In mid-July, a family from Switzerland broke the US record for fastest cross-country trip in an electric vehicle, completing the New York-to-California journey in a long-range Tesla Model 3 in just 48 hours and 10 minutes. Little did they know, they’d only get to hold that record for three weeks.

The concept of using electric vehicles for coast-to-coast “Cannonball Run” speed trials is fairly new, and only started gaining popularity when the EV charging infrastructure started to mature. But in the last few years, more EV owners have made attempts at setting a new record. Some do it to promote a business or a cause, others for the sheer thrill of racing across the country, knowing that every second counts. The added challenge of driving an electric car, and the time it takes to recharge the vehicle’s battery, is also appealing to many would-be Cannonball Runners.

The concept of using electric vehicles for coast-to-coast “Cannonball Run” speed trials is fairly new

Lars Thomsen bought a Model 3 in 2018 in the US, and imported it to Switzerland. Back in the States for a family vacation with the car a year later, Thomsen thought it would be fun to try to beat the most recent EV Cannonball Run record of 50 hours and 16 minutes, set by Alex Roy and Dan Zorrilla in 2018. His wife Betty wasn’t so keen on the idea.

“She said, ‘That’s not my idea of a vacation at all,’” Thomsen told The Verge.

Ultimately, he wore her down, and on July 12th, the two set out with their daughter Robin — who had just received her driver’s license — from the Red Ball Garage in New York City, the traditional starting point for Cannonball Runs. They arrived at the traditional finish line, the Portofino Inn in Redondo Beach, California, 48 hours and 10 minutes later.

Thomsen said he had two goals throughout the run: not to break the speed limit; and only pull over to recharge the battery when it was practically depleted. They averaged 58.9 miles per hour over the 2,800-mile trip, with 19 total stops at Tesla’s Supercharger stations. Thomsen credits Navigate on Autopilot, Tesla’s most advanced version of its driver assist system, for helping to reduce fatigue during the journey.

48 hours and 10 minutes

“If you steer by hand and you want to keep a car in lane for 48 hours, at some point in time, you’re going to get tired,” Thomsen said of Autopilot. “But we never had any issues that somebody was about to fall asleep.”

Unfortunately, Thomsen only had about three weeks to enjoy his record-holding status before two men, Kyle Conner and Matthew Davis, came along and snatched it away. Inspired by Roy and his exploits, Connor said he saw the Cannonball Run as an opportunity to make his mark, as well as promote his business, Out of Spec, which helps car enthusiasts transition to electric vehicles.

They set out from New York City on July 31st, and arrived in Los Angeles 45 hours and 16 minutes later. Like the Thomsens, Conner and Davis drove a Tesla Model 3 long-range RWD, but with a few modifications, like lowering the car for better aerodynamics. Unlike the Thomsens, Conner and Davis eschewed Autopilot except for a few instances of bumper-to-bumper traffic — nor did they adhere to the speed limit (which helps explain why they didn’t use Autopilot; the system is speed capped at 90 mph).

“It’s illegal, but like, we were never flying by people and children,” Conner said. “We were very conscious of that.”

“It’s illegal, but like, we were never flying by people and children.”

As they raced across the country, Conner said he and Davis were single-minded in their focus. “There was no boredom at all,” he said. “If anything, the trip went by in a flash. We were thinking constantly about our speed, our efficiency, where’s our next charger, what’s traffic like. You know, really constantly working.”

Thomsen said there’s no hard feelings for Connor and Davis; in fact, he plans on getting together with Conner for dinner in New York City in a few weeks to discuss their respective runs, and perhaps plot future business endeavors. If anything, he says he feels a camaraderie with the two men.

“We were probably the last ones to get the electric Cannonball mostly within the limits of the law,” Thomsen said.

Conner agrees that it will either take an improvement in battery technology to increase capacity or reduce charging times, or a driver with less compunction about breaking the law, to achieve a better run time — which is not to say it won’t happen.

“It would take a lot to beat our record,” he said. “But you know, it’s absolutely doable.”