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Tesla Model X Off-Road Trip Ends for the Most Absurd of Reasons

A Tesla Model X - or any other electric vehicle, for that matter - off-roading? That's an absurd thought right there. Everybody knows you don't find charging stations in the wild - you barely find them inside the cities, after all.
Tesla Model X off-road 1 photo
Photo: YouTube screenshot
That's one of the false assumptions a lot of people make when it comes to battery-powered cars. No, not the wild part, but the number of places where you can top off your battery in urban areas. Considering the EV density we have right now, the infrastructure is just fine. However, that changes severely if you plan on making long trips, you don't live in the U.S.A. and you didn't buy a Tesla.

An off-road excursion isn't long by definition, but it does often mean taking your vehicle in remote areas where you might not come across a living soul for hours, and you could also hit spots with bad reception so calling for help isn't always an option should anything go wrong.

Electric cars are notoriously reliable, but they also have one big drawback: a limited range. On the other hand, despite popular belief, their "fuel" is much more widely available than gas or diesel. Think about it: you'll find a power plug in every home, but the same can't be said about fuel pumps.

There were no plugs where this Model X was going, though. However, with careful planning and a trailer carrying all the charging adaptors every made (a slight exaggeration), this adventure photographer set out on a 7,000-miles-long (11,000 km) road trip with his EV, one that would include "many muddy back roads and trails."

He documented his journey with a video posted on YouTube, and even though it doesn't show any serious off-roading, it's still a nice watch - if not for the vehicle, at least for the scenery. It's somewhat anti-climactic that what kept him from going forward was the kind of river you couldn't drown in even if you wanted. He says he went in and the water "went over his ankles," which made him decide to turn back.

It's easy to sound brave from behind a keyboard, but it's also quite ridiculous to fear crossing eight inches of water in a car just because it's an EV. After all, Teslas are known to make great boats, something Elon Musk himself tweeted a while back, so it doesn't hurt knowing your car and what it can and can't do before venturing out. Otherwise, you might end up staying indoors whenever it rains in fear of "mixing water and electricity."

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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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