Tesla owner warns others of 'charging curve' after taking his Model S on its first road trip

A Tesla owner encountered some problems with a ‘charging curve’ while on a road trip with his Tesla Model S, throwing his plans into disarray, and now he wants to warn others of the issue.

Back in 2023, Ryan Shelton, a 27-year-old business owner, thought his sleek electric sedan would make the perfect road-trip companion.

Instead, he found himself counting miles, kilowatts, and charging stations.

Considering how much of a headache it caused him, he didn’t want others to go into EV ownership with unrealistic expectations.

SBX CARS – View live supercar auctions powered by Supercar Blondie

The Tesla owner had problems from start to finish

Shelton had owned his 2017 Tesla Model S for about a year but had never taken it far from his home in North Long Beach.

In April 2023, he decided to visit Burney Falls: a 129-foot waterfall tucked inside McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park.

He and his partner set off around 3pm, expecting a long but manageable drive.

Seventeen hours later, they finally rolled into the campground.

The couple found themselves not only physically exhausted, but with their Tesla Model S running on low charge.

According to Business Insider, Shelton had problems finding a Supercharger the further he got from the city.

His anxiety peaked after passing Dunnigan, California, which was the last charger before the park.

The next one in either direction was over an hour away, making the ride more stressful than it needed to be, although he could always rely on reserve power.

The real problem, however, turned out to be terrain.

“I was going through these canyons, so I’m going really, really high uphills and really up and down, up and down, up and down,” he said.

“Because of that, it literally took about 30 percent of my battery to get to the charger from the campsite.”

He warned drivers about the ‘EV curve’

Fortunately, the journey home was far smoother for the Tesla owner.

With more Superchargers along the way, the return took only 12 hours.

“I didn’t need to charge to 100 percent because I could get to another charger much more easily,” Shelton said.

His main takeaway for fellow EV adventurers was to learn how the charging curve worked.

Basically, while an EV can typically charge from 0 to 80 percent rather quickly, the last 20 percent usually takes more time.

So he warned people to factor that into their schedule.

For road trips where you have to stretch your EV’s range to the limit, you need to charge your vehicle completely every chance you get, even if it will take you longer.

Luckily, the charging curve is less of a problem these days, given that the Supercharger network has improved greatly since 2023.

Improvements in charging technology have also reduced charging time significantly, with the 2026 edition of the Zeekr 001 boasting seven-minute charge times.

If all else fails, you can always consider adding a gas engine to your Tesla, eliminating the need for charging altogether.

DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie