{"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":"/san-francisco-ca-to-santa-barbara-ca","question":"Is it cheaper to fly or drive a Tesla from San Francisco, CA to Santa Barbara, CA?","answer":"San Francisco, CA to Santa Barbara, CA is 325 mi by road — 6h 6m of driving and 2 Supercharger stops — against 4h 33m door to door by air. Driving is cheaper: taking the Tesla costs $66 against $288 to fly, a saving of $222. On the 0-100 stress scale the drive scores 19 and the flight 58.","origin":"San Francisco, CA","destination":"Santa Barbara, CA","drive_miles":325,"drive_minutes":366,"charge_stops":2,"fly_minutes_door_to_door":273,"flight_miles":338,"tesla_cost_usd":66,"fly_cost_usd":288,"tesla_stress":19,"fly_stress":58,"verdict":"drive","times_checked":7,"updated_at":"2026-10-14T12:45:47.267+00:00"}