► New Tesla mapping tool online
► Designed to alleviate range anxiety
► Plots route with charging stop-offs
Tesla has launched a new mapping tool on its website letting owners calculate journeys with suitable electric car charging bays en route if required to finish the journey without running out of juice. The new tool is part of a 2018 refresh of Tesla.co, and is designed to help owners plan routes in advance, as well as reassure prospective customers how they can use long-range Model S or Model X electric cars without suffering range anxiety.
You can use it now at www.tesla.com/en_GB/trips.
Does Tesla’s new mapping web tool work?
We tested a variety of journeys from our Peterborough office on the new web app (below) and it correctly predicts sensible routes, diverting via high-speed Tesla Superchargers, or one of the slower Destination Charger points en route if your car’s battery is calculated to need a top-up. You can select your vehicle’s battery rating in the tool (although only for new Teslas; owners of used models, such as a Model S 85, may find their battery output is missing from the dropdowns).
Browse lease deals on new Teslas
Tesla says the new tool is likely to be used to educate new prospects more than owners; after all, the sat-navs onboard its cars already have similar functionality.
‘While existing Tesla owners can continue to rely on the trip planning features built into their car’s navigation, this simpler web-based tool is designed to give those curious about Tesla ownership a better understanding of what a road trip could look like behind the wheel of a Tesla Model S or Model X,’ a spokeswoman told CAR.
‘With thousands more new Tesla owners hitting the road this year, this tool will help to illustrate the possibilities of Tesla’s extensive Supercharger and Destination Charger network, whose combined capacity almost doubled in 2017 alone.’
CAR lives with a Tesla Model S long-term test car