Elon Musk explains: Why charging your TSLA EV to only 80% saves the most time? 1. Time to ditch the gas car mindset When driving gas cars, we’re all used to filling up the tank completely before hitting the road. But for long-distance EV trips, the smartest strategy is actually to charge to 80%, drive until you’re below 10%, and then charge again. Keeping your stop time to 20-30 minutes is the most efficient. 2. The last 20% takes as long as another full charge Battery charging isn’t linear. Charging from 80% to 100% takes about the same amount of time as charging from 0% to 80%! Waiting around at a service station just for that last bit of charge is a total waste of time. 3. Musk’s parking spot theory Think of the battery as an underground parking lot at a mall: - When the battery is empty, there are tons of open spots: lithium ions can zip right in, and charging is super fast. - When the battery is over 80%, the lot is almost full: the remaining lithium ions have to circle around looking for a spot, which slows down the charging speed significantly. Charge as you go instead of waiting to fill up all at once—it’ll save you a ton of time!