Chargers, châteaux, and the Channel Tunnel: can you really do a driving holiday in a Tesla?

Are electric cars really good enough to take four adults and a week's worth of luggage from London to the Loire? Samuel Gibbs finds out

The alarm went off at 6am to kickstart our journey, and I was full of trepidation. Driving 706 km (439 miles) in a car with three other adults and enough luggage for a week's holiday might already feel like a modern labour of Hercules for some, but this trip had an extra challenge: the car would be all electric.

The chariot to take us from the south of London to the middle of France would be a Tesla Model S 90D. Fortunately, unlike most other electric cars, the Model S is not a small car, so fitting everyone and everything in wouldn't be an issue. But a quoted range of just under 350 miles per charge, though one of the longest available, left me a little worried. Would we really get anything like that much milage, with a fully laden car, and at motorway speeds? Would there be enough chargers along the way? And after the fourth recharging stop, would my passengers mutiny?