July began with a buzz for me. Quite literally, considering the source of it was Tesla, for the most part. There was the Tesla store opening in Dubai coming up, in the second week. There was Drivemeonline’s 6th birthday turning up even sooner and, around the same time, something I’ve been really looking forward to – my test drive of the Model S!
While I was still buzzing from the drive, CNN Supercharged was gearing up to telecast an interesting story on the brand the world is talking about. It was a test, a challenge, an electric vehicle odyssey… and a story to be told.
Starting from a Supercharger base somewhere in Southeast England, Nicki Shields plans to drive a Tesla Model S all the way to Tilburg, Netherlands, where Tesla cars are being assembled. The catch is, Nicki will be doing it – or attempting it – on a single charge. The 400 km route is shared by motoring journalist Steve Fowler and off they go past France, Belgium and windmill farms. But electric cars historically haven’t had enough steam in them (oops, is that an anachronistic figure of speech?) for long haul. Well, Tesla is no ordinary electric car but then this isn’t an ordinary task either. Neither is the all-electric race that is shaping up in the south of Spain, parallel to the Formula E. It is called the Electric GT and a modified Tesla is going to be a part of it. So Nicki on her journey catches up with a 24 hours of Le Mans winner who flogs the e-horse on the racetrack for some astonishing results, and remarks!
The odyssey has two more surprises in store but this is where I leave you to join Nicki at the start of her 23:05 minute journey with the unspoken question perhaps playing on her mind: ‘What if the charge doesn’t last, and the nearest gas station not being an option… what then?”
Watch the Electric Vehicle Odyssey on CNN Supercharged
