When The Tesla Model 3 Tried to Take Over Our Vacation

I’ve driven EVs, sold EVs, and written about EVs on TheCoolCarGuy.com for almost 20 years…
But renting one on vacation?

That’s a whole different chapter in the travel guide.

Last week my wife and I flew out to Pompano Beach to enjoy our timeshare and soak up the sun. Before we arrived, I used TravelersFreak.com → Travel Deals to snag what looked like a killer offer:

👉 A “Manager’s Special” Tesla Model 3 from Hertz for $400 for the whole week.

Sounded perfect.
A little tech luxury for a beach trip.
What could go wrong, right?

We grabbed the car from the airport garage — key card on the console → tap → drive → sunshine. Smooth and slick.

We hit Pompano Beach. Walked the pier. Snapped photos. Enjoyed the weather.
But while we were relaxing… the Tesla wasn’t.

Its battery percentage was dropping like a tourist’s SPF rating at noon.

70% → 55% → 40% → 30%…
Okay — time to charge.

And that’s where the vacation experience stops…
and the travel documentary with a mild horror subplot begins.

🔌 Episode 1: The Gymnasium Charging Station of Doom

We follow the Tesla’s giant dashboard tablet (which acts like it has the driver’s license and you don’t).
It sends us down some back-road labyrinth to a random charging station behind a gym…

Right next to an electric Hummer the size of a two-bedroom condo.

I plug it in.

Screen pops up:

⏳ 6.5 hours to charge
⏳ 9.5 hours to full

On vacation.
Next to a gym.
With no food, no beach… and absolutely no reason to exist there.

Hard pass.

🔌 Episode 2: The Supercharger Mirage

The Tesla map proudly declares:

✨ “2 chargers available.” ✨

Ten miles later:

❌ Every stall full
❌ Cars waiting
❌ People scrolling TikTok like they’ve been there since 2018
❌ Zero beach vibes

This wasn’t a charging station.
It was the DMV with better lighting.

🔌 Episode 3: The Last-Chance Charger

We find another one across town.
ONE slot open.

We plug in.
We wait.
We scroll.
We question our life decisions.

35 minutes later → we’re full.

But here’s the problem…

We still hadn’t gone to Miami.
Or Key Largo.
Or anywhere, really.

At this point, our vacation itinerary looked like:

• Beach
• Charging station
• Charging station
• Charging station
• Wondering what charging station we’ll be stuck at next

That’s not a vacation.
That’s a tour of Florida’s electrical infrastructure.

🚗 The Breakup

We look at each other and say the words no Tesla wants to hear:

“Let’s just return it.”

We drive 10 miles back to the airport.
Walk into Hertz.

Me:
“Give me a Kia Soul.
I want to fill up in 3 minutes like a normal person on vacation.”

They laughed, swapped it out for $15,
and just like that → our vacation was saved.

We drove to Miami.
To Boca.
Down to Key Largo.
Back up the coast.

No scavenger hunts.
No iPad telling us where we’re allowed to go.
No battery babysitting.

Just… vacation.

🌴 Final Takeaway (Traveler’s Version)

If your vacation involves:

✔ Resort → beach → dinner
✔ 20–100 miles of easy cruising
✔ Staying local

Then sure — rent the Tesla.
It’s smooth, quiet, and kind of fun.

But if your trip includes:

❌ Road-tripping
❌ Multiple cities
❌ Long days out
❌ Unpredictable schedules
❌ Wanting to avoid charging-station hide-and-seek

Then rent literally anything with a gas tank.

Real travel is about experiences — not hours at charging stations scrolling memes.

Just sharing our real-world adventure so you don’t spend your Florida vacation
in a parking lot
next to a gym
waiting on electrons
instead of sitting on the beach watching the waves.

🔗 TravelersFreak.com — Plan Smarter. Travel Smarter.

Looking to plan your next trip?
Want deals that actually help your vacation — instead of slowing it down?

Grab a Parking Spot her for 7 bucks!

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Travel smarter. Travel fun.
And choose the rental car that matches the trip you’re taking.

Before you go, watch the video below for a short tutorial on how Travelers Freak works and how it can work for you too.