Tesla Model S Cross-Country Trip, Without (Many) Superchargers: Days 4-7

A cross-country road trip in a Tesla Model S electric car requires a fair amount of forward planning and contingency research.

Still, I made it from New York's cold, snowy Hudson Valley into the warm, humid climes of Alabama in my first three days--as I wrote about yesterday.

Then, waking up on Day Four, I had a stroke of unexpected luck.

DAY 4: 421 miles, Foley, Alabama, to Beaumont, Texas

Fantastic news!

The website Supercharge.info tells me that the Baton Rouge Supercharger opened yesterday, shortening today’s gap from 374 miles to a mere 233.

YESTERDAY: Tesla Model S Cross-Country Trip: Days 1-3

With cool temperatures and a headwind, I'll need two hours of (free) charging at Mazalea RV Park in Biloxi to get me to the Baton Rouge Supercharger with a comfortable 30-mile cushion.

I arrive at the Lake Charles Supercharger, 130 miles further along I-10, with a bit of daylight left.

The next Supercharger, 213 miles away in Columbus, Texas., is just beyond my comfortable range.

But Plan B, a couple of hotels 60 miles closer in Houston with Tesla HPWC charging stations, turns out to be hideously expensive.

Plan C: “Joseph,” a Tesla owner listed on Plugshare in Beaumont, Texas, 60 miles past Lake Charles.

He’s not home tonight, but offers to call a neighbor to leave his HPWC plug outside the garage door for me.

Perfect. There’s a Red Roof Inn a 15-minute walk away.

Irony of the Week: turns out “Joseph” is Joe Deshotel, a member of the Texas state legislature, which is notorious for banning the sale of Teslas in Texas.

Just the day before, in the state capital of Austin, he’d talked to Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, in town once more to lobby for an overturn of the anti-Tesla law backed by the state’s car-dealer lobby.

“What Musk is telling us makes a lot of sense,” Joe told me. “And the dealers’ unwillingness to compromise is starting to piss off some of the other legislators."

"I think there’s a good chance we’ll work something out for Tesla this year," he concluded.

DAY 5: 247 miles, Beaumont to Austin, Texas

The next day kicked off by tossing me a grim battle with truck traffic through Houston, then a partial Supercharge in Columbus, Texas.

So it was a relief to get off the Interstate onto eerily empty Texas Route 71 to head toward Austin, and my cousins Jamie and Ellen.

ALSO SEE: Road Trips In A Tesla Model S Electric Car: Lessons Learned (Dec 2013)

A pleasant dinner and much family reminiscing ensued.

I charged overnight at the house of another Tesla owner, Jim, who lived just three blocks away from Jamie’s place. Life is good.

DAY 6: 423 miles, Austin to Oklahoma City

The Supercharger in Corsicana, Texas, 156 miles from Austin, would be my last for 835 miles. For the next three days, my Tesla and I would go off the grid, so to speak.

Texas Route 31 from Waco to Corsicana is the lonesomest stretch of road I’ve ever driven. I encountered literally one vehicle—a pickup truck, of course—in 40 miles.

DON'T MISS: Life With Tesla Model S: NY-FL Supercharger Road Trip, Returning (Feb 2014)

Even though my next charging stop—an HPWC at the Best Western in Denton—was only 105 miles away, I recharged almost to capacity in Corsicana.

I didn't unplug the Model S until the charge rate fell below 10 kW. (The higher the battery state of charge, the slower the charge rate.)

At that rate, it would be quicker to charge in Denton.