Sacramento CA to Washington DC road trip in 4 to 5 days. Is this realistic on a tesla?

Trip Planning

My wife and I are contemplating driving from Sacramento CA to the Washington DC area instead of flying.

We are planning to leave Thursday afternoon and ideally reach DC by Monday or Tuesday. There will be two of us driving and we plan to stop at a hotel every night and get proper sleep. Definitely not planning to drive overnight.

We will be driving a Tesla Long Range with FSD and carrying some of our stuff since we are relocating. That is one of the main reasons we are considering driving instead of flying. We will need the car and our stuff on the East Coast anyway and don’t really want to ship the car and wait for it.

This is not really a sightseeing trip. We just want to get there safely without making the drive miserable.
For those who have done a similar cross-country drive, is Thursday afternoon to Monday or Tuesday realistic with two drivers?

What route would you recommend, and where would you stop each night?
Also, anything we should be careful about with weather this time of year would be really helpful. Any Tesla or EV-specific advice is appreciated too.

Still debating between flying and doing the road trip, so I would love to hear from people who have done something similar.

Thanks in advance.

Posted Aug 31, 2026, 2:34 AM UTC

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