Traveling. Almost everywhere I wanted to go proved to be supercharger-reachable: to the Monterey, California, area six times, to the little mountain town of Julian, California, for its planet-famous apple pie, and on our last grand voyage, from Willow Springs Raceway to Phoenix. Unlike gas-car road-going, Tesla travel is closer to hopscotching between sparse landing strips in a light plane. You absolutely have to put it down at specific spots (for about 20 minutes of zero-cost juicing before the next jump) and then make the best you can of the pause. There's a Zen-like quality to the repeated pattern, though. In the early days (hah, I love saying that!) drivers would jump out of their cars and greet one another like cousins who'd never met. Now, with lots more cars showing up, they warily eye each other's charging progress or bury their noses in books. On the other hand, you should see the route calculations filling my notebooks for every time I strayed from the charging network. Note to Tesla: Don't even think about selling the Model X (let alone the 3) without some Apple-slick trip planning software. Over its 38,000-mile stay, the car's battery showed little appreciable degradation; its everyday range (in my hands) (driving it aggressively) was 175 miles (212 if I was conservative), its fully charged range averaged about 203 miles (238, if conservative), and I never ran out of juice. (Only once was I worried, when Jonny didn't plug it in before I needed it to get to Willow Springs … Jonny!)

2013 TESLA Model S front drivers side low

Oh, and Alec Brooks' verdict after his week behind its wheel? "Very impressed. I didn't think I'd like the big screen, but its size really helps in targeting buttons, and wow, the nav map is great." Then the total technoid emerges: "I really appreciate how data is displayed in the gauges -- you can tell they were created by engineers. In retrospect, the car I was originally arguing for was cheaper, smaller, less powerful and with a little less range -- actually, what sounds more like the Model 3!"

My verdict? As the Great Wallenda of the modern technological tightrope, the spotlight has rightfully been on Musk as his audience gasps and cheers with his every step. In 12 short years, tiny Tesla has accomplished the near-impossible, and our 17 months in the car have been nothing less than an everyday reminder that it springs from the imagination of a guy whose tightrope leads all the way to Mars.

More on our long-term2013 Tesla Model SP85+:

Our Car
SERVICE LIFE	17 mo / 38,054 mi
BASE PRICE	$94,900
OPTIONS	+' suspension, wheel and tire upgrade ($6500), tech package ($4250), 3rd row seats, ($2500) air suspension ($2250), dual charger ($2000)
PRICE AS TESTED	$112,400
AVG ECON	86.2 mpge
PROBLEM AREAS	motor replacement, steering knuckle replacement
MAINTENANCE COST	$0
NORMAL-WEAR COST	$1760 (new tires)
3-YEAR RESIDUAL VALUE*	est $53,307
RECALLS	None
*based on Tesla resale price guarantee

2013 Tesla Model S P85+
POWERTRAIN/CHASSIS
DRIVETRAIN LAYOUT	Rear-engine, RWD
ENGINE TYPE	AC, induction electric motor
BATTERY TYPE	liquid-cooled lithium-ion
POWER (SAE NET)	416 hp @ 5000 rpm
TORQUE (SAE NET)	443 lb-ft @ 0 rpm
REDLINE	16,000 rom
WEIGHT TO POWER	11.4 lb/hp
TRANSMISSION	1-speed automatic
AXLE/FINAL-DRIVE RATIO	9.73:1/9.73:1
SUSPENSION, FRONT; REAR	Control arms, air springs, anti-roll bar; multilink, air springs, anti-roll bar
STEERING RATIO	13.0:1
TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK	2.3
BRAKES, F;R	14.0-in vented disc; 14.4-in vented disc, ABS
WHEELS, F;R	8.5 x 21-in; 9.0 x 21-in, cast aluminum
TIRES, F;R	245/35R21 101Y; 265/35R21 101Y Michelin Pilot Sport PS2
DIMENSIONS
WHEELBASE	116.5 in
TRACK, F/R	65.4/66.9 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT	196.0 x 77.3 x 56.5 in
TURNING CIRCLE	37.0 ft
CURB WEIGHT	4731 lb
WEIGHT DIST., F/R	46/54 %
SEATING CAPACITY	5 (+2)
HEADROOM, F/R	38.8/35.3 in
LEGROOM, F/R	42.7/35.4 in
SHOULDER ROOM, F/R	57.7/55.0 in
CARGO VOLUME	5.3 cu ft (f), 26.2 cu ft (r)
TEST DATA
ACCELERATION TO MPH
0-30	1.7 sec
0-40	2.3
0-50	3.1
0-60	4.0
0-70	5.1
0-80	6.5
0-90	8.2
0-100	10.5
PASSING, 45-65 MPH	1.9
QUARTER MILE	12.7 sec @ 107.8 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH	108 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION	0.92 g (avg)
MT FIGURE EIGHT	25.3 sec @ 0.74 g (avg)
TOP-GEAR REVS @ 60 MPH	7350 rpm
CONSUMER INFO
STABILITY/TRACTION CONTROL	Yes/Yes
AIRBAGS	Dual front, front side, f/r curtain, front knee
BASIC WARRANTY	4 yrs/50,000 miles
POWERTRAIN WARRANTY	8 yrs/unlimited miles
ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE	4 yrs/50,000 miles
ENERGY CAPACITY	85 kWhr
EPA CITY/HWY ECON/COMB	88/90/89 mpge
ENERGY CONS., CITY/HWY/COMB	38/37/38 kW-hrs/100 miles
CO2 EMISSIONS	na
REAL MPG CITY/HWY/COMB	66.5/90.8/75.6 (mpge)*
RANGE	265-mi (EPA), 238-mi (MT observed)
FUEL	wall plug: 1.4-kWhr AC, wall charger: 10 or 20 kWhr AC; fast charge: 120-kWhr DC
*performed in the manner of Real MPG testing