Minh and I completed a cross-country tour in a Tesla Model S. It was our first attempt at finding an alternative to carbon-intensive air travel. By our rough calculations, the Tesla appears to produce 35% less CO2 than a regular car, and less than half of the CO2 that would be created by flying.
Tesla 2020 Tour CO2
Total miles driven: 7648
Total electricity used: 2535.8 kWh
Estimated CO2: 1.8 metric tons
An average gas vehicle (25mpg) would have produced about 2.8 metric tons on a similar tour, and flying to the major stops would have produced 4.2 metric tons.
The takeaways
- An electric vehicle offers a significant improvement over gasoline and air-travel.
- Reducing the use of coal in state's electricity generation will further improve the benefit of electric vehicles.
- Even in an electric vehicle, however, a cross-country tour is a significant source of CO2. Annual touring is likely not sustainable.
Category: