{"source":"Fly or Tesla?","disclaimer":"Independent, unpaid project, not affiliated with Tesla, Inc. or any airline. Modelled estimates, not quotes. The author prefers driving; the full method is published at /cost-method. Every rate, its publisher and its year are listed at /sources.","sources":"https://flyortesla.com/sources","url":"/des-moines-ia-to-san-francisco-ca","question":"Is it cheaper to fly or drive a Tesla from Des Moines, IA to San Francisco, CA?","answer":"Des Moines, IA to San Francisco, CA is 1,796 mi by road — 30h 34m of driving and 10 Supercharger stops — against 6h 57m door to door by air. Flying is the better call: the flight costs $445 against $621 to drive, and it saves 23h 37m of travel. On the 0-100 stress scale the drive scores 98 and the flight 70.","origin":"Des Moines, IA","destination":"San Francisco, CA","drive_miles":1796,"drive_minutes":1834,"charge_stops":10,"fly_minutes_door_to_door":417,"flight_miles":1546,"tesla_cost_usd":621,"fly_cost_usd":445,"tesla_stress":98,"fly_stress":70,"verdict":"fly","times_checked":3,"updated_at":"2026-10-17T03:14:01.702+00:00"}