Ingenious Chinese Tesla owner hacks Model Y so it can run on gas
- This Tesla owner took his car to Tibet
- The road trip could potentially cause range anxiety issues
- This Tesla owner came up with an ingenious solution
Published on May 20, 2025 at 3:42 PM (UTC+4)
by Alessandro Renesis
Last updated on May 20, 2025 at 3:43 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
A Tesla owner in China came up with an incredible idea for his road trip at the wheel of his Tesla Model Y because he knew he wouldn’t find EV chargers in Tibet.
The owner knew he was going to need every kilowatt he could squeeze out of his Tesla.
But even in the best-case scenario, he knew it wouldn’t be enough.
And so he did something radical.
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A Tesla owner in China who goes by Xiaomo on social media shared his ingenious idea on TikTok.
As we all know, range anxiety is a thing when it comes to EVs.
And we’re going to go ahead and assume that the road that takes you to remote areas close to Mount Everest are probably quite empty and barren.
It’s probably very difficult to find a gas stations, let alone EV chargers in Tibet.
So this Tesla owner in China used 100 percent of his brain and decided to create the world’s first Tesla Model Y EREV, which is a new-ish term to describe electric vehicles with range extenders.
In other words, he created a Tesla that runs on gas.
According to Xiaomo, the gas-powered generator he attached to the back of his Tesla Model Y can power the battery to produce an extra 12 miles of range per hour.
This, in theory is, enough to keep the car running as long as you’re doing fewer than 12 miles every.
There’s a catch, though.
The problem is the generator, which cost him $390, is consuming fuel faster than it is generating energy, which means the trip is costing him more than it should.
EREV is a term we don’t hear every day, but we’re probably going to hear it more often in the future.
This is because this is a new category of vehicles that’s emerging as a solution to the range anxiety problem.
EREV stands for Extended Range EV, and it’s basically a reverse hybrid, so to speak.
A hybrid is a vehicle that uses a tiny electric motor in support of an internal combustion engine.
An EREV is the exact opposite, with a small gas engine that helps the bigger electric unit.
With some exceptions, the ultra-powerful Ariel supercar (below) springs to mind, there aren’t that many EREVs out there for now.
At some point, Tesla promised a range extender for the Cybertruck, but that lasted for about as long as William Henry Harrison’s presidency, a long-forgotten US President who remained in power for just a month.
Tesla’s range extender had a similar trajectory.
The company said it would be here in early 2025, then did a 180 and scrapped the range extender just weeks later.
Alessandro is an automotive journalist with 10 years of experience covering supercars, automotive history, emerging vehicle technology, and luxury transportation. He wrote the first article published on SupercarBlondie.com when the website launched in 2022 and has since built a reputation for insightful reporting across the automotive and transportation industries. His expertise is grounded in hands-on experience. Alessandro has driven every Tesla model ever produced, from the original Roadster to the Cybertruck, and regularly covers the latest developments in electric vehicles and automotive innovation. His passion for transportation extends beyond cars, he has even flown a Boeing 787 Dreamliner simulator in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His reporting spans everything from classic American muscle cars and rare automotive discoveries to luxury yachts, private aircraft, high-end watches, and cutting-edge vehicle technology. Known for his deep knowledge of automotive history and ability to uncover the stories behind iconic vehicles, Alessandro brings readers a blend of historical context, technical expertise, and first-hand experience.
