New York man drives from New York to Miami and back — for free

There's budget travel — and then there's free.

New Yorker Michael Fritts recently returned from a record-setting road trip.

The former truck driver drove his electric car from New York City to Miami and back — a 2,600-mile trip that took him just over 58 hours — without spending a dime.

"I left all my money behind, I left my wallet, credit card, everything behind. All I had with me was my driver's license and a cooler full of food," he said.

It was the first solo drive of the coastal route in an all-electric vehicle. Fritts will be sending in his application to Guinness World Records shortly.

[ Good News: Young Brazilians learn English talking to elderly Americans ]

Reporters asked him out he felt post-trip.

"A little like Batman," he laughed.

Ten years ago this week, Fritts had an aneurysm and underwent surgery for a mechanical heart valve. This trip was his way of celebrating the milestone.

"I wanted to celebrate the success of that by doing something special and fun and I also wanted to celebrate this wonderful vehicle," Fritts told WKTV.

So … how'd he do it for free?

Tesla Model S owners can charge their cars at no cost at any of the 91 Supercharger stations in North America. A 20-to-60-minute charge provides enough energy to go 150 miles. Fritts stopped 10 times each direction, following an interactive map on a computer screen in his car that led him from station to station.

He claims he drove the speed limit the entire time.

[ Good News: Son finds his mom a kidney – on Craigslist ]

"There's no oil in the vehicle, no gasoline, it's a very easy to maintain vehicle. It requires less service," Fritts told Time Warner Cable News.

He slept in his trunk during charging sessions — because he wanted to set a record on his trip, he used an egg timer as an alarm so he wouldn't oversleep — and re-fuelled with the snacks he packed in a cooler.

"People who know me they are no longer surprised by the things I do let's put it that way," Fritts, who drove across the country on a Harley 10 years ago, told WKTV.

"I don't really have a special message to tell people, I did this mostly for myself," Fritts told the Rome Observer.