{"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":"/richmond-va-to-san-francisco-ca","question":"Is it cheaper to fly or drive a Tesla from Richmond, VA to San Francisco, CA?","answer":"Richmond, VA to San Francisco, CA is 2,873 mi by road — 49h 11m of driving and 16 Supercharger stops — against 8h 45m door to door by air. Flying is the better call: the flight costs $562 against $1,122 to drive, and it saves 40h 26m of travel. On the 0-100 stress scale the drive scores 100 and the flight 76.","origin":"Richmond, VA","destination":"San Francisco, CA","drive_miles":2873,"drive_minutes":2951,"charge_stops":16,"fly_minutes_door_to_door":525,"flight_miles":2443,"tesla_cost_usd":1122,"fly_cost_usd":562,"tesla_stress":100,"fly_stress":76,"verdict":"fly","times_checked":3,"updated_at":"2026-10-17T15:17:02.427+00:00"}