14 Days, 6500 miles, 1 Cybertruck. Part 2

Let’s continue where we left off in Part 1

Part 2. The Long Way Home

Complete Trip at a Glance: ~6,500 mi | ≈1.9 MWh | $1,189.66 charging | 19 states + 3 provinces | 45 Superchargers
Vehicle: 2024 Tesla Cybertruck (FSD v13.2.8)
Crew: Me, a cooler full of snacks, a library of audio books and a spirit that refuses to quit.

If you want comparisons to a gas-powered alternative, it’s all the way at the end. You can read about the whole journey, or cheat. I’ll never know your devious nature. The scroll wheel is judgment‑free!

Day 10 — Charlotte, ME to Lévis, Québec | 458 mi

I leave Pops house at first light; the bed stacked with antiques wrapped in moving blankets and a cooler I wish I could fill with maple syrup. Route 1 is a ribbon through postcard villages. A front‑loader trundles ahead; FSD signals, waits, eases over a double yellow, and passes like a considerate grandparent. I nod in approval. Well played Elon.

At Baileyville I top up and chat with the cashier about breakfast options. I drive a bit and cross into Canada. The New Brunswick border guard hears "Hoover Dam" and asks about turbine RPMs instead of checking my cargo. Easy crossing. A few miles later see a massive turkey, grinning at its own audacity. I guess its safer in Canada for a fat turkey this time of year? Forty miles later, at St‑Leonard, I pay the first international charging rate of the trip so far—Canadian dollars really stretch the budget. Win!

I pop back into the US at Madawaska, again without issue. Time to spend some time in Acadia, my grandma’s old stomping grounds. During the Great Depression, this is where she lived as a humble potato farmer. I remember her stories about following the cow to stand in the poo pile, because it was warm. They were poor. Not the poor we generally see in this country today. They were all the way poor. Figure it out or die this winter poor. No one was coming to save them.

Grandma’s church

Fun Fact: Acadia Village preserves 19th-century Acadian life, with homes from the 1780s. Unfortunately for me, they’re closed for the winter season so I only get to see it from the outside.

I remember her talking about having to walk about 30 miles round trip once a week to the nearest store in Fort Kent. This is the reason she preferred the winter, because the river would freeze over and the store in Canada wan only just over a mile away. They didn’t need a passport; they just needed that northern cold and some grit. They had plenty of both. I drove around a bit and got out several times to just take it in. Grandma’s childhood home felt like touching a piece of history. My history.

Re‑entering Québec triggers a full customs search. The lead officer was not pleasant. His 4 accomplices were very kind. Antiques, vacuum‑bags, family photos—everything ends up on the pavement under a grey sky. Two officers repack the truck with the finesse of distracted toddlers. Later, I ask if I can unpack and redo the puzzle before I leave so it fits; they watch, impressed, and wish me bon voyage after doing a background check on me. I however was unimpressed. They strip searched my whole vehicle (kinda) but without a dog and without even lifting the seats to access the storage compartment under. 5 officers and no mirrors for under the truck, no attention to detail, no real direction. They don’t even search my person. Any search without a dog is worthless. Especially considering the grift the leading officer gave me, it felt a lot like they were mad at Trump, and I was the one within arms reach. Whatever, we get past it. We always do.

Fun Fact – The Edmundston–Madawaska Bridge lets you change countries and time zones in sixty seconds

My trucks strip search reminds me that I left my whiskey and my Pops 66 flavored soda at my dad’s. Bummer! I wanted to bring home the pop for the kids.

I roll into Lévis at 7:30 p.m. with a full battery and an empty stomach. The motel room is ten degrees cooler than the hallway, which feels like luxury. I fall asleep replaying French road signs in my head, and happy my truck reads French better than I do. She had no trouble at all.

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Day 11 — Lévis, QC to London, ON | 671 mi

Dawn breaks over the St. Lawrence like rose‑gold foil. I charge at Saint‑Liore.

Brockville’s Supercharger punches me with sixty‑four cents a kilowatt. But its Canadian, so is that even valuable? I bail at 69% because there are cheaper electrons in Trenton, where I buy some candies unique to Canada for the kids. Swedish Berries and Canadian Smarties to replace the sodas I forgot in Maine. In Brampton the chargers are maxed out. First time I didn’t get a stall immediately upon arrival. I circle for a charger like a shark scenting blood; finally, a Model 3 backs out and I slide in.

Fun Fact – Trenton’s RCAF Museum holds the last intact nose of the Avro Arrow—Canada’s cancelled Mach 2 dream.

London’s Days Inn first assigns me a basement room at a hundred degrees and in poor condition to say the least. The manager, seeing my frozen expression, hands me a second‑floor key. The new room overlooks a courtyard pool and costs the same fifty‑four bucks. I toast the upgrade with a grocery‑store hard seltzer and plan tomorrow’s long haul.

Day 12 — London, ON to Des Moines, IA | 760 mi

A quick fifty‑five‑cent coffee fuels my dawn departure. Windsor’s charger is cheap enough that I linger to 80%, scarfing french-fries drowned in gravy. I remember trying poutine as a kid and thinking it was the worst, but I decided to give it a shot again and I am very glad I did! Lovely!

Fun Fact: Windsor’s border with Detroit handles 25% of U.S.-Canada trade, a bustling gateway. I got through without delay or issue.

Detroit’s skyline shivers behind the river; speed limits switch back to miles per hour, and I’m on a mission to make up some time.

Charging in Munster, Indiana, a family approaches, eyes wide. “Is that the new Halo Warthog?” their son asks. OK, that’s not what he said, but he was very excited about the truck. I pop it open and let him climb in while his dad and I had a nice chat about home charging options. His son’s grin is payment enough.

Fun Fact – Starved Rock’s box canyons were carved by a single glacial flood fourteen millennia ago.

Peru, Illinois, and Iowa City blur by in podcasts and prairie skies. I reach Des Moines at nine p.m., plug in, and collapse into a motel that smells faintly of chlorine and cinnamon rolls. Weird. Alarm set for 5:30 to chase Omaha’s bargain electrons. They’re hella cheap before 8am.

Today I Learned – The Cybertruck’s wireless pad cooks phones; Leave it there too long and the phone goes into overheat mode. No bueno. Simple fix; USB‑C keeps them alive. New life plan, wireless for short drives only.

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Day 13 — Des Moines, IA to Denver, CO | 680 mi

The Omaha charger sells power for nineteen cents a kilowatt. I’m there before 7am and feel like I’m stealing from Elon himself as 92% pours in for less than twenty dollars. I‑80 west is a tractor‑trailer stampede; FSD handles most of it but still acts surprised when a lane disappears.

Fun Fact – During WWII the North Platte Canteen served six million troops homemade sandwiches, funded entirely by bake sales.

North Platte forces a 95% fill—the next charger is two hundred sixty miles away in Colorado. This is the ONLY place where distance between charging was a concern at all. Wheat fields roll like gentle seas, the truck hums.

In Denver I pay forty‑two dollars to park overnight, but the reward is worth every cent; sibling bonding over pre-prohibition era beverages at a local watering hole. Sister and I have been through a lot, so these visits often have tears, but they always embrace warmth. I’m really bad at relationships from a distance, so I make extra effort to be good at them in person. I’m not, but I do try.

Today I Learned – Cheap kilowatts taste sweeter than free hotel coffee, and old libations are better than new ones.

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Day 14 — Denver, CO to Las Vegas, NV | 750 mi

A late start—breakfast with my brother‑in‑law feels more important than punctuality. He has an interesting way about him. His views on life are intriguing to me. His demeanor is calm and confident, and his words are well thought and honest. He sees the world through a different lens than I do and I really appreciate being able to glance at that perspective when we get to cross paths. All good things must come to an end though, Back to the road.

The climb over the Rockies sparkles; Frisco’s charger sits beneath idle ski lifts, and the air smells like pine sap. I’m pretty sure it’s the wrong season for that.

At Rifle I decide to detour along the Colorado River thanks to my Bro in law’s suggestion. Fisher Towers glow Mars red in the afternoon sun. The drive through Moab’s jaw-dropping canyons and Colorado River, a green ribbon in red desert. It’s honestly breathtakingly peaceful.

Fun Fact – Fisher Towers’ Titan—nine hundred feet of red sandstone—is the tallest free‑standing erosional tower in America.

Moab’s beauty was a gift. The canyons loomed like silent giants. I wish the kids could’ve felt it. I felt small, but connected. To what? I have no idea. I think we should make a point to come back as a family. After Moab I snag an outlet at an RV park AirBnB tent in Thompson Springs— A cot and 240 VAC all night for the price of a campsite. WIN! I fall asleep in a sub-forty‑degree tent with the wind murmuring 2 feet away. Maximum freedom.

The crack of dawn brings 100% battery and gas‑station coffee. Beaver, Utah, teases me down to 7%, but St. George tops me off (enough) for only twelve bucks, and the last stretch through the Nevada desert feels like flying.

Home appears at 4:57 p.m. The truck cools, the house smells like dinner, and the trip becomes part of my story. I just have to find a place to put all this stuff…

Today I Learned – After 7,000 miles, the sweetest sight in the world is still your family. Some things never change.

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Five Moments I’d Relive Tomorrow

1. Mud‑rain storm painting the truck in chocolate milk outside Amarillo. Next time though I’d stop and enjoy it rather than bare knuckle it at 80mph

2. Fetch with pups at St. Louis’s dog‑park charger. 10 out of 10

3. The 636‑mph charge rate in Scarborough—it felt like cheating physics. I think I giggled.

4. Sunrise on the Colorado River with red cliffs turning gold under a strong breeze coming through the canyon. Camp here in the future!

5. Quality family time. Easily the best.

Three Things I’d Change

• Pack cash for toll booths in the north east where it is still 1985.

• Keep microfiber cloth and camera washer fluid in the door pocket.

• Trust the robot. It’s pretty smart. There isn’t much sense in trying to charge full. The speed of charging is all front loaded. It’s better to charge quickly more often than slowly less often. 10%-60% is the sweet spot.

Comparing with a Ford F-150

I know you want this…

5.0-liter V8 (4x2 or 4x4, non-Tremor):

• City: 17 MPG

• Highway: 24 MPG

• Combined: 19 MPG

Well, at 24 mpg highway, the F-150 would go through 271 gallons to drive 6,500 miles. The national average price of fuel is about $3.20, therefore would total about $867.2, actually probably a little more for the weight of loading up hurting the gas MPG but let’s ignore that for now. The Cybertruck did it on $1,189.66 worth of electrons in real life. So, the Tesla was about $300 more, but it did drive itself 95% of the time which makes it worth it to me personally.

Am I implying that an ICE vehicle is a better deal?! Well, if all you do is drive coast to coast, then yes. Because Superchargers are expensive. My average rate on a super charger was about $0.39/kWh. My at home rate of energy is a touch under $0.11/kWh.

Why does that matter? Most of us do daily driving around town and most of us can charge exclusively at home. Let’s give the F-150 a combo MPG of 19 MPG. Does your truck get that? Let’s also give the Cybertruck at home charging with a rate of $0.11/kWh. Is your home residential rate better or worse?

With these conditions, the numbers look MUCH different. In this situation the Cybertruck runs 6,500 miles on only $336! The F-150 is looking for a lot more like $1,095. If this were annual milage, that’s a savings of $700+/year. Most people drive more that 6,500 miles in a year, and if that applies to you, then the more you drive the more it would skew the results in the favor of the EV.

So, in short, if you are reliant on the Supercharger network, and EV might not be the best value. But if you can charge at home for regular rates, then it is very economically alluring (to me anyway) over the long run. But I’ll get in more detail on all that (and MUCH more) in the next article I have planned…

Coming Soon: Living with the Cybertruck for 13,000+ Miles

A deep dive into tonneau leaks, FSD quirks, RV‑park charging hacks, and why every eight‑year‑old thinks I’m driving the Halo Warthog. From purchase day to present and from speed to suspension. Subscribe, and I’ll save you the shotgun seat.