Tesla Chronicles: DAY 126: Safety Comes in Many Forms

I has quite the eventful day today. Sparky saved me.... thrice.

*****

I had a moment of panic when I thought I left my cellphone at the last supercharger 2 hours away. With my cellphone would have also been my driver’s license and my credit card... and a Tesla keycard. It was bad. In panic, I had disengaged autopilot and swerved into the next lane abruptly. My Tesla desperately bounced back and forth between the lane markings to keep me from going off to the shoulder and embankment. My first true scare.

Saved.

*****

After I pulled off to the side of the road, I took a deep breath, and traced my steps to figure out where my phone was. Then I realized, I had been playing a podcast all this time straight from my phone. It HAD to be in my car. There is an odd feeling of safety knowing that my Tesla is connected to my phone, and that it gives reassurance that it is nearby. This is not something I would feel if I had my car keys, started the car, and my phone was lost. I can’t leave unless my phone is with me. What a sense of security!

I pulled over to the next exit to park, and then dug through my car. There it was, having fallen between the door and the passenger seat. Out of view from the driver’s seat, but tucked in safely.

Saved again.

*****

I have learned to not go with the navigation’s supercharger suggestions, but instead, charge twice as many times and estimate between 20% to 30% arrival charge. This is to make sure there is enough “insurance charge” to allow me to go above the speed limit. I have noticed that as I drive faster, the efficiency of energy use goes down exponentially. So because I’m doing so much highway driving, I need to make sure I have plenty of charge to spare at my destination.

I stopped by Springfield, MO as a “in between” point.

I just want to pause here for a moment and give a total shout-out to this establishment. They might as well have a big sign that says “Tesla owners welcome here!” Oh wait, they kinda do!

At this quaint store, you get a free small sofa drink or coffee, a free chilled bottled water, and 10% off any item not on sale. Pretty sweet!

So back to my “Sparky saved me” adventure. I decided to only top up enough to make me feel comfortable to charge at my next supercharger destination in Joplin, MO. Because the charging goes so fast, I ended up getting way more than I had intended because I took time to wipe off my windshield and set up my podcasts for the next leg of my trip.

I arrived at the superchargers in Joplin, MO to a very disconcerting scene. The superchargers were completely blocked off with a fence, and the establishment that appeared to host them looked like it was in shambles and completely shut down. I think it has been closed down for quite some time, according to the appearance.

I had maybe about 40% left on my battery, and quite a ways to the next charger in Tulsa, OK. I took a look at the navigation, and it said I would arrive with 10% charge left... which to me is cutting it really close. Then when I re-navigated, the path took me away from the highway and onto county highway roads. It was very odd. But then I realized, Sparky was marking a path with a lower speed limit in order to preserve his battery efficiency. If I took the highway, I would run out of charge for sure.

The ETA at the Tulsa Supercharger was 8:30 pm, which was good. It meant it would still be light out. The drive would be longer and slower than what I had done until now. So I settled in for a 90 minute drive.

This is an amazing thing that Tesla has built into its system. Had I just gone on the highway, I would have received a message to drive far below the speed limit, and become an obstacle to other cars. Instead, I Sparky took me on these county roads.

Sparky got me to my destination safe and sound, with 15% on my battery life. Good boy!

UPDATE: the next morning, with a full battery, Sparky still took me on obscure county roads. So I don’t think it was battery efficiency that took me there. It was just how Nav worked. Still it was a nice thought that maybe Sparky was looking out for me.

*****

Today’s adventures also included see the St. Louis Arch and eating the best rice and beans side dish I have ever tasted (at Blues City Deli).