{"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":"/santa-barbara-ca-to-detroit-mi","question":"Is it cheaper to fly or drive a Tesla from Santa Barbara, CA to Detroit, MI?","answer":"Santa Barbara, CA to Detroit, MI is 2,368 mi by road — 39h 55m of driving and 13 Supercharger stops — against 7h 49m door to door by air. Flying is the better call: the flight costs $501 against $865 to drive, and it saves 32h 6m of travel. On the 0-100 stress scale the drive scores 100 and the flight 73.","origin":"Santa Barbara, CA","destination":"Detroit, MI","drive_miles":2368,"drive_minutes":2395,"charge_stops":13,"fly_minutes_door_to_door":469,"flight_miles":1975,"tesla_cost_usd":865,"fly_cost_usd":501,"tesla_stress":100,"fly_stress":73,"verdict":"fly","times_checked":2,"updated_at":"2026-10-14T08:21:19.658+00:00"}