Tesla owners who want to map out a drive to the nearest Supercharger have a new way to plot their route as the carmaker has integrated its dash-screen trip planner into the Tesla mobile app.
Tesla already offers its trip planner on the web, and that's also accessible on mobile browsers, but it should be a smoother experience from within the official Tesla app.
As Electrek reports, the app experience mirrors the one inside the car. Users can navigate to Location > Enter Address, and it plans both the driving route and charging stops along the way. In the example below, accessed via desktop, it suggests four charging stops along the drive from Albuquerque, NM to Santa Monica, CA, with the estimated time to charge at each stop.
Users can edit the plan, including adjusting charging stops, and send their perfected route to the car's dash screen at the push of a button—all from the comfort of the couch.
Other apps like Plugshare offer trip planners, for both Teslas and non-Teslas. A recent update to the Waze app also helps drivers find chargers along the route. But Tesla drivers are more likely to use its own trip planner, however, as it highlights Supercharger stops specifically, knows the driver's vehicle details, and can calculate the time to charge at each stop rather than listing them. Tesla's map will also show the number of available chargers at a given location.
Plus, Tesla drivers are already in the app often to check their vehicle's charge levels, start the air conditioning and heating before getting inside, and to lock/unlock the vehicle.
It's just one of many charging-related features from Tesla. For example, the dash navigation displays the charge levels upon arriving at a destination, made possible by integration between the battery and navigation software (both proprietary). If the battery gets unexpectedly low along the way, the dash navigation will automatically suggest upcoming chargers, which drivers can tap to add to the route.