When Fritz Hasler leased his first electric car in February 2014, he had to dress in full ski gear, turn off the heater, and sometimes wait in line at one of only three chargers in all of Salt Lake City just to make it home. Twelve years later, he drives a Tesla Model 3 that can go 310 miles before needing to recharge — and he can plug in at thousands of chargers stretching coast to coast.
The retired ski instructor from Utah recently shared his remarkable journey going electric, which started with a 2014 Nissan Leaf that had an EPA range of just 81 miles. (EPA range is the official government estimate of how far a car can drive on a full charge.) At the time, there were so few places to charge that Hasler says the 49-mile trip home from his winter job at Brighton Ski Area was "stressful." If the single charger at the Nissan dealership was occupied, he waited. He often had to shut off the heat or air conditioning to conserve energy.
"I figured that I would easily save $200 a month doing all my local travel on electricity instead of buying gas," Hasler wrote.
Over the next several years, Hasler upgraded through three generations of Nissan Leafs — each with more range than the last. The 2016 model could go 107 miles. The 2018 version reached 150 miles. But even that wasn't enough for a cross-country trip. Hasler gave up on driving his 2018 Leaf from Utah to Wisconsin, calling it "almost as tough as those who made the first transcontinental trips in gas cars one hundred years earlier." Instead, he had it shipped by car carrier.
Then came the Tesla. In October 2019, Hasler picked up a new Model 3 with 310 miles of range. For the first time, true coast-to-coast travel became possible, thanks to Tesla's nationwide Supercharger network. He's since driven to visit his daughter in Charlotte, North Carolina, and traveled to Palm Springs, California, where he was amazed to see a 98-stall Supercharger station in Baker.
Hasler and his wife now make the annual drive between Utah and Wisconsin with two ebikes strapped to the back, which reduces their range to about 125 miles. Their favorite stops include Custer State Park in South Dakota, where they pause to pet the donkeys, and Bear Country USA, where they drive among the bears.
Twelve years after taking the plunge, Hasler says he has no regrets. "I immediately became an EV evangelist," he wrote, noting that he still puts "100% Electric" stickers on his cars. He hopes his story inspires others to make the switch.
The electric vehicle landscape has transformed dramatically since 2014 — not just for Hasler, but for millions of drivers worldwide. What once required careful planning and careful conservation now allows for spontaneous road trips across the country.