"In every country, the first day was spent on charging issues." A Belarusian tells how he traveled to Turkey in a Tesla
Traveling by electric car no longer surprises anyone. Especially if it's a long-range model capable of easily covering 300-400 km. However, in addition to range and the availability of charging stations, questions related to starting sessions and payment remain, and this is where an unpleasant surprise might await you in a foreign country. Even if you, seemingly, prepared in advance and even thought through backup options. The hero of this story, in fact, embarked on his first serious long-distance trip in an electric car, writes "Onliner".
Decided to do without refueling
First, a little about the tech. Evgeny says his 2018 Telsa 3 Dual Motor Long Range is standard, without tuning or modifications. However, it didn't have a retrofit from the factory, which only allowed for slow charging.
After the owner bought the necessary board for 450 rubles, the Tesla can now charge at fast stations. Since it's an "American" model, the port is NACS standard, so an adapter is used to connect a CCS2 connector. Additionally, a Type2 - NACS cable and a portable charger from a household outlet were taken for the trip, which increased the choice of power sources.
"I've had this car since January," Evgeny says. "Before this trip, the farthest journey was to Asipovichy, and it was real stress. I arrived in that city, and there were only a few charging stations – and all of them were occupied. I couldn't wait, I had to drive further, and then look for where to charge to get home. In short, all my Tesla trips were within Minsk and its surroundings."
So how did Evgeny, with such a background, dare to embark on a trip to distant countries?
"Basically, the idea was that my friends and I would get into our favorite 'Nivas' and drive them. That's how we periodically travel to different countries.
We set the dates. As a result, the guys left, but I couldn't because of work. I decided I would follow them a week later, but in reality, I only managed to leave after a week and a half. And by that time, I already knew that there might be problems with refueling in Russia: the guys encountered situations where some gas stations had no petrol, some had it significantly more expensive than usual, or there were queues."
Moreover, Evgeny admits that there was no particular point in driving a "Niva" anymore: by that time, his friends had already driven off-road, and seeking adventures alone in unfamiliar wild places was not the best idea. As a result, despite having the option to go in another car with an internal combustion engine, it was decided to embark on the journey in a Tesla.
"I thought I had nothing to lose. If anything, I'd turn around and switch to a gasoline car. Especially since I prepared in advance: I studied everything, installed apps, linked my card ('Belkart' was accepted normally by almost all services). In short, nothing foreshadowed problems."
Russia: A "call a friend" is inevitable
"I left Minsk, charged in Mogilev," Evgeny continues. "I thought of charging again in Krychaw, but everything there was occupied. I decided to drive to Zhukovka, which is already in the Bryansk region."
I arrive, and there's no connection. I have a Russian SIM card, but now, when you return to the country after a break, a "cooling down" mode activates: you need to enter a captcha. It's primitive, but it's impossible to complete the task, it constantly gives an error.
Plan B was to return home and switch to a gasoline car. But there was also Plan C - a call to a friend.
Friends living in Moscow had also installed all these apps the day before, linked their Russian cards, and launched charging sessions at my call. When the cooling-down mode ended and I got mobile internet, I was able to charge myself."
You can read online that Russian charging stations have Wi-Fi, which you can connect to use the app. But Evgeny, referring to his personal experience, says that throughout the entire trip he only saw two stations that could be connected to, and that was via Bluetooth. Moreover, the procedure to start a charging session there was slightly different.
"In theory, my Tesla can travel 400 km, but in reality, I counted on a reserve of 300 km — I didn't want to risk it. Besides, I was traveling with a child. If they wanted a snack — we stopped. Naturally, in places where there was charging. The battery charges quickly to 80%."
The interviewee notes that he did not see queues at charging stations in Russia; usually, they are empty. The only car he encountered near a charging post was a Tesla with Belarusian license plates.
And so, with periodic stops, including in Pyatigorsk and Vladikavkaz, they reached Georgia.
Georgia: Better in the mountains!
"Going to Georgia for the sea, in my opinion, is not a great idea, because the sea, firstly, is not the cleanest, and secondly, there are few sandy beaches. You should go there for the mountains, the parks. Then you see that Georgia is beautiful, green, with mountains and rivers, where your eyes are delighted everywhere," Evgeny notes.
"But in the case of electric vehicles, mountains mean consumption. You drive uphill — the car 'eats' up to 40 kWh, you go downhill — the battery starts to recharge. Not drastically, but still.
Just descended from the mountains — a bump! It's like I tried to avoid all the potholes, but here — I immediately punctured two wheels on one side. Called a tow truck, and we went to Natakhtari. It turns out that locals haul used tires from Europe in bulk there. I struck up a conversation with one person. He said that just the day before he had brought 1.5 thousand tires from Germany. I got a good pair, and we continued."
Evgeny clarifies that he arranged Georgian insurance online. He also downloaded local operator apps in advance. However, the first attempt to charge ended in a fiasco.
"I arrive — there are tons of charging stations, but none of them work. And the app is in Georgian, so I can't understand the reason. I started asking local 'electric car' owners who came to charge why I couldn't connect. They told me that the local operator had a system failure throughout Georgia. And indeed, in the app, all chargers were lit up red. I realized that with this situation, I wouldn't make it to Batumi, so I found a hotel on Booking and connected to a 220V outlet there. Yes, I didn't get much charge overnight, but the next day the chargers were already working."
Evgeny says that there are several charging station operators in Georgia. The cost is 0.65-0.68 lari ($0.25-$0.26) per 1 kWh. The ratio of CCS2 and GB/T connectors, according to the narrator, is approximately equal.
"It's very convenient that you can pay via Apple Pay, no need to link your card to apps. Although Belarusian Visa and Mastercard cards generally work. And there are no queues. Only once did I have to wait, and that was only because one of the charging stations was blocked by a gasoline car."
Speaking about the local car fleet, the interviewee notes that there are many hybrids in the country, particularly Toyota Prius, and among electric vehicles, Tesla Model 3 and Model Y stand out.
"We rode through the mountains without much extreme. We met up with the guys who left earlier. Their stay was ending, and I thought there was no point in staying in Georgia, so let's try to move on — to Turkey. If it doesn't work out, we'll just come back, especially since everything here is already familiar."
Turkey: Reaching for paradise
"Oh, that was a real quest! — says Evgeny. — It was the same story as with Georgian operators. To enter the app, you need a local phone number. You can't go through and see how it works until then. So until I crossed the border, I didn't know what awaited me."
Well, I entered the country, connected mobile internet, started accessing the apps — and found out that I couldn't link any of my cards. So how was I supposed to charge?
AI gave me an answer that at Shell gas stations near motorways, you could allegedly pay directly with a card. In fact, wherever I asked, everyone just shrugged, no one had even heard of such an option.
The situation was a dead end. We reached some point on the coast, and I didn't know what to do. There wasn't enough charge to return to Georgia."
As a result, Evgeny simply waited for someone to come to charge, explained the situation, and asked the driver to start a session from their phone. The plan worked, and the local resident didn't even take money when the Belarusian offered to pay him in cash.
"It turned out that in every new country, I spent the first day solving charging issues."
By the end of the day, I had practically decided: we'd stay overnight and go back to Georgia. And it seemed I had a backup plan. A friend works for a Georgian company; he has a Georgian card. I asked him to give access to this card, but it also couldn't be linked.
I read that someone creates virtual wallets of Turkish banks and charges that way. I started researching the topic. Until recently, this truly worked, but since spring of this year, almost all these services (Theoretical charging or "charging networks") have stopped working with virtual cards.
So, I arrived at the hotel already in despair. I sat there, trying all the cards in the apps, and somehow the Georgian card suddenly linked. And that was it; after that, all charging issues disappeared, and I entered a true paradise for an "electric car" owner.
In Turkey, there are many charging stations. The distances between them barely exceed 20 km, meaning they are everywhere. Even in the mountains, you cross a pass, and there's a charging station in a small settlement. On motorways, the complexes are even better than in Germany. You arrive, and there's an Outlet, Subway, Burger King, petrol stations, electric chargers...
There are also Tesla Superchargers. The cost of charging is about 12-13 Turkish Lira ($0.25-$0.3) at fast chargers. There are several main apps, and there are partnership agreements between operators, so you can charge through one in the network of another. The main standard is CCS2.
In Turkey, there are many electric vehicles from local manufacturers. Visually, they resemble BYD models. All have CCS2 charging ports, so the infrastructure is adapting to this standard.
First, we went to Cappadocia. As a natural phenomenon, this place is absolutely unique. In person, it's even more beautiful than in photos and videos. Plus these hot air balloons, which are constantly launched. We literally drove around everything there and then went to Istanbul.
This was our final destination. After Cappadocia, of course, you realize that yes, it's grand, with its peculiarities, but still man-made, which is to say, a bit different. However, that didn't stop us from having a good time there. As a result, we stayed in Istanbul for four days, after which we set off on the return journey.
Regarding charging, it was much easier, as all the apps were already working and there was an understanding of where and how to act."
The entire trip lasted approximately four weeks, and the total route length exceeded 9,000 kilometers. Evgeny ultimately considers the somewhat unexpected and at times overtly nervous experience of a long-distance electric car trip to be positive.
"Don't be afraid, just take it and go," he advises.
And he doesn't hide that he's already thinking about new journeys.