Is Tesla the Best EV for Houston Drivers?

Houstonians see Teslas on the road every day.  If you’re looking at EVs, is a Tesla the right place to start?  Today Octopus EV carries EVs from many different brands including Tesla, so we can help you look at it from all angles.

First, two things stand out when it comes to driving a Tesla in Houston:

Range

Some of the longest range EV options are from Tesla. At Octopus EV we don’t necessarily encourage you to choose the longest range EV by default. If you do, you might end up paying for more range that you actually need, if you can easily charge at home and do mostly city driving.

But the fact remains that Texas is a big place.  If you’re frequently making road trips to Dallas, San Antonio or beyond, or going far off the interstate, longer range may give you flexibility you’ll appreciate.

Superchargers

The Tesla Supercharger Network is, for now, unparalleled. This can come in handy in two specific ways. First, if you can’t charge an EV at home, a nearby Supercharger could be essential. These can be found in the greatest concentrations in north and west of greater Houston. You may have an easier time with a Supercharger than with the other public charging networks that non-Teslas use, which are still sparse in Houston.

The other time this will come in handy is if you’re taking your EV on a long road trip.  The Supercharger Network is extensive enough that you’d rarely or ever have to change your itinerary to make your way to a charger.  You can find Superchargers clear across Texas, with the exception of parts of the Rio Grande Valley and a few destinations like Big Bend National Park.

However, what if you don’t love the Tesla style and ubiquity?  Maybe you prefer not to have all car controls via a screen like in a Tesla.  Or maybe you just like the look of another model.

Supercharger access is opening up.  

In the next 1-2 years, most EV brands will start to get access to the Supercharger network. When this is possible, Octopus EV will provide the adapter necessary for DriveFree customers to access Superchargers. So you can potentially have your non-Tesla cake and eat it too with access to Houston superchargers. Not to mention new non-Tesla chargers that will slowly but surely expand across the city and beyond.

Long range options are growing.

More and more EVs have the 300-mile range that Tesla was once alone in offering. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 from DriveFree tops this with 310 miles and fast charging in as little as 20 minutes, with more cargo space to boot.

No need to overpay for range.

If your highway driving is weekend trips to Austin, the beach or to College Station for Aggies football games, you may be well served by an EV with 250 miles of range while saving hundreds of dollars per month compared to a Tesla. (An Octopus EV specialist can talk through your range requirements.)

Autopilot isn’t alone.

Tesla gets lots of attention, but competitors have built great driving assistance technologies to help you with highway driving. For example, DriveFree offers the Polestar 2 with Pilot Assist and the Hyundai Kona and Ioniq 5 with Highway Driving Assist. These features combine adaptive cruise control and lane centering to simplify highway driving just like Tesla Autopilot.

Want to talk this through with someone who knows their stuff?  Any Houstonian can chat with an EV Specialist simply by setting up a free consultation.