For the past 11 months, Sandro van Kuijck has been on the road. The 25-year-old who's originally from The Netherlands abandoned the rat race last November to live inside his Tesla, and he has been travelling ever since.
He's now heading to Alaska, where he plans to show off to his online followers that his Tesla can function well in just about every environment.
The digital nomad says saving money and seeing the world are his primary motivations for choosing the unconventional lifestyle that he's been pursuing since last year. However, van Kuijck's decision to carve his new life around Tesla's Model X has prompted some question marks online because the lifestyle he's pursued is more typically associated with Mercedes-Benz's Sprinter Van.
This is the subject of the content creator's latest social media video, where he provides three key ways that the car can provide its campers comfort while remaining both private and cost-efficient. Newsweek spoke with van Kuijck to delve deeper into why he feels Tesla is the best car for the job.
"I've lived in 4 different countries, but I wanted to travel and see the world in a different way and do that as cost-effectively and conveniently as possible," Van Kuijck told Newsweek.
"A Tesla has camping mode baked right into the software, which makes it the ultimate mobile home. I have been on the open road for 11 months now and I'm currently on my way to Alaska to explore the last frontier," he said. "The car's camping mode recognizes if you're sleeping in it, and if so, it keeps your desired temperature all night."
Another perk? "The car is cost-efficient too because it can charge for free. It can also park up anywhere because no one expects its driver to be living inside," he said.
Van Kuijck also shared in his TikTok post that Tesla's Model X can offer its campers privacy and security, as opposed to the Sprinter Van, which by design indicates that someone is sleeping or living inside.
The creator revealed to Newsweek that he has a full kitchen, running water, an electric stove, blender, water kettle and toaster fitted inside the vehicle.
Tesla, the brainchild of business magnate Elon Musk, rolled out a new and improved Model X this year. The 2023 design is on the market for a base rate of $98,490.
Since it was shared to TikTok on August 7 under the username @EverydaySandro1, the video has been watched by over 3.6 million people and liked more than 281,000 times.
A few TikTokers in the post's comments section have pointed out how van Kuijck has been able to live rent-free for nearly a year, all by camping out in his Tesla.
His decision to hit the road and cut his expenses comes at a time when the homeownership rate amongst young people in the United States has been rapidly declining, with the cost of living on the rise and wages rising at a lower level than inflation.
According to the National Association of Realtors, housing affordability has lowered to its most unfavorable levels since the 1980s. The Dutch content creator seems to have found a way to evade the crisis.
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