In the EV world, "long range" is basically shorthand for "200+ miles". And any Tesla can do 800-1000 miles in a day as long as you are following a route which has DC fast charging stations along the way.
But that's like saying "Any Ford can do 800-1000 miles as long as you have gas stations along the way", which is to say that it is an infrastructure issue, not an EV issue. And there IS a rapidly growing network of fast-charging stations.
The exciting thing about new 200-mile range cars coming on the market, is that Teslas will no longer be the ONLY car that can do cross-country trips. That said, Tesla still has the best "cross country" distribution of charging stations. The other two types of DC fast charging are mostly centered around major population zones, while Tesla has gone out of their way to create a nationwide Interstate network.
The following is only representative of density--not actual numbers. For instance, the chart shows nothing in southern California for Tesla stations, when that is blatantly untrue when you zoom in (these are screen-caps from Plugshare, a handy EV charging station location website/app).
Again,
for now, if you are somebody who commutes 1000-miles in a single day, on a weekly basis, then an EV is not for you. (A better investment would be your own airplane! Or an Elio
). But if you travel that sort of distance less than once a month, then the savings you see in daily driving in an EV would more than pay for a rental car or U-Haul for those long-distance trips.
On a side note, Kia has promised to develop a
350 mile range EV by 2020 (or was it 2025? I can't find my source right now.) So right around the time Chevy Bolts will be coming off their leases. The rich folk can upgrade to a long
er range Kia, and I can pick up a Bolt on the cheap