Mike Thornton

About

Mike test-drove a Tesla Model S in 2013 and quit his job at Car and Driver six months later to cover EVs full-time — which his editor called 'career suicide' and his accountant called 'inadvisable.' He was right and they were wrong. He now logs 30,000+ miles per year across test vehicles, maintains a real-world range database that contradicts EPA estimates for 40+ models, and has charged at every major network from Electrify America to a sketchy Level 2 charger behind a Cracker Barrel in rural Tennessee. His range testing methodology involves driving the same 150-mile mixed route in the same conditions — no eco mode, no hypermiling, AC at 72°F — because that's how actual humans drive. He holds an ASE EV technician certification because he got tired of service advisors telling him things that weren't true.

9 years of experience in electric vehicles.