With Hurricane Dorian approaching, many Floridians are in distress. This is the annual norm for those who decide to reside in the unnamed valleys of destruction found along the United States’ southeastern coast. While everyone is in a panic, Tesla and electric car owners in general are, for the most part, calm and collected. As it turns out, electric cars thrive in times of emergency.
When prepping for a hurricane or planning an evacuation, your number one priority is fuel. Whether it is used to power outdated motor driven horse carriages or hazardous backup home generators, the race for gasoline is real and goes on for days before an impending storm. The majority of gas stations in South Florida are out of fuel with Central Florida nearing 50% of stations closed. There is no greater panic than running on empty with no nearby options, and it’s a reality for many people each hurricane season. People often leave their cars stranded in order to escape the life threatening storm path. If you do happen to find fuel, you’ll have to wait in long lines for hours.
Meanwhile, over in the world of Tesla and electric vehicle ownership, none of the above is a factor. Very few people, if any, have spare gasoline tanks at home, so ICE owners must go out of their way to fill their cars up at public gas stations. Teslas, on the other hand, can be filled up overnight right in your very own garage. While the world is in hysteria, you can sit back, watch some TV, and let your car top itself off.
Thanks to Tesla’s innovative over-the-air software update system, they’re able to increase your cars range and efficiency in times of emergency. While not everyone gets the battery increase (it depends on whether or not your model has software locked range), those who do receive it add another 30 to 40 miles of range that can be used to evacuate the area.
Tesla’s proprietary Supercharger stations are also made free to use during these times. Sure, the lines might be long during these times with charging time almost 5x longer than traditional gas fill ups, but again, the majority of owners will leave their home at 100% range capacity.
The innovative company even offers a backup home power solution known as the Tesla Powerwall. With it, you can store energy straight from the grid (or possibly your solar panel system) to use when the power shuts off. No more clunky, loud, smelly, and toxic gas generators needed. Those who took the Tesla path will have little to no worries with this or any approaching hurricane when compared with those fighting for limited supplies of gas.
After the storm has cleared, destruction has made itself present, and you’re ready to return home, you’ll remain ahead of the game. With damages to buildings, few available employees, and road debris blocking oil trucks from entering, many gas stations will remain closed for the first few days following the storm. Rather than be in the same sinking ship, our charging stations are not man operated. As long as power is up and running, Tesla and electric car owners alike have the capability of charging at any of the 68,000+ chargers available in the U.S.
While owning an electric car or going through Tesla won’t exactly relieve you of all of your hurricane worries, it certainly helps with a good chunk. Frequent hurricanes are an outcome of climate change and a real danger to both us and our property. We wish all of you the best of luck during our fight against Hurricane Dorian.
