Driving Features
How to Use Trip Planner to Navigate via Superchargers
Updated
Longer trips are where range planning stops being a mental habit and starts being something the car should just handle. Trip Planner is built for exactly that.
What Trip Planner actually does
If your destination needs charging along the way, Trip Planner routes you through the right Superchargers and works out how long to charge at each one, aiming to minimise total time spent driving and charging combined. Enable it by touching the map’s settings icon, then Trip Planner.
Once it’s on and charging is needed, the turn-by-turn direction list includes each Supercharger stop, a recommended charging time, and an estimate of how much energy you’ll have on arrival there. None of this needs manual calculation on your part.
Adjusting or removing charging stops
Don’t want the suggested stops? Touch Remove all charging stops at the bottom of the turn-by-turn list to get plain directions instead. The car will likely flag that you don’t have enough range to finish the trip as planned, which is worth taking seriously rather than dismissing, particularly if you’re not certain there’s a charger where you’re planning to stop instead. Change your mind again and Add charging stops brings them back.
While you’re actually charging at a Supercharger, the charging screen shows how much time you still need to reach your next stop or final destination. Charge for longer or shorter than planned and the timing for subsequent stops adjusts on its own.
Checking a round trip without Trip Planner
Heading somewhere and back on a single charge? Touch the battery icon on the turn-by-turn direction list for an estimated round-trip energy calculation. Navigating one-way instead, use Set Arrival % to see roughly how much charge you’ll have left when you get there. Both give you a number to sanity-check against your comfort level before committing to the drive.
A couple of things worth knowing
The car sometimes allocates energy to pre-heat the battery on the way to a Supercharger or fast charger, so it charges faster once you arrive. That’s deliberate, not a fault, and it’s one more reason preconditioning and route planning work well together on a cold-weather trip.
If a Supercharger on your route has an outage, Trip Planner notices and tries to reroute you to a different one automatically. And maps update themselves over Wi-Fi in the background, so it’s worth connecting the car to your home network occasionally even if you mostly charge on the move.
Getting comfortable with Trip Planner turns “will I make it” into something the car answers for you before you’ve even left the driveway.
Frequently asked questions
Does Trip Planner work for any destination, or just ones near Superchargers?
Any destination. Trip Planner only adds Supercharger stops if your route actually needs them to make the distance. Drive somewhere well within range and it just gives you directions, same as normal navigation.
Can I skip a suggested Supercharger stop if I want to charge somewhere else instead?
Yes. Touch Remove all charging stops at the bottom of the turn-by-turn list. The car will likely warn you that you don't have enough charge to reach the destination, which is worth reading rather than dismissing if you're relying on a different charger along the way.
How do I check I have enough charge for a round trip without using Trip Planner?
Touch the battery icon on the turn-by-turn direction list to see an estimated round-trip energy calculation, or use Set Arrival % when navigating to see how much charge you'll have left when you get there.