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I bought an Insta360 X3 camera for this purpose. It can do a lot of neat tricks, so I'll be keeping it around. When viewing the video, you should be able to pan around and look in any direction. The location is on top of the Hoover Knobs near Pottsville Texas. It's the highest point in...

Finally got the FSD demo on my Model S "Raven" Long Range Plus this morning, then took a trip to Brownwood for lunch at Underwood's and wander around downtown a bit. Nice trip, but I wasn't able to turn up anything new about the Supercharger station. It was my first experience with FSD, and it...

That's the opposite of what I wanted. I'd prefer something cheaper, lighter, simpler, more in the spirit of the old Roadster. TechoKing wants to awe his subjects with amazing TechnoToys, with bragging rights and world records set. Meanwhile, I long for a well-balanced, good performing sports...

The mysterious visitor dropped by again this morning. Not sure if anyone told him about that last pedestal being de-rated and slow. . .

It's certainly a beauty. I think the new Roadster is one of the best-styled sports cars since the classics of the 1960s. Franz knocked this one out of the park. Having said that, the real questions are all about handling dynamics. If they still aim for 620 miles range and 200 kWh battery...

In today's Hamilton Herald-News:

Tesla has been doing so many things right, it pains me to zero in on something pretty basic that I think they've been doing badly, or maybe I should say erratically. I'm referring to vehicle design. I don't mean styling. All credit to Franz. He's done fantastic work with the basic vehicle...

Looks like the broken plug has been fixed, and all eight stalls should be in service now. Also, I haven't seen any more trucks park in the Supercharger area since those NO PARKING paint markers were put down. Hey, turns out the truckers are not bad guys. All it took was for someone to ask nicely.

Four modules = 16 stalls. Which makes sense, as it has to serve traffic on both US-281 and I-20. Work progressing on the transformer pad. . . I went inside the Circle-H store and asked the lady at the counter. She told me—several times, emphatically—that she is "not a fan". She's heard...

I was very happy when the Supercharger station was put in at Llano. See here → Supercharger - Llano, TX It's a nice location, and it makes trips to Fredericksburg and Enchanted Rock easy as pie. So, here's my guide to comestibles. . . CEFCO: The obvious quick pit stop, especially when...

This morning I noticed that somebody has stenciled with white paint NO PARKING in several places along the edge of the pavement. Let's hope that's all the clue the truckers needed to see.

Tonight I checked the list of nearby Superchargers in my car, and it didn't show up yet. I guess that takes time to propagate through the database of millions of cars. I drove over and looked, and the lights are on, and I grabbed a brief charge, and all was working as it should. It's...

Well, it made for a neat photo op. The construction manager, John, was unaware that Roadsters can't DC fast-charge, but then he was like, "Oh, that explains why I've never seen one turn up at a station before!" And then he allowed my Model S to be the first customer car to charge at the site...

Hamiton, Texas. A crew from Tesla came out to commission the new Supercharger station here, and I brought out my Roadster to show off a little. This was a hit, as they'd never seen one in the wild before!

Somebody should visit the area and check on this. While the Hamilton site was being commissioned today, and I was chatting it up with the crew, it was mentioned that Santo has just begun construction.

John the construction manager brought his crew out for commissioning today. I had a great visit with them, and in the afternoon they gave my Model S the honor of first customer car to charge at this site! However, this evening it is not yet open to the public. They are still waiting for the...

The utility crew—the same contractors who put in the transformer, not the local power company—were out earlier this afternoon doing something with the transformer and the utility pole. The meter display remains blank.

As of this evening the utility pole has been connected, the meter has been placed, the crews and equipment are gone, and it appears to be a 100% complete and ready-to-operate station. Looks like somebody just needs to throw the switch and activate it.

Transformer is here.

Today a contractor with a bucket truck came and ran conduit up the utility pole, and thick cables which are now danging in the air up there, ready to be connected when the time is right. At the other end of the station now can be seen the small electrical box with the round receptacle where a...

Thanks, I figured there must be a procedure something like that. I know from past experience that Supercharger stations are sometimes completed for A While before everything is signed off and the switch is thrown. This morning I went by and saw them finishing up those white paint markings.

All the asphalt was laid down, looks good. They even filled in that big chug hole at the corner that the city never seemed to get around to. About half of the white traffic and stall markings were painted, so most likely that will be finished in the morning. A lot of electrical work was done...

Asphalt arrived this morning!

Today a big portion of the Rent-A-Fence has been taken down. However, work has ground to a halt. When I went by yesterday and today, the crew were on site, but they were sitting on the ground taking siesta. They're obviously waiting on something else to arrive before they can proceed any...

I noticed that work on our site in Hamilton has slowed, and there is no transformer yet. I've read that there is a nationwide transformer shortage. I talked with a friend who is an electrician, and he said ordinary pole transformers are hard to get and there are "no spares" for large...

Concrete work. . . Maybe somebody more versed in Supercharger layout can tell what the concrete is going to support. I'm also wondering if the ground will be paved. I know in the past there have been Supercharger stations with no paving, but I don't think that's the policy anymore. Is it?

Yes, I read through it a couple of times. Is there some particular point in it that you'd like to draw my attention to?

This. I want to drill into this, because I think it's the most questionable item in the entire article. I want to see some corroboration. I want the details of exactly how this worked, when it was done, what cars had it. I'm skeptical because it doesn't jibe with what I've seen, and it...

That's also my experience. I think they should consider making battery percentage the default, and not show miles on the dash display unless you deliberately go in and switch to that. In fact. . . I think an argument could be made for getting rid of the "guess-o-meter" completely. If you...

And the pre-fab modules are here! The speed that this is coming together amazes me.

That's out of Reuters, and after reading it my opinion of Reuters has really taken a dive.

Got to say, the crew they have working out there are madmen. All day in the heat. . . This evening at 8:15 PM with the sun setting, they were still at work. Huge conduits put in the ground and a large part of them already buried.

And ground is broken! Note the fairly large work area that has been fenced off.

Thanks for pointing those out. I hadn't been aware of them. It seems like the awkward gaps in the network are being closed up pretty quickly. Next on my wish list would be a site on US-281 northward from Hamilton. . . either Mineral Wells or perhaps the US-281 × I-20 crossing.

More signs of life today. . . I asked the lady inside what was up, and she confirmed that this equipment is for Supercharger site construction.

BTW, I finally (a few months later) stumbled onto an article from Car & Driver: Lotus Type 135 Is an EV Worth Waiting For The one key bit of info for me is this: "It will launch as a coupe in 2025, later followed by a roadster." I don't know if that's anything we can rely on, but if so. . ...

I was wondering the same. It does have a couple of what look like 20 amp, 125 volt outlets at the base which would be perfect for running power tools. But there's nothing there! There's no building. Maybe somebody wants to put up a building, and this was the first step? The comment I made...

It begins. Attached is a look at the electric company's recent work around that corner and street intersection. You'll notice the new transformer with meter not yet attached, which is diagonally across the intersection from Cefco's lot. (This transformer doesn't look to me like it would power...

Dutchman's Hidden Valley. The owner, Kara, is an old school friend of mine. Her papa (now retired) founded the store, and their whole family have spread out with food businesses. Kara's brother has Wenzel's Lonestar Meat (with great sandwiches!), just a short walk from the Cefco, and her...

Uhhh. . . Really? I wonder how accurate that arrow marker is really intended to be. The corner that it's pointing to is empty, unpaved parking lot often used by semi trucks. But it's also the closest corner to the substation, and I have recently seen a crew doing some work right across the...

Well. . . At least I've never accidentally spun mine like I did a couple of times with the Lotus Esprit V8, haha! Yes. Some time ago I posted wishing for a lightweight (superleggera?) version of the new Roadster with RWD and about half the battery. Which I still think could be cool, but...

Just saw this report with more info than I've seen before about the Lotus Type 135: https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/2026-lotus-type-135-electric-elise-still-works-after-alpine-split I've been watching all the EV sports car developments, pondering a replacement for my...

I agree that NEVI has been overblown. What's spelled out in those rules is so different from Tesla's regular Supercharger business, that the cost of conforming may not be worth it to them at all. Also, NEVI is not the future of America's charging scene. It may seem like a big deal at the...

I recently stopped by the Buc-ee's in Temple, Texas. They have 48 Supercharger stalls now. Impressive as that was, I'm not sure that Buc-ee's is the most perfect model for the future. For example. . . Despite the mammoth size of the store, there's no tables, no place to sit down. They don't...

I'm not particularly fond of "ICE" and I have sometimes written "combustion cars" or "fuel cars" instead. Although, to be technical about it, HFCEVs are also fuel cars.

I had a brief moment of excitement when I saw traffic cones in the parking lot at the CEFCO store. It looks like TNMP (Texas-New Mexico Power) cut out some concrete, did some sort of work, and then refilled the space with fresh concrete. However, I'm sure it was only related to replacing the...

Just picked up my Roadster today (after some repair work) from the old service center at Research Boulevard. I went inside and was told that they were wrapping up operations, and I think he even said yesterday was the last day they took in cars for service there. The new SC at Ridgepoint, I...

I'll keep an eye on it. I roll past there most days.

Don't worry, I'm on this. That store is only a couple of miles from my home, so I'll try to swing around there every day or so. When work begins, you'll know. And no. . . I don't see where they're going to put the pedestals either. Up against the highway might work, but might make space...

I braved the ice this morning to find something unexpected at the ol' CEFCO.