My first EV, a 2014 Nisan Leaf. My first ebike. Timpanogos Aspen Grove Trailhead. Sundance Utah. May 20, 2014. Fritz Hasler photo. On February 31, 2014, twelve years and four months ago, I took the plunge and leased my first battery electric car, a 2014 Nissan Leaf. As you can see from the 100% electric sticker, I immediately became an EV evangelist. At $200/month, I figured that I would easily save that much doing all my local travel on electricity instead of buying gas. It had an EPA range of only 81 miles. I could make the 42-mile run to Salt Lake International Airport and the 49 miles to my winter job as a ski instructor at Brighton Ski Area, but only if I stopped to charge at one of the only three CHADEMO chargers in the metropolitan area at Nissan dealers in Salt Lake City on the way home. If that single charger was occupied, I had to wait while the other driver finished charging. I often had to slow down, dress in full ski gear clothes in winter, and drive with the heat turned off in order to make it back to my $700 L2 charger in my garage. In the summer, I often had to turn off the AC to make the trip. I could also make the 43 mile trip to my daughter’s house in Park City, Utah, because she had purchased a Tesla Model X and had a charger, where four hours of charging at her house would get me back home again. In 2016, when the two-year lease was up, I returned it and leased a 2016 Nissan Leaf which had an EPA range of 107 miles. Of course, I had to have solar panels installed on my house so I could be driving on sunshine. You can see by the 100% Electric sticker on the front of the car that I am still doing my EV evangelist bit. My 2016 Nissan Leaf and rooftop solar panels. Fritz Hasler photos. After two years, the range had dropped to about 80 miles. Nissan wasn’t offering great lease deals anymore, so I purchase a 2018 Nissan Leaf with much improved styling and an EPA range of 150 miles. My wife and I spend our winters in Utah and summers in Northern Wisconsin. I was so proud of my “3rd generation” Leaf that I wanted to take it from Utah to Wisconsin. I spent weeks strategizing how to drive it to Wisconsin. But I eventually determined it would take 10 days with a number of overnights in RV campgrounds. It would be almost as tough as those who made the first transcontinental trips in gas cars one hundred years earlier. I gave up the project and had my 2018 Leaf shipped to Madison, Wisconsin, by car carrier, as you see below. From there I could drive the 189 miles north using the single available charger in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. 2018 Nissan Leaf unloading off car transporter. Madison, Wisconsin. September 20, 2018. Fritz Hasler photo. At that point, I began the first of many years of driving electric in the 4th of July parade in Three Lakes, Wisconsin, continuing my self-appointed efforts as an EV evangelist. 2018 Nissan Leaf. 4th of July parade in 2018. Three Lakes, Wisconsin. Fritz Hasler photo. I was also doing my EV evangelist bit at the car show every summer as seen below. My 2018 Nissan Leaf. Electric Avenue car show. Three Lakes, Wisconsin. August 4, 2018. Fritz Hasler photo. By then, the more affordable Tesla Model 3 was introduced. There was one charger in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, that made the 268-mile trip to the Tesla dealer in Minneapolis possible. So, we made that trip in the Leaf and traded it in. We continued West in our other car, a gas Toyota Highlander, and picked up our new Model 3 at the Tesla dealer in Utah in downtown Salt Lake City on October 21, 2019. Our long-range, dual-motor “premium” Model 3 had an EPA range of 310 miles. New Tesla Model 3 in 2019. Settler’s dugout, homes, and barn in Castle Valley, Utah. Fritz Hasler photo. With Tesla’s incredible nationwide Supercharger network, for the first time, cross-country trips were possible and we started by driving our EV to Wisconsin. We always made the trip with two big ebikes on back, which reduced our range to about 125 miles. Our favorite stops were in Custer and Rapid City, South Dakota, where we paused to pet the donkeys and drove among the bears at Bear Country USA. Mary and donkeys at Custer State Park in 2022, and grizzly bear at Bear Country USA in Rapid City, South Dakota, in 2026. Fritz Hasler photos. True coast-to-coast travel was now possible and we also visited our daughter in Charlotte, North Carolina. Our Tesla Model 3 at a Charlotte Supercharger in 2021. Fritz Hasler photo. That trip was followed by a trip to the other coast, to Palm Springs, California, to visit our friends. En route, we were amazed to see our first 98-stall Tesla Supercharger in Baker, California. 98-stall Supercharger in Baker, California. February 16, 2022. Fritz Hasler photos. On our California trip, we observed numerous examples of clean energy capture, like the concentrated solar power station near Nipton, California, and wind turbine farms seen below. Concentrated solar power station in Nipton, California. February 16, 2022. Fritz Hasler photo. Wind turbines in Palm Springs, California. February 16, 2022. Fritz Hasler photos. We also saw evidence of clean energy investment while observing an incredibly long wind turbine blade in transit as our Model 3 took us across the Midwest. Wind turbine blade at rest area in Shelby Nebraska. October 3, 2025. Fritz Hasler photo. As we drove the Model 3 to locations in Southern Utah on other occasions, we observed sites near Mona and Price, Utah, where corporations like Meta are investing in photovoltaic solar farms to compensate for the huge power demand of their data centers. See a photo of the solar farm near Mona, Utah, below. Solar panels at a solar farm. Mona, Utah. January 10, 2025. Photo by Fritz Hasler. With our dual-motor (4WD) Model 3, I couldn’t resist driving it to my winter ski instructor job at Brighton Ski Resort in Utah. However, with the low clearance of the car, I was lucky to get out of the parking lot after a blizzard had been raging all day long. Tesla Model 3 in Brighton, Utah, blizzard. December 26, 2021. Fritz Hasler photo. A trip to Madison, Wisconsin, to attend the University of Wisconsin graduation of our grandson on May 9, 2026 (see photo below) was spoiled by a life changing accident with our Model 3. Calvin and Sally. UW Graduation in Madison, Wisconsin. May 9, 2026. Fritz Hasler photos. What appeared to be a rather minor accident on the way to graduation was the end of our Model 3. Our insurance company declared it a total loss. Damage to our Tesla Model 3. Madison, Wisconsin. May 9, 2026. Fritz Hasler photo. A few weeks later we were picking up our new 2026 base Model Y with an EPA range of 326 miles (seen in the photo below) in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. Tesla is still unable to deliver cars in Wisconsin. My new Tesla was delivered to me at the Tesla dealer in Lake Elmo just across the Wisconsin border on May 26, 2026. My 2026 Tesla Model Y. Aqua Devils Park in Three Lakes, Wisconsin. July 7, 2026. Fritz Hasler photo. The Ultimate Driving Machine: Full Self Driving V14 on our 2026 Model Y. BMW’s Ultimate Driving Machine depends on professional quality driving by the operator. Tesla’s Ultimate Driving Machine does professional quality driving automatically. V14 raises driving automation to a new level. I can sit there not touching the brake, accelerator, or steering wheel while I let FSD V14 drive me like an excellent chauffeur. It lets me drive at any rate I choose between Sloth, Chill, Standard, Hurry, and Mad Max. The car drives with precision that I can rely on and almost never makes a decision that I choose to override. However, it does occasionally make mistakes, so you still have to “supervise” it. V14 anticipates pedestrians who are about to use a crosswalk and waits for them to cross. V14 also slows and brakes for deer and even squirrels crossing the road. I have observed slowing for animals a number of times, but recently got the brakes slammed for a deer right beside the road. If you find any of my articles helpful to you, please use my referral link when buying a new Tesla: https://ts.la/arthur73734 (be sure to use it when you make your order). Tesla keeps changing the program but here’s the latest: If you are buying a new Tesla Model 3 or Y and use my link, you will get 2 months of free Full Self Driving (a ~$200 value) on top of the one month that comes free with every new Tesla. For a Cybertruck, you will get $1,000 off your purchase price.