The real problem that everyone can/should get behind fixing is ICEing by our own. *THAT* reduces a scarce resource from 8 spaces to 2 spaces real quick - especially in areas of density as there are more distractions.
I'll repost what I typed at TM in this regard:
Inconsiderate supercharger stall hogs | Page 3 | Tesla Motors
Some random thoughts in case anyone from Tesla actually reads this ongoing drivel - take from it what you will:
I would have much less of a problem with livery if they left after charging. Most do, as time is money. Some don't, and that's annoying. Not nearly as annoying as the misguided efforts to instantiate hinky pay-per-use schemes, of course.
The problematic common denominator, whether livery, freeloading garaged locals, acceptable use by non-garaged locals, travelers, or obviously ICEs, is that a percentage of people do not vacate the space when charging is complete.
If Tesla is going to invest time to more effectively modify owner behavior, as an owner and as an investor I would prefer that Tesla focus upon this key problem first. There is no faster way to turn an 8-stall SC into a 2-stall SC than to ICE the other 6 spaces - whether by ICEs or by our own. And frankly, I find the latter case to be the most reprehensible.
Tesla doesn't even send a quarterly or monthly e-newsletter to owners to remind them of best practices. So many owners have no clue about pairing at SCs, for example, let alone about getting out when done. Today, there is no way to predict who's coming next and when. Best practice is and will remain to exit the stall when the charge is complete - not 10 minutes later - but when it is done. Get into the habit of returning 2 minutes before the charge is done, rather than 10 minutes after the fact.
I've seen SCs go from empty to full to almost empty again in less than an hour. Every minute that an SC is full and someone is waiting that could have been avoided is an opportunity for improvement.
Hopefully Tesla will take the lead to focus upon this one resource-limiting behavioral and completely avoidable challenge, and will spend exactly zero cycles upon anything that resembles pay-per-use or geofencing.
The supercharger network is a unique resource. Making the base Model 3 not SC-enabled up front was long predicted and makes sense.
Tangentially, ***If they do introduce 3-month seasonal subscriptions, I hope they are at least $500 each.***
Lastly, it's a great big world out there. It's worth noting again and again that 97% of the SC network is perfectly un-impacted. Tesla has committed to DENSITY as well as to DISTANCE for 2 years now and people need to accept this.
As with everything else, the devil is in the details, but there are certain incontrovertible facts. One is that 2/3 of homes in the US have garages. Another is that what works for the Benelux region may not work for Hong Kong or San Francisco or New York City. SoCal is another interesting case given that quite a few people in the Model S/X demographic commute 100 miles/day for work. Those who are non-garaged in their $750,000 condos and whose studio bosses are too cheap to implement workplace charging are going to use SCs 3x/week. That's just how it is. And it works because, in part, like anything else, when people have the flexibility to use a scarce resource at off-peak times, they do and will.
I've been through however many states there are between California to Maine, via the 3rd Annual Sound of Silence Rally in Custer, South Dakota, and then southward to, at the moment, Hilton Head, South Carolina after 2 weeks on the road. Haven't had to wait for an SC a single time; by the end of this season's travel I will have visited somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 superchargers. Have only seen 3 of them full (one in WA and 2 in CA) and 2 of those were full for less than 10 minutes.
The point is that there is a disproportionate level of handwringing and FUD over the perception of a problem that does not exist in any statistically significant way. See voter fraud for another clear example of massive resources being brought to bear to apparently accomplish one objective, when in fact another result entirely occurs. Voter fraud doesn't exist in any statistically significant way either, but it sure is harder for the marginalized to vote now.
I'd like the handwringers to embrace the non-garaged, but more importantly I don't want to see Tesla deviate from its path of inclusion and EVs for all. At the same time, recognize that 90% of owners don't use superchargers with any regularity whatsoever if at all. Again - there's a lot of handwringing to develop a solution in search of a problem and a simple statement from Tesla would go a long way toward quashing this veiled exclusionary effort once and for all.
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