Tesla China likes to organize some pretty impressive road trips with its vehicle owners. In 2014, they traveled the Silk Road in Tesla Model S sedans right after the market introduction in China, which was a time of rapid expansion for the country’s EV charging infrastructure.
Now that Tesla introduced the Model X in China, the automaker announced another achievement: reaching the world’s highest plateau with electric vehicles.
Tesla owners reached the Tibetan Plateau at an altitude of ~4,500 meters, which is a first for electric vehicles according to the company. It was achievable because of Tesla’s expanding charging networks, both Superchargers and Destination chargers, in China.
The picture above was taken at what has been described as the “world’s highest civilian airport” – the Daocheng airport in Garzi, a heavily ethnic Tibetan part of Sichuan.
The company took the occasion to bring more attention to the ice cap of the Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau, which has been called the world’s third pole because it has the world’s third largest reserve of ice/fresh water after the north and south poles.
The region has been described as a “climate change hotspot” because the rising temperatures are melting the ice and creating tons of problems for the local population.
Rising temperatures put millions at risk as climate change hotspot @third_pole (world's 3rd-largest store of ice) is melting
— Tesla (@Tesla) November 1, 2016
According to the organization ‘The Third Pole’, the region is the source of the 10 major river systems that provide irrigation, power and drinking water for over 1.3 billion people in Asia – nearly 20% of the world’s population.
With the ice melting at a faster rate thanks to the consequences of climate change, it is changing the landscape and complicating the fresh water situation for all those people. You can learn more on The Third Pole’s website.
Tesla continues its expansion in China where it is opening more service centers and stores, as well as deploying more charging infrastructure as previously mentioned. Earlier this year, the automaker opened its 100th Supercharger in China and launched ‘Tesla Public Charging Partner Program’.
The company’s growth in the market could also be helped by a potential new ZEV mandate to be introduced in the country.
Update: Tesla shared a few more pictures from the trip on Facebook and some of them are stunning:
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