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If it's your first time in a Tesla or a Polestar, the whole trip changes logic: you don't fill up, you charge — and almost always while doing something else. This guide is so you arrive knowing.
Florida is one of the easiest states in the US to drive electric. What changes is which network your car uses.
Tesla's own network, and the simplest to use: you arrive, plug in and walk away. No app, no card and no sign-up — the car identifies itself and the charge goes to the account linked to the vehicle.
There are more than 180 stations in the state, spread along I-4 (Orlando ↔ Tampa), I-95 (Miami ↔ Jacksonville) and Florida's Turnpike (Orlando ↔ Miami). In practice you're never more than 40 minutes from one.
These are the public fast-charging networks that serve the Polestar, Mustang Mach-E, Ioniq and company — standard CCS plug. They're in mall parking lots, Walmart, Target and larger gas stations.
Here you need the network's app with a card on file, or you tap your credit card directly at the terminal. That cost is yours, paid on the spot, and it doesn't go on our invoice.
A lot of lodging in Orlando, Miami and Tampa has a level 2 charger in the garage, sometimes free for guests. It fills the car overnight — and that's how most residents live, never stopping to charge.
A regular wall outlet (110V) charges very little, something like 3 to 5 miles per hour plugged in. It's for an emergency, not for a trip.
Nobody charges from 0 to 100%. On the road, the game is 10% to 80%.
| Type | Where you find it | 10% a 80% |
|---|---|---|
| Fast (DC) | Supercharger, Electrify America, EVgo | 20 to 30 minutes |
| Level 2 (AC) | Hotel, mall, theme park | 6 to 9 hours |
| Regular outlet | Anywhere | more than 30 hours |
A typical fast charge costs between US$ 15 and US$ 30 to fill most of the battery — less than a tank of gas in the same car, and the price varies by station and by time of day.
The manufacturer's number is with the A/C off and at 55 mph. Real life is different.
| Car | Full charge | On the highway, with A/C |
|---|---|---|
| Tesla Model 3 · Polestar 2 | 270 to 360 miles | about 20% less |
| Tesla Model Y · Mach-E | 250 to 320 miles | about 20% less |
| Cybertruck | 320 to 350 miles | about 25% less |
There's no key, no start button and no instrument panel behind the wheel. It's strange for ten minutes.
When you lift off the accelerator, the car brakes on its own and sends energy back to the battery. After half an hour you barely use the brake pedal — and the battery lasts longer in city traffic than on the highway, the opposite of a gas car.
Put the destination into the car's screen. It works out the Supercharger stops, tells you how many minutes to stay at each one and warms the battery before you arrive — which makes charging much faster. It's the right way to travel far: you don't choose where to stop, it does.
The name promises more than the law allows. It's worth understanding properly before using it.
It keeps the speed and the distance to the car ahead and holds the vehicle in the center of the lane. It's excellent on the Turnpike and I-95, where the drive is long and straight. You turn it on by pulling the stalk and turn it off by pressing the brake or turning the wheel.
It's the advanced version: beyond the highway, it drives on city streets — stops at lights and stop signs, takes turns, gets on and off the highway, changes lanes and even parks. You set the destination and it drives the route.
What it is not: a self-driving car. The name misleads. The responsibility stays entirely yours, hands on the wheel and eyes on the road — the interior camera monitors your attention and the car warns you, insists, and switches the feature off if you ignore it.
Not every car in the fleet comes with FSD enabled, because it's a paid package per vehicle. Ask before pickup whether yours has it and we'll confirm right away.
See what the insurance covers →Swedish, built by Volvo, with the finish of an expensive car and a rare virtue: the system is native Google. Google Maps on the screen without needing your phone, Google Assistant by voice and the Play Store in the car.
It charges on a CCS plug — Electrify America and EVgo — and it also has one-pedal driving, adjustable on the screen. There's no start button: sit down, press the brake and put it in gear.
Same logic: the charging network's app, a CCS plug and one-pedal driving. The Ioniq has an 800V architecture and is one of the fastest to charge — 10% to 80% in about 18 minutes when it gets a powerful charger.
It uses the Supercharger network like any Tesla, has the same screen and navigation logic, and turns heads wherever you park it — which is part of the fun of renting one.
Picked it up at 80%, return it at 80%. You don't have to return it full — the car logs the levels itself, at pickup and at drop-off, so there's no argument.
If you return below the level at pickup, we apply a single recharge fee of US$ 49, which covers the full charge and the trip to the charger.
Is it your first time in an electric car? Talk to us before choosing the car — on some trips electric is great, on others it isn't worth it.