{"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-clara-ca-to-chicago-il","question":"Is it cheaper to fly or drive a Tesla from Santa Clara, CA to Chicago, IL?","answer":"Santa Clara, CA to Chicago, IL is 2,162 mi by road — 36h 38m of driving and 12 Supercharger stops — against 7h 32m door to door by air. Flying is the better call: the flight costs $482 against $837 to drive, and it saves 29h 6m of travel. On the 0-100 stress scale the drive scores 100 and the flight 72.","origin":"Santa Clara, CA","destination":"Chicago, IL","drive_miles":2162,"drive_minutes":2198,"charge_stops":12,"fly_minutes_door_to_door":452,"flight_miles":1833,"tesla_cost_usd":837,"fly_cost_usd":482,"tesla_stress":100,"fly_stress":72,"verdict":"fly","times_checked":2,"updated_at":"2026-10-12T11:46:56.748+00:00"}