Welcome back to my blog, I can’t believe I’m going on 15 months of the pleasure of writing this blog for you. It’s springtime and it’s a great time to plan a road trip, long or short. When you have a Tesla, you likely hear people respond a bit surprised when you talk about road-tripping in your beautiful car. There’s never a reason to stress when traveling in your Tesla on long journeys, Tesla makes it easy. Tesla recently tweeted, “You decide where you want to go — your Tesla will automatically include charging stops along the way.”

I’m going to share some inspiration and highlights of the beauty of Tesla road trips, and encourage you to take a road trip this Spring!

You decide where you want to go—your Tesla will automatically include charging stops along the way https://t.co/01nnva59c1

— Tesla (@Tesla) March 24, 2023

The Playlist

Whether you travel with your family, a friend or alone, finding a good playlist is pretty easy in your Tesla. The difficulty is getting everybody to agree on what they want to listen to. I found a way to make peace with my teen by agreeing to certain times we can both play music, and at other times we would just keep the music off.

My favorite compromise is when my teenager is happy in the back area of the car and I’m in the front with my favorite music playing just on the front speakers for enough for me to hear. I can usually convince my teenager to put some kind of headphones on so he doesn’t have to listen to my music and get a headache.

Eating & Charging

These are the two most important parts of a road trip because it is your opportunity to refuel yourself and your family and charge up your Tesla.

For this, my favorite hack is to stop at Buc-ee’s for the supercharging, food and great bathrooms.  Buc-ee’s is not always an option so here are some other suggestions:

• tap the “ I’m Hungry “ button on Tesla maps
• grocery stores like H-E-B in Texas have great Takeaway meals like salads, sushi and all kinds of sandwiches
• your time with your kid/teenager is precious and rare, sometimes it’s nice to spoil them and let them be in full control of the cuisine

What sites to see? Where should we sleep?

Often you have a reason for traveling like heading down to South Texas to see the first Starship launch. You know exactly what you’re doing. But there’s also a beauty in aimlessly traveling, and wanting to hit the road, like Bob Dylan sang, “On the road again, just can’t wait to get back on the road again. Goin’ places that I’ve never been.”

I encourage you to get off the beaten path and try visiting some small towns and places you may not have planned to see. Or try the opposite action theory. I figure out what I don’t want to do and then I do the opposite and then I’m always happy that I did it.  In my years as a Certified Psych Nurse I learned this is good for all people and my patients. 

(Opposite action is a dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) skill that involves choosing to do exactly the opposite of what your emotions tell you to do)

Inspiration

This may sound counterintuitive because if you are like me, you like to plan out every detail of your trip. I encourage you not to plan every single day. Instead, “nonplan” a trip.  Try watching a few movies and reading some books before you go for inspiration. Here’s a list,

• Read “On the Road” by Kerouac
• Read “The Wangs vs. the World” by Jade Chang
• Watch “National Lampoons Vacation” 1983
• Watch “Nomadland” 2020
• Watch “Green Book” 2018
• Diary of a Wimpy kid: The Long Haul, 2017

Set your gorgeous Tesla on autopilot and kick back and enjoy the road!

Hacks

Here are some of my unorthodox hacks. These hacks and others make me want to be the designated driver in the Tesla,

1. Stretching out your feet because you don’t really need to be using the Accelerator or Brake pedal when you’re on autopilot
2. Stretching exercises – being weird is ok
3. Kicking back in a seat position that is super comfortable… sans shoes!
4. Just making up my mind to not use my phone at all. I tap into the myriad of thoughts I may not have thought of if I could use my phone. It’s interesting and valuable thinking time, and it’s necessary in a Tesla for this time in history because right now if we don’t look at the road at all times we will get … a dreaded Strike!

Tesla’s Official Website Has Important Summer Driving Tips

Climate Control Features, Accessories, and Tires are all critical factors when traveling in your Tesla in hot weather. Be sure to check out Tesla’s Support page titled “Summer Driving Tips.“

Want more travel information and tips from previous articles?

Tesla Summer Travel Trip Relax, imagine where you might drive to, grab an ice-cold Southern Sweet Tea, and enjoy these tips.

Model Y: Two Big Road Trip Advantages Tesla owner and founder of Scentwedge Arash Malek returned from a road trip in a Model Y.  He and his family toured some remote areas in Iceland and here is our conversation.

Gail Alfar, author. Exclusive to What’s Up Tesla – March 25, 2023. All Rights Reserved. My goal as an author is to support Tesla and Elon Musk in both making life better on earth for humans and becoming a space-fairing civilization. Header image Courtesy Tesla, Inc.