Tesla China has shared on its social networks a beautiful story of a trip by two Tesla owners to the North Base Camp of Mount Everest. A feat ? Not completely when you take a closer look, but it’s a great adventure nonetheless.
The Chinese branch of Tesla shared, on July 16, photos and videos of a journey like no other. We then follow two Tesla owners on a journey that took them to the base camp of Mount Everest (or Mount Qomolangma) at 5,200 meters above sea level. A way to demonstrate that nothing is really inaccessible for electric vehicles.
“ Where there is a will, there is a way! ” tell us one of the tweets shared by the Tesla China account. More concretely, an asphalt road and charging stations greatly helped the realization of this trip (and a nice publicity stunt).
What do we know about the experiment carried out?
It was with a Tesla Model Y and a Tesla Model X, somewhat prepared for high mountain conditions, that the two Chinese friends embarked on a journey of more than 2,000 km through China and Tibet. A trip that was completed in 5 days.
As often in these remote and mountainous areas, the team encountered several difficulties, in particular traffic jams on the road caused by landslides. Through the video, we discover steep roads, with very degraded surfaces, bridges offering exceptional panoramas over the valleys of the Himalayas. This video, produced by a Vlogger specializing in tourism, is ultimately more of a travelogue than an automobile feat.
The two cars even served as a base camp for some nights. Teslas have a camping mode that allows you to stay in the vehicle at a constant temperature and with ventilation. Technology that comes in handy for an impromptu night in the mountains.
A roadtrip greatly facilitated by the Tesla charger network in China
In the collective imagination, the main obstacle to this adventure should have been the question of recharging, which we necessarily think is much more difficult in this remote mountainous area. Except that the Tesla network has spread widely throughout the territory, including on the road that leads to Mount Everest. The pair still made 9 recharge breaks during their journey.
China has more than 1,200 supercharger stations which represent 8,700 fast charging points. Tesla can also rely on 700 “destination charging” stations with more limited power to mesh the territory.
Tesla “charging at destination” terminals were installed in 2021 in hotels to provide two strategic charging points on this route. Recharging is therefore possible in Shigatze, 350 km from the base camp, as well as in Tingri, located around 100 km from the destination.
This trip is also facilitated by a beautiful asphalt road leading to the North base camp at 5,200 m altitude. The fact remains that the Teslas have a great advantage to reach this destination, it is that the cars do not suffer from altitude, which is not the case with combustion engines which need oxygen to function normally. The more the oxygen becomes scarce, the more the traditional vehicles encounter difficulties in apprehending the climb to reach the base camp. While for its part, the Teslas still have their full power to achieve this objective.
The video does not talk about the return, but it is easy to imagine that the regeneration played its role very well to descend from the 5,200 m altitude to their starting point.