Checked 4×
Is it cheaper to fly or drive a Tesla from Denver, CO to Los Angeles, CA?
Book the flightFlying saves you
11h 55m
You keep $8
In the car
17h 30m
Stress
About even
Car 60 · Flight 60
5h 35m by air, only 2h 19m of it flying. 1 in 5 run late.
The two totals are near enough level, so this one comes down to what you value. Flying buys back 11h 55m of your day. Driving skips security, the bag belt and the airline’s timetable, and every extra seat in the car is free.
How this was priced
Denver, CO to Los Angeles, CA is 1,016 mi by road — 17h 30m of driving and 6 Supercharger stops — against 5h 35m door to door by air. Flying is the better call: the flight costs $356 against $348 to drive, and it saves 11h 55m of travel. On the 0-100 stress scale the drive scores 60 and the flight 60.
Priced with fast charging at $0.50 per kWh and 3.7 miles per kWh, airfare from a $95 base plus $0.13 a mile per person, one $35 bag and a $30 ride at each end. Airfare is modelled from flight distance, not a live fare quote, so treat it as a typical fare rather than today's price. Rates last reviewed 14 September 2026; this trip last priced 9 October 2026.
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- Distance and drive time come from live road routing, not straight lines.
- Every rate used is listed on Cost analysis and sourced on Sources.
- This trip as raw data: denver-co-to-los-angeles-ca.json
- Last recalculated 2026-10-09 · checked 4×. Costs are modelled estimates, not quotes.