Same road, three completely different drives
I know three people who drive Los Angeles to Las Vegas on the I-15, and none of them does it the same way. All three arrive fine. That is the actual point.
Range anxiety gets treated as a technical problem. It is mostly a pace problem.
The technical side, charging curves and the 80% rule and elevation, is in EV road trip range.
Martin runs the numbers
Martin plans the stop before he leaves. He knows the I-15 climbs Cajon Pass at about 3,780 feet and Mountain Pass at about 4,730 feet, and he knows climbs cost more than the average suggests.
He arrives with margin every time and he enjoys having done the math. That is a legitimate way to travel and it makes him faster than the people improvising.
Martin is one of our test pilots. His trip was provided free of charge.
Remo just drives
Remo leaves with a full battery and stops when the car says to. No spreadsheet, no plan.
This works, and it is not bravado. The I-15 is one of the best-served charging corridors in the United States. Leave full in a long-range car and the road handles the rest. Barstow and the Yermo area have plenty of stalls, snacks and clean restrooms, and a stop runs 20 to 30 minutes.
Remo is also a test pilot. His trip was likewise provided free of charge.
I take longer than either of them
I drive the 3-3-3 pattern: no more than about 300 miles a day, at the site by 3pm, several nights in one place when it earns it.
I am the slowest of the three and I do not think I am the one doing it wrong.
What actually decides your travel time
Not charging.
The day of the week. Las Vegas is the weekend destination for half of Southern California. The I-15 is jammed outbound Friday and inbound Sunday, and the same drive that takes four hours midweek takes six.
Put those next to each other. A charging stop costs 20 to 30 minutes. Picking the wrong day costs two hours. Everyone worries about the first one.
Two things that genuinely are harder
Speed costs more than you think. Traffic on the I-15 runs 75 to 80 mph. Drag rises with the square of speed, so the last 10 mph is expensive in a way the first 60 are not.
Heat stacks on top. The Mojave clears 105°F routinely in summer, the A/C runs continuously, and that shows up in consumption. Both effects are real and both are manageable if you are not also trying to set a personal record.
So which one are you
Experienced and just want to drive? Remo's way. The corridor supports it.
Like knowing the numbers? Martin's. It costs nothing and it removes the last of the doubt.
Coming to look at things? Mine. Travel midweek, drive 300 miles, be there by three. Do that and the range question never comes up, because you never get close to the edge of it.