Zero-Emission road trips: Reducing environmental impact with a Tesla

This is a collaborative post

If the hustle of daily living is starting to take its toll on you, going on a road trip is a great way to break free from all of life's stresses. That said, this journey is not without consequences. For gas-powered car owners, going on a road trip means releasing non-renewable resources into the air, damaging the ozone layer and exacerbating climate change over time.

But in this day and age, there's one up-and-coming solution that can help reduce your carbon footprint: electric vehicles. Particularly, Tesla vehicles. Using Tesla vehicles to conduct your road trip is an excellent way of lowering your emissions. Not only is it a highly capable EV, but it's also one of the fastest-selling EV brands in the market--a testament to its reliability in the realm of sustainable transportation.

If you own a Tesla and plan to embark on a road trip, you're doing your part in helping the future generation enjoy a healthy world.

Read on to learn what you need to know when going on a road trip with a Tesla EV.

How Tesla Reduces Environmental Impact

Tesla is a proponent of sustainable design and incorporates it heavily into their product catalogue, including their fleet of electric and hybrid vehicles. They do several things to manufacture their products sustainably. For one, their factories are built to maximise on cooling and heating efficiency. They do this by strategically placing windows near machinery to facilitate this efficient temperature exchange. They also ensure that their water consumption is lower than their competitors.

Furthermore, their factories are also partially run on solar panels--with the biggest one being in Texas. They also incorporate AI to help optimise their factory's ventilation and cooling infrastructure. Having said all this, it should be clear that buying a Tesla for yourself is essentially voting on a sustainable future. 

But, then you may wonder, why bother anyway?

Four Benefits of Driving an EV on Your Next Road Trip

It's easy to feel loyal to gas-powered vehicles when that's the only vehicle type you've been driving for your entire life. But, trust us, there's a lot of merit in making the switch to a Tesla EV.

Here are the benefits of choosing an electric vehicle over your standard run-of-the-mill gas-guzzling car.

1) Charging Infrastructure is Expanding Rapidly

If you're anxious about not being able to charge your EV when you're going on a road trip, quell those worries at once. Electric vehicles are becoming more and more mainstream with each passing year, and this effectively translates to an improved network of EV-supporting infrastructure such as widespread placement of charging ports.

Going on a zero-emission road trip with a Tesla or any other EV is a viable option, especially for established routes like the Grand Pacific Drive. Many others have done it in the past, and so can you.

2) You're Not Emitting Greenhouse Gases

Arguably the biggest perk of going electric is your decreased greenhouse gas emissions. The exhaust of traditional gas-powered vehicles can slowly erode the ozone layer's protective barrier. This means hotter days and increased UV radiation. Electric vehicles, over time, produce less of these destructive emissions.

3) You're in For a Smoother Ride

Teslas and other electric vehicles are fantastic choices if you want a smooth ride. They are made of fewer moving parts compared to your traditional engine-powered car. Particularly, there's no combustible engine in cars like Tesla.

The absence of this engine means you'll feel less car movement on the road. You'll also enjoy a more silent drive, which can be a fantastic quality-of-life improvement in the passenger's seat when you're planning to drive hundreds of miles or more.

4) You Have Self-Driving Features

Tesla's suite of features in its infotainment system is extensive, to say the least. Perhaps one of the most useful tools that Tesla provides its customers is its self-driving feature.

This allows the car to take the wheel and do the driving for you, literally. So if you want to take a break, you can kick back, put in a route, and let your Tesla do the work.

This is, of course, reserved for high-end models of the electric vehicle company. But if it's within your budget, then this feature can be a godsend in ensuring that you can stick to your schedule.

Photo credit Charlie Deets via Unsplash

Planning Your Road Trip With a Tesla: 4 Essential Tips

If you've been thoroughly convinced to undertake the zero-emission life with a Tesla, then great! It's a wonderful car type with a diverse range of vehicle options, ranging in driving range, size, and more.

That said, you should still prepare beforehand.to ensure that your road trip goes without a hitch and as sustainably as possible. Here are four tips to achieving just that.

1) Get Car Insurance

Whether you're renting out an electric car or buying one outright, it doesn't matter--car insurance is a must. Having an insurance policy for your vehicle grants you peace of mind when driving. Depending on the plan, you can have coverage for collisions, medical visits, and damages to the car - which can help keep your own savings intact.

If you need a lead, ROLLiN' has comprehensive car insurance plans for all Tesla vehicles in selected Australian cities. That said, there are many other insurance plans you can avail of wherever you are located in the world.

2) Plan Your Trip in Advance

Let's face it: having to call a tow truck to pick up your zero-battery EV is pretty embarrassing. On top of that, it's also contributing to car emissions, particularly if the tow truck is gas-powered. To prevent this totally avoidable situation from happening, it's important to plan your trip in advance. You don't have to make it extremely rigid, just a rough sketch of places you want to tick off your bucket list would be ideal.

Furthermore, and most importantly, planning your trip can help you optimise your charging time. If you're expecting your battery's car to hit zero a couple of times throughout your trip, it's good to have it timed with visits and rest stops in desirable locations. You can use EV-specific navigation tools like PlugShare or ChargePoint to help you find nearby charging stations along your route. If you're embarking on a multi-day trip, you can also plan to stay in accommodations that have overnight charging ports readily available for your Tesla.

3) Be Sustainable Beyond the Car

Sustainability doesn't just stop inside your car. You have to embrace the lifestyle and incorporate it into every facet of your life. How to do that, you may wonder. There are a couple of ways. Number one, don't accept or use one-use plastics. Second, reuse and recycle belongings as much as you can. Thirdly, embrace a minimalist lifestyle, pack light, and stray far from consumerism. By applying these habits, you can lessen your rubbish contribution, which can be pivotal when making the world a more pleasant place to live.

4) Have a Plan B

Even with the most well-researched plan, many things can go wrong during travel. You could encounter a flat, roads could be under construction, and so on. If you want to see your trip to the finish, then it's important to have contingency plans in case things don't go exactly how you planned it.

For instance, don't wait for your battery to be at the single digits before you arrive at a charging station. Make sure that there's extra juice left for you to travel to the nearest charging port and a bit more. Secondly, if a site that you wanted to see is closed to the public, think of other spots near the area to visit. And, if your car somehow breaks down in the middle of nowhere, it's best to be prepared and have a GPS phone to ping your location for help.

Doing these things can help ensure you enjoy your time in the face of setbacks and still continue to enjoy your upcoming road trip, whether it’s a family escapade or a solo adventure.

Enjoy!