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Tesla China Shares Incredible Video of a Road Trip to Mount Everest in Two Teslas

Electric vehicles have some unique characteristics that no ICE vehicle can ever match. Among them is the ability to operate in low or zero-oxygen environments. Tesla leveraged this to reach the Mount Everest Base Camp in a publicity stunt that is relatively rare from the company.
Tesla China shares incredible video of a road trip to Mount Everest 10 photos
Photo: Tesla Greater China via Youtube
Tesla China shares incredible video of a road trip to Mount EverestTesla China shares incredible video of a road trip to Mount EverestTesla China shares incredible video of a road trip to Mount EverestTesla China shares incredible video of a road trip to Mount EverestTesla China shares incredible video of a road trip to Mount EverestTesla China shares incredible video of a road trip to Mount EverestTesla China shares incredible video of a road trip to Mount EverestTesla China shares incredible video of a road trip to Mount EverestTesla China shares incredible video of a road trip to Mount Everest
Trensen Chongqing is a Chinese travel blogger who, just like Barney from “How I Met Your Mother,” replied with the famous “Challenge accepted!” when friends and family told him it cannot be done. He wanted to try the recently completed Tesla 318 Supercharger Route. This is one incredible national highway in China that spans 3,400 miles (5,476 km) between Shanghai in the east and Lhasa (Tibet) in the southwest.

Trensen wanted to go beyond Lhasa to Mount Everest, named Qomolangma in the Tibetan language (roughly translated as “Mother Goddess of the Earth”). He took the highway in Chengdu and continued along the way to the Mount Everest Base Camp for a total of 1,450 miles (2,350 km). As you’d imagine, past Lhasa, there’s no highway, there’s no Supercharger, so his friends thought they made a safe bet Trensen wouldn’t make it.

“Everyone thought I was losing my mind,” he confesses in the short video shared by the Tesla China account. Trensen knew it wouldn’t be easy. Himalayas’ roads are treacherous and sometimes frightening. Anything can happen. But the travel blogger was confident he could make it and even invited a friend with another Tesla. One Model X and one Model Y, heading to one of the highest places on Earth, at 17,000 feet (5,200 meters) altitude.

Trensen Chongqing and his friend completed the road trip in five days, surmounting all challenges the Himalayas threw their way. They had to go through a landslide in the Jinsha River area, traffic jams (go figure), and some scary passings where the cars would hang above the abyss. They had to sleep in their vehicles, which, thanks to Tesla’s Camp Mode, was no problem even though the outside temperature was only 40 F (4.5 C).

Electric cars don’t suffer from the low-oxygen atmosphere in the mountains, so Tesla’s performance was not at all affected at altitude. The same is not true for combustion engine-powered vehicles.

“On the plateaus, fuel cars may suffer from insufficient combustion but electric cars won’t,” Trensen explains. “Finally with two Teslas, we arrived at Mount Qomolangma Base Camp. Electric cars can do long road trips and even go further where ICE cars cannot reach. Such as here, right beneath Mount Qomolangma.”

Many people still believe today that electric vehicles are unsuitable for long trips. Still, with more EVs on the road, stories like this become more widespread, shifting perceptions. Watch below the incredible video documenting this road trip to Mount Everest, especially as it shows some breathtaking images from the Himalayas.

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About the author: Cristian Agatie
Cristian Agatie profile photo

After his childhood dream of becoming a "tractor operator" didn't pan out, Cristian turned to journalism, first in print and later moving to online media. His top interests are electric vehicles and new energy solutions.
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