the tight-budgeted among us.

That isn’t to say that some of my more stubborn readers haven’t followed in my footsteps before, ignoring my advice and setting out on their own wild journey. But please don’t be the one who risks it all and gets nothing in return. Don’t say I didn’t warn you; this is the warning.

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OPEC+ members agree to larger-than-expected oil production hike in August

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OPEC+ members agree to larger-than-expected oil production hike in August

The OPEC logo is displayed on a mobile phone screen in front of a computer screen displaying OPEC icons in Ankara, Turkey, on June 25, 2024.

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Eight oil-producing nations of the OPEC+ alliance agreed on Saturday to increase their collective crude production by 548,000 barrels per day, as they continue to unwind a set of voluntary supply cuts.

This subset of the alliance — comprising heavyweight producers Russia and Saudi Arabia, alongside Algeria, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates — met digitally earlier in the day. They had been expected to increase their output by a smaller 411,000 barrels per day.

In a statement, the OPEC Secretariat attributed the countries’ decision to raise August daily output by 548,000 barrels to “a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories.”

The eight producers have been implementing two sets of voluntary production cuts outside of the broader OPEC+ coalition’s formal policy.

One, totaling 1.66 million barrels per day, stays in effect until the end of next year.

Under the second strategy, the countries reduced their production by an additional 2.2 million barrels per day until the end of the first quarter.

They initially set out to boost their production by 137,000 barrels per day every month until September 2026, but only sustained that pace in April. The group then tripled the hike to 411,000 barrels per day in each of May, June, and July — and is further accelerating the pace of their increases in August.

Oil prices were briefly boosted in recent weeks by the seasonal summer spike in demand and the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, which threatened both Tehran’s supplies and raised concerns over potential disruptions of supplies transported through the key Strait of Hormuz.

At the end of the Friday session, oil futures settled at $68.30 per barrel for the September-expiration Ice Brent contract and at $66.50 per barrel for front month-August Nymex U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude.

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