Arctic Expedition Shows That EVs Can Conquer Almost Anything

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A couple weeks ago, I came across an interesting video on X (aka Twitter) showing that EVs, and specifically Cybertrucks, really can tackle the longest and hardest journeys, sometimes far from the fast chargers. Not only did the team drive all the way to the Arctic Ocean in Canada, but they also left some Level 2 charging stations behind for future drivers!

Let’s start with the video (published on X/Twitter), and then I’ll do a recap and discuss things a bit.

The Cybertruck expedition to The Arctic is live now! pic.twitter.com/uiMP33ZNGA

— TesLatino (@TesLatino) October 4, 2024

The trip left the main paved road at Dawson City, Yukon, and followed the Dempster Highway all the way to the Arctic Ocean at Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories. Right away, you could tell that the video was going to have some special images, including beautiful footage from drones and what’s obviously two upgraded (and, IMHO, better looking) Cybertrucks.

Before the journey started, the team seemed to have a sign of good luck, as there were some nice northern lights overhead while they camped in their rooftop tents above the beds of the Cybertrucks. They left the mountaintop they were on the next morning, and planned to spend 8 hours driving 255 miles. The plan was to reach their stop for the night with about 3% left, and they were on track at Tombstone Territorial Park.

Along the way, they saw that the landscape changes every few minutes, including things like weather, terrain, and animals. They even saw a giant moose roaming the area. This varied terrain continued for nine hours, seeing beautiful videos of trees, desert-looking terrain, plains, rivers, and everything else.

One funny thing they encountered along the way were truckers, who didn’t know that they had a radio, too. Truckers were trying to figure out how the Cybertrucks made it out that far without chargers, with speculation about “fuel tanks” on the sides of the trucks and a secret generator they must have been using to not be stranded. The “fuel tanks” were actually red-colored first aid kits, and other tanks were for water storage!

TesLatino points out that the whole point was to show it really is possible to take EVs out there, and the truckers proved that public perception of EVs has a long way to go. Dust caked both trucks as they continued along the long, long, all-dirt road, but this didn’t keep the trucks from making the whole trip to the first stop in Eagle Plains, YT. As expected, they arrived with 3%.

The original plan was to install some Level 2 chargers in Eagle Plains, but upon arrival, everyone who wanted to let them do that was gone for the day. In the shop, there is a plug where it would be possible to at least charge the trucks. Ultimately, they were able to get a charge inside the shop’s garage using a 240V receptacle. Maximum draw on the plug was 32 amps (6 kW), so charging something as big as a Cybertruck would have taken some time (over 24 hours).

This really shows why the team wanted to get the chargers installed, so that future EV drivers could get some more serious power and charge while sleeping instead of charging for over a day. While not installed (yet), the wall connector was left behind in Eagle Plains for someone to install later. A temporary install was at least done on a NEMA 6-50 outlet with a maximum charge rate of 48 amps.

After getting a full charge and staying the night, the team went on to the Arctic Circle and then into the Northwest Territories. They had to take ferries across the McKinsey River twice, and they were able to speed up a bit without trouble, as the road was a little bit nicer.

The next stop was in Inuvik, NT. This was a larger city (by the region’s standards), and they gave away two Tesla Level 2 chargers to serve at a local hotel and at a tire shop. These stations are both active on PlugShare as of this writing. Putting in these three chargers (two at one, one at the other) makes it a lot easier to reach the Arctic Ocean while also supporting an EV-supportive local business.

The rest of the trip (also on dirt roads) was only 86 miles, all the way to “The End Of The Road” in the Arctic Ocean. This left enough range to go to the ocean and then go back to Inuvik and charge up for the trip home.

While they didn’t need them, two Level 2 wall connectors were donated to the City of Tuktoyaktuk. At some point (not available on PlugShare yet), these will be installed at a community center and at a beach campsite for future travelers to the region. Once installed, it appears that these stations will be the furthest north charging stations in North America, and possibly competitive in the world.

Why These Kinds Of Trips Still Matter

Here’s the thing: this trip was relatively easy compared to some of the early trips people took in EVs more than a decade ago. It was far, far easier than the first all-electric EV trips across the United States (taking 210 hours with special charging stations temporarily installed back in 1968). Being able to drive all day and charge while sleeping while leaving infrastructure behind to make it even easier for people coming behind them was nothing compared to those kinds of challenges.

But, you’d be wrong to say that it doesn’t matter that people take these trips, as the truckers in the video clearly displayed. They thought it was impossible for electric vehicles to get on the Dempster Highway, and there are probably many people who think places like Eagle Plains, Inuvik, and Tuktoyaktuk would be utterly impossible for EVs to reach.

Showing these trips shows people that the situation is better than they think and that it’s getting even better with time. So, it’s important for more EV owners to get out there and actually do hard things. Staying to the cities and staying to areas where there’s already fast charging leaves these sorts of anti-EV assumptions intact instead of working one hit at a time to shatter them!

Featured image: a screenshot from the embedded video (fair use).