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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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It’s time to start recommending some Tesla Powerwall alternatives [update]

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It's time to start recommending some Tesla Powerwall alternatives [update]

For years, Tesla Powerwall has been the go-to recommendation for “normals” looking for a painless, low-effort experience from their first home solar and battery backup solutions. Its CEO’s recent involvement in controversial politics, however, means that people are now distancing themselves from the once-trailblazing company.

It begs the question: what other home solar battery solutions are there?

UPDATE 26JUL2025: added more options, put everything in alphabetical order.

Electricians and contractors often praise the sleek, energy-dense Tesla Powerwall, for good reasons. But the Powerwall isn’t the only top-shelf home battery on the market, but long wait times, Elon’s antics, and the proliferation of really good integrated alternatives from legacy EV brands might have you shopping for Tesla alternatives already. If that’s you, the next logical step is to re-think the brand’s solar battery offerings as well – here are some of the best options out there.

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As I was putting this list together, I realized there were plenty of ways for me to present this information. “Best batteries ..?” Too opinion-based. “Cheapest batteries ..?” Too much research and a quick descent into Temu-grade nonsense. In the end, I went with the same solution I’ve been using on my 0% EV financing lists: alphabetical order, by brand. Enjoy!

Bluetti EP800 + B500


Bluetti EP800 install photo; via Bluetti.

If you’re in a smaller space or renting and can’t (or don’t want to) add a hardwired battery solution to your home, Bluetti’s EP800 + B500 modular system is a sweet “middle ground” option that combines the Bluetti EP800 off-grid inverter and the company’s B500 battery packs in a floor-standing unit that can be used without a solar roof but also plays well with most rooftop PV options.

The basic EP800 + B500 package offers about 9.9 kWh of capacity for under $9,000 as I type this, and the system can scale up to nearly 20 kWh by adding more B500 packs. The system puts out 7.6 kW of power – more than enough, in other words, to keep some lights on and your fridge and foods (and meds) cold.

What’s more, it works great with Bluetti’s AC300 or AC500 gear if you want an option that’s a bit more portable if you move a lot or plan on moving soon.

EG4 14.3 kWh PowerPro


EG4 installer; via EG4.

Two of the home solar installers I talked to in preparing this post mentioned the EG4 14.3kWh batteries, and its specs (on paper, at least) compare nicely with the Powerwall 3.

Battery Usable capacity (kWh) Continuous power output (kW) Roundtrip efficiency Average price per kWh* Coupling
Tesla Powerwall 3 13.5 11.5 97.5% $926 DC or AC
EG4 14.3kWh PowerPro 11.44 10.24 99% $786 DC

“The EG4 PowerPro solar battery from EG4 Electronics is the strongest alternative to the Tesla Powerwall,” writes Kristina Zagame, from the home solar experts at EnergySage. “(The EG4) has a similar capacity, meaning it’ll last a similar amount of time, and a slightly lower power output, which means it won’t be able to power quite as many devices at the same time. And, based on quotes through EnergySage, EG4 batteries tend to be a bit more affordable compared to Tesla.”

Enphase IQ Battery 10


IQ Battery 10; via Enphase.

If you’re looking for a one-brand solution for EV charging and whole-home battery backup but don’t want to be “locked in” to GM or Tesla’s ecosystem, Enphase offers a full line of Made-in-the-USA solutions that could be right for you.

“Energy systems developer Enphase Energy is providing an even more holistic approach to managing home power usage with the introduction of new EV charger technology called the IQ line,” wrote Scooter doll, when the brand first introduced its EV charging solutions back in 2023. “The Enphase IQ is Wi-Fi enabled and integrates seamlessly into a customer’s existing home system that can be controlled with your phone.”

Franklin WH aPower 2


Franklin aPower2 home battery; via Franklin WH.

If you love the sleek, minimalistic styling of the Tesla Powerwall 3 but still prefer to spend your money elsewhere, the Franklin WH aPower 2 offers similarly sleek styling and beats the Tesla offering on usable energy storage capacity by 1.5 kWh. That’s nearly a full day of keeping a modern refrigerator running.

The Franklin is also designed to be easily retrofit into an existing solar system, but it loses out to the Powerwall on price per kWh, at $1,176 (vs. $926 for the Tesla unit).

GM Energy Home System


GM Energy Home System with Chevy Silverado EV; via GM.

Arguably the most fully integrated EV + battery backup + solar option out there outside of Tesla, the GM Energy Home System promises to do everything a conventional home solar battery does, plus work seamlessly with your GM EV to provide even more flexibility – whether that means using the electric fuel stored in your EV to hold out that much longer in an emergency, or using the energy stored in your home’s solar battery to power an escape in your EV is up to you.

GM Energy and GM’s car dealers list Qmerit as their installation partner, and they’re great, but if you “already have a guy,” you can order the Home System directly from GM Energy’s website for $12,700 (as I type this).

The GM Energy Home System system includes:

  • GM Energy PowerBank
  • GM Energy PowerShift Charger
  • GM Energy Home Hub & Inverter

StorEn vanadium flow BESS


StorEn Vanadium Flow Batteries
Vanadium flow batteries; via StorEn Technologies.

If lithium-ion’s ten-year cycle life or overhyped fire risk makes you nervous, StorEn Technologies is developing a consumer-focused battery solution based on vanadium flow chemistry. Their system promises to last 25 years or more with no capacity loss, so you can charge and drain the battery fully each day and without stressing about wear … but there are a couple of downsides.

First, they’re not yet available to the general public – only to StorEn’s early investors in (what I understand to be) a sort of quasi-Kickstarter deal.

Second, the StorEn batteries are significantly bulkier than a Powerwall. That said, if you’ve got the room and you’re old enough to realize that 25 years isn’t actually a super long time, the StorEn solution might to be a super compelling, nearly maintenance-free setup that might outlast both your solar panels and the roof they’re mounted on.


VillaGrid+ battery; via Villara.

So, remember how I started this off saying that I wouldn’t turn this into a “best batteries” post? That’s partly driven by the fact that I’m neither an electrician, a chemical engineer, or someone who’s researched thousands of end-user experience surveys to come up with whatever metrics I’d need to confidently and correctly call one battery “the best.”

Our friends and solar industry experts at EnergySage, though? They’ve got all three of those things on staff, and they really, really like the Villara VillaGrid+.

“The Villara VillaGrid+ stands out as the best battery on the market, scoring highest in EnergySage’s rigorous Equipment Rating System, explains EnergySage’s Kristina Zagame. “That said, (the Villara VillaGrid+) is not necessarily the best Tesla Powerwall alternative. It’s a very different (and much pricier) battery.”

What puts the VillaGrid+ on top? According to Zagame, it all comes down to the battery’s lithium-titanium-oxide, or LTO chemistry. “Unlike more traditional lithium-ion batteries, LTO has better recharge capabilities for longer life cycles, and doesn’t contain any carbon, which makes it extra safe. The only downside is you’ll definitely shell out more money upfront for the VillaGrid+.”

That extra money will also buy some additional peace of mind, as Villara backs its LTO batteries with a 20-year warranty compared to Tesla Powerwall and its (and just about everyone else’s) 10-year deal. I couldn’t find a price, but Villara’s other products, like VillaGrid 5.75 kWh battery, come in at nearly double Powerwall’s per kWh cost. Check out the specs, below, then let us know if you think the novel chemistry and additional warranty are worth it in the comments.

Battery Usable capacity (kWh) Continuous power output (kW) Roundtrip efficiency Average price per kWh* Coupling
Tesla Powerwall 3 13.5 11.5 97.5% $926 DC or AC
Villara VillaGrid+ 11.5 10 98.5% Get quote DC or AC

Original content from Electrek.


If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

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Vertical Aerospace completes first ever public airport-to-airport eVTOL flight

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Vertical Aerospace completes first ever public airport-to-airport eVTOL flight

Air taxi startup Vertical Aerospace achieved a world’s first this week, completing the first flight between two airports through public airspace for an eVTOL at the Royal International Air Tattoo in Gloucestershire, England.

The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) is the world’s largest military airshow, held every July and serving as a public showcase for the latest advancements in aviation technology. It’s fitting, then, that RIAT served as setting for the Vertical VX4 prototype’s first piloted public flight.

The eVTOL aircraft flew 17 miles from the company’s Flight Test Centre at Cotswold Airport to RAF Fairford, a Royal Air Force station used by the US Air Force. The Vertical VX4 reached speeds of 115 mph, and an altitude of 1800 ft, and also marked the first landing at a public location for an aircraft of this type.

The Vertical Aerospace entry was the only battery-electric aircraft present at RIAT 2025, and the flight served as a demonstration of the company’s broader strategy to unlock new hybrid-electric applications for defense, logistics, and special/close support missions where the eVTOL’s (relatively) quiet operations could give it a tactical advantage.

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“RIAT is a global stage for the most advanced, mission-ready aerospace technology, and we’re proud to showcase how electric aviation will support the future of defense,” says Stuart Simpson, CEO of Vertical Aerospace. “Our hybrid-electric roadmap unlocks new capabilities for military operations, and Vertical’s RIAT presence reinforces our commitment to playing a meaningful role in the future of military and special mission aviation.”

Vertical’s VX4 debuted last year, with a 20% increase in the power-to-weight ratio that enables a top cruising speed of 150 mph and transports four passengers plus a pilot up to 100 miles on a single charge.

The inaugural VX4 flight was witnessed by several thousand UK aircraft enthusiasts, and showed how an eVTOL aircraft could integrate with real-world airport operations, building momentum toward more regular, certified deployment.

Electrek’s Take


Archer, BETA, EHang, Joby, XPeng – the list of eVTOL manufacturers seems to be as long as the list of new electric car brands that didn’t exist back when I first started working with EVs back in ::gulp:: the 1990s. The future of regional point-to-point air travel certainly seems to be vertical, and electric.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Vertical Aerospace.


If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

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Honda takes a page from Tesla playbook, launches new insurance business

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Honda takes a page from Tesla playbook, launches new insurance business

Say what you will about Elon Musk, but Tesla has changed the way that millions of people buy cars and, by extension, car insurance. Now, Honda is taking a page from Tesla’s successful playbook and launching its own in-house insurance business. Enter: Honda Insurance Solutions.

Honda Insurance Solutions is being launched as a fully licensed insurance agency serving the insurance needs of Acura and Honda customers, but it’s not stopping at competitive pricing and coverage options for Honda cars and motorcycles. Honda Insurance Solutions promises to go several steps beyond Tesla’s offering with coverage for trailers, RVs, homes, and even pets.

“Honda Insurance Solutions offers customers access to coverage through a brand they know and trust,” says Petar Vucurevic, President, American Honda Insurance Solutions, LLC and Senior Vice President, American Honda Finance Corporation. “Insurance is a key touchpoint in the vehicle ownership journey, and we aim to deliver a superior experience tailored to the unique needs of each customer, while promoting safer driving and increased peace of mind on the road.”

The company says the launch of its new insurance business is just part of Honda’s broader digital vehicle sales platform strategy, with future plans to integrate insurance offerings into new products.

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Electrek’s Take


Electric CUVE scooter; via Honda.

It’s important to note some of the key differences between Honda’s insurance offering and Tesla’s. Honda isn’t offering discounts, they’re not bundling insurance premiums into the vehicle financing, and they’re not building their insurance offerings into their dealerships’ checkout/F&I offices. Not yet, anyway.

What Honda is doing right now is deepening relationships with its existing customers and finding ways to make money on products it hasn’t sold them – whether that’s the Harley parked in the garage next to their Prologue or the garage itself.

It’s a smart play. And, once Honda figures out a way to cut franchise dealers out entirely and go to a direct sales model, it’ll look even smarter.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Honda.


If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

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