We’re all aware of the benefits Tesla’s Autopilot offers on long trips as well as the downsides of this technology, which has been involved in more than a few fatal accidents.
That said, how many of you would be willing to put your lives in the “hands” of the Autopilot system to cover 1,200 miles (1,931 km) in a Tesla EV, stopping only for recharging the batteries, eating and visiting restrooms?
Well, that’s exactly what 21-year-old YouTuber Ryan Trahan did as he and his friends took a road trip in a Tesla Model X from Austin, Texas to Chicago, Illinois. The idea behind this was (besides monetizing the video) to see if one can rely exclusively on Autopilot for this sort of trip – for highway driving, obviously.
Watch: Is This Tesla Model S Driver Taking A Nap Behind The Wheel At 50-60 MPH?
If he used an ICE-powered car, the trip would have cost an estimated $220 in fuel alone and would have taken about 17 hours. However, with the Model X, fuel costs were zero dollars thanks to Tesla’s Supercharger network. However, it took the YouTuber about 36 hours to complete the trip because of the stops needed for charging the batteries.
In the video, Ryan says that Autopilot is great on a long road trip because it makes the driver feel more relaxed, almost like a passenger – one that casually needs to touch the steering wheel every 8 to 10 seconds, that is. However, he added that he would never make such a long trip again in an EV because of the amount of time spent charging the batteries.
Most superchargers are located 5-10 miles (8-16 km) away from the highway and thus add a significant amount of time (and miles) to a long trip like this. We’ll now leave you with the video documenting the 1,200-mile trip on Autopilot.