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Burned by Tesla on idle fees. Something to know

Discussion in 'Model S: Battery & Charging' started by Zooomer, Nov 2, 2017.

  1. FlatSix911

    FlatSix911 Porsche 918 Hybrid

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    Supercharger Idle Fee

    upload_2019-7-20_8-26-52.png
     
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  2. Akikiki

    Akikiki A'-Lo-HA ! y'all

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    Sad but necessary, since some people don't think about the impact of their actions or in-actions on others.
     
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  3. Rocky_H

    Rocky_H Well-Known Member

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    Think, please. It's an entirely different situation that can't be analogized. Filling with gas takes more like 5-6 minutes. It's a short amount of time to where you can't really go and do something else, so there is no excuse to leave the car there. But charging at Superchargers is more like a 20-30ish minute wait. It is much longer, and don't we all tell people that they should go find something to do and get some food, etc. so it doesn't feel boring standing there waiting for the charge to finish? So then if people walk somewhere else to do something, it can be a little tight to time it exactly and fit within only a 5 minute window of when it finishes.

    Obviously people should still try their best to get it done--I'm not saying otherwise--but it's more difficult to work it out and is nothing like gas station filling.
     
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  4. ralph142

    ralph142 Member

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    Oh please, nice excuse. Move your car when it’s done. Thanks.
     
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  5. MartinPF

    MartinPF Member

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    A little bit of strategy gives you much more leeway: First, check how long your charge is expected to take for the SoC you actually need/want to continue. This will almost allways be less than 100%. Next, set the charge limit to 100%. Come back at the expected time with lots of time left before you reach 100%.
     
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  6. Redmiata98

    Redmiata98 Member

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    Used to be you had more time to do other things because it took longer while you got filled up. I find that just recently, the time to fill up has been lessened because the chargers are staying in a higher range than previous for a longer time before tapering off. They are also notifying me via the iPhone app when I am close to reaching 80% that I need to return to my car because the supercharging is almost completed. Previously, I was notified about 5 minutes prior to hitting the 90% mark. (It still continues to charge to 90% if that is the what it was set for and does not stop at the 80%). More Teslas on the road so we need to be aware of our obligation to vacate the space within 5 minutes of charge completion or pay the $1 a minute penalty. Seems fair to me!
     
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  7. vdiv

    vdiv Chief Grump

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    So Electrify America has decided on a $0.40/min idling fee and a 10 minute grace period regardless of the temporal station occupancy. I find both to be absurd, tedious, and arbitrary, but if we are going to nickle and dime people (instead of building more chargers or enforcing deICEing, yay for driving electric!) then why is Tesla's choice more restrictive and onerous?
     
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  8. Akikiki

    Akikiki A'-Lo-HA ! y'all

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    Well, in the beginning there there were no idling fees and no need for a grace period. But the problem grew from once in a while to too often for people parking at a Supercharger and leaving their car there all day. It became a bigger problem as the number of Supercharger capable cars began to use the network. While it might be hard to imagine this as a frequent problem, its those repeat offenders that gain the visibility of the company and then Elon. So Elon came up with some consequences for people being inconsiderate. As for why is Tesla harder on people than Electrify America? Who knows. It doesn't matter why, its not a competition. Check back in a couple of years after Electrify America has had more customers and let's comparing both of them then. If it were not for those folks that are not thinking about how their actions impact others, maybe when everyone starts behaving more in accordance with the golden rule, (yeah!! right!!! like that will happen, huh) maybe Tesla will remove those fees.

    Trust me when I say that, we wish we had this Supercharger fee problem here. We have more than 1500 Tesla's on Oahu alone and not a single Supercharger or Tesla sponsored destination charger that any Tesla owner can use. A large number of those owners can't charge at home because their high rise won't support the charging infrastructure. They are out in the wild competing with Leafs, Fords and others trying to find charging in the wild.
     
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  9. designrs

    designrs Member

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    Chargers are getting faster. Just check your app and move your car. It’s pretty simple.
     
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  10. Bigtanuki

    Bigtanuki Member

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    I've been using that strategy since I got my 17 MS. Never been charged on any road trip.
     
  11. EVDRVN

    EVDRVN Active Member

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    If you can't be back in time especially with an app then don't leave your car. I've been using stations for years and never have an issue. Far too many entitled people. If you need an hour to charge then be back in 30 if you have issues with being on time. I LOVE the introduction of these fess and wish the charging station flashed bright red when charging is done and not unplugged after 5 min.
     
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  12. TSLC

    TSLC Member

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    ...or get an older or 350V S/X. No problem with a permanently throttled pack; plenty of time to do almost anything needed. Almost no risk of feeling rushed.
     
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