The fear of being stranded with an electric car because you can’t find a nearby charging point, or one that works, remains one of the biggest brakes on the adoption of electric vehicles. Even in Europe or the United States, where the network of charging stations is relatively dense.
Now imagine that what we want to do with our car is cross Central Asia. Towns separated from one another by hundreds of kilometers, semi-deserted areas or endless forests. The chance of finding a charging point melts away like ice cream in the sun. Hence the owner of a Tesla Model Y devised an unusual solution to keep moving with his car all the way to the Everest viewpoint.
No Chargers on the Roof of the World
Faced with the limitations of charging stations outside urban areas, the owner installed a gasoline generator on the back of his Tesla, right above the trailer hitch. Some people use them to mount a bike rack; this motorist installed a gasoline generator. And just like any bike rack, the generator bears the car’s license plate, of course.
The 8 kW generator produces alternating current, as in slow or home charging, which feeds directly into the Tesla’s charging port via a cord, allowing the owner to use the vehicle’s standard charger to recharge the battery. A home-made solution, for sure, but the guy managed to reach the Everest viewpoint, located more than 5,300 meters above sea level.
Even at this extreme altitude, the owner reported that the generator could provide a charging power of 3 kW. Remember that gasoline or diesel engines without a turbo lose power with altitude as the air’s oxygen density decreases notably.
The DIY invention lets him gain 19 kilometers of range per hour of charging. Although a full charge with the generator would take about 9 hours and 30 minutes, the owner noted that the main goal isn’t to fully charge the battery with the generator but to add enough range to reach the next available charging station or to provide emergency energy when needed. And indeed, he cannot charge the car while moving.
The owner, known as @Xiaomo, paid 2,800 yen (about $390) for the generator, which cost him around 22 cents for every 1.6 km traveled, according to CNC. This makes running on gasoline notably more expensive than using electricity from a charging network in China, but it is certainly preferable to getting stranded in the middle of nowhere.
Naturally, Tesla does not intend to offer range extenders for its cars, but this motorist is not the first to turn a Tesla into a vehicle with a generator, either at a professional level or much more artisanal.
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