Tesla managed to get its own border lane at the Mexico – U.S. frontier. A well-known YouTuber decided to visit it and, if possible, cross it. He met with the vice-president of the Tesla owners club, got inside a Model 3, and drove down south. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as smoothly as both guys anticipated.
The Laredo border crossing is busy almost at any given moment of the day. Even though there are enough personnel on both sides of the frontier, Tesla managed to get its exclusive lane in another location. It’s 20 miles away from the main place of the border crossing, in an area called Columbia.
The guys start the trip with 270 miles (434 kilometers) of range in a part of the U.S. that doesn’t have many Superchargers available yet. The YouTuber himself admits that range anxiety is a worry.
Moreover, they want to cross the border with a Tesla that has expired registration. It should’ve been renewed back in February. This could lead to the impound of the vehicle in Mexico. However, they push on.
Both guys approach the frontier on the U.S. side with GoPros mounted on the roof and multiple cameras in the car. After reaching Mexico, the questioning starts. Authorities continued with the inquiry and kept them waiting for half an hour. During this period, they searched the Model 3 for potential illegal items and brought in the trained dogs as well. The military personnel also asked them to take the cameras off and delete the footage.
Fortunately, the owner of the car speaks Spanish, and he was able to tell the Mexican authorities by the phone why the Tesla has expired registration. The situation was resolved, and the guys promised to return to the U.S.
When they came back home, the guys saw that the Tesla sign is real. The all-electric automaker does have its own border lane crossing. Being in a car made by a company that has exclusive frontier rights, they enter the lane. Surprisingly, they are allowed to pay and go back to the U.S. through this point.
Normally, it would have cost them $1.45. Unfortunately, the language barrier made the crossing more expensive – the guys paid $50.
“We went through the Tesla lane,” said the YouTuber exuberantly.
Surprisingly, the U.S. border agents didn’t know about the Tesla signage and the exclusive lane. The guys enthusiastically told the officer checking their documents what was going on. After that, they entered the U.S.
You can watch the rest of the video down below, but be aware of the fact that it gets tense at some intervals.
The Tesla border crossing lane isn’t made for customer vehicles only. It helps Mexican suppliers move faster when more people want to go at the same time. That saves the automaker a lot of money and keeps the momentum going at the company’s plants.
Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one. Full profile
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