Electric car maker Tesla has connected the eastern and western portions of their supercharger network, allowing for the first coast-to-coast road trips that rely entirely on the newer, faster model of charger. The company says roughly 80 percent of the supercharger network is now complete, with both coastal legs and much of Texas fully covered. The official announcement came from Tesla Monday morning, but according to the charging network Plugshare, the first supercharger-powered coast-to-coast trip was completed Saturday night.

The coast-to-coast connection marks a new milestone for Tesla, which has used the ambitious new network to combat range anxiety concerns as it promotes the new style of car. The network's West Coast portion was completed in October, running from Tijuana to Vancouver. The company has promised to expand the network to cover 98 percent of the US population by 2015.