Buy/Driving a Tesla with no home charger?

[gnuarm]

I don't know I would go for the installation before I explored charging at work more fully.

Since this will only provide 8 hours a day to charge, at 120 volt, 15 amps that's about 8 kWh in 8 hours or likely ~30 miles in the model Y. I think that won't even get you a round trip. Is it 20 miles each way or round trip? A 240/208V, 30 amp circuit will get you around 4 times that or 30 kWh or 120 miles each 8 hour day. That should definite do it for you.

Is there any chance you could get your employer to install something for you to use? They may not like "paying" for you EV habit, but if they just consider the actual cost they will realize it is very little even if you fully charged the battery each time. I think my model X costs $15 to fill from zero to 100%. They'd likely be paying $10 a week for your juice.

 

[mrbaseball47]

I don't know I would go for the installation before I explored charging at work more fully.

Since this will only provide 8 hours a day to charge, at 120 volt, 15 amps that's about 8 kWh in 8 hours or likely ~30 miles in the model Y. I think that won't even get you a round trip. Is it 20 miles each way or round trip? A 240/208V, 30 amp circuit will get you around 4 times that or 30 kWh or 120 miles each 8 hour day. That should definite do it for you.

Is there any chance you could get your employer to install something for you to use? They may not like "paying" for you EV habit, but if they just consider the actual cost they will realize it is very little even if you fully charged the battery each time. I think my model X costs $15 to fill from zero to 100%. They'd likely be paying $10 a week for your juice.

It's 20 miles round trip, 3 days a week. So not very far. The problem is 90% of it is in stop and go traffic along a major road. AP would be a godsend.

As far as my employer paying for it. I doubt they would as it's a small office compared to the larger company and I would probably be the only EV automobile. I could bring it up and see what they say. They might balk at the cost of installing a charging station. Not sure how much that costs. Is there a particular one anyone would suggest?

 

[gnuarm]

It's 20 miles round trip, 3 days a week. So not very far. The problem is 90% of it is in stop and go traffic along a major road. AP would be a godsend.

As far as my employer paying for it. I doubt they would as it's a small office compared to the larger company and I would probably be the only EV automobile. I could bring it up and see what they say. They might balk at the cost of installing a charging station. Not sure how much that costs. Is there a particular one anyone would suggest?

Remember you don't need a "charging station" really. You just need a 240 volt outlet - the cheapest solution. A 14-50 connector is ideal but will need to be at least 40 amps while a cheaper 30 amp outlet will suffice. You'd have to be a $45 adapter for your mobile cable for the different connector, the 14-50 adapter comes with the car.

Even so, a J1772 "charger" is just $500 with the installation the more expensive part, but this unit is universal to be used by any EV pretty much, just like the 240 volt outlet. The Tesla wall connector is more handy for you, but can't be used by other car types. Maybe that's better since you won't have to share!

 

[gnuarm]

It's 20 miles round trip, 3 days a week. So not very far. The problem is 90% of it is in stop and go traffic along a major road. AP would be a godsend.

As far as my employer paying for it. I doubt they would as it's a small office compared to the larger company and I would probably be the only EV automobile. I could bring it up and see what they say. They might balk at the cost of installing a charging station. Not sure how much that costs. Is there a particular one anyone would suggest?

As with the 14-50 outlet and the Tesla wall connector, the higher part of the bill is the installation. I see a lot of ClipperCreek units. I think that is what Tesla puts in next to their destination chargers. So which unit you ask them to install is up to you. In the end they will all cost about the same since labor and such will be the lion's share of the bill. You might ask them to get a quote since they won't cost them anything. Since both the Tesla destination charger (wall connector) and the J1772 units cost about the same (the Tesla is cheaper) you might push that one. Of course the 240 V 14-50 outlet is only about $15 for that part compared to $500 for the others.

There are other cars with adaptive cruise control which is the big plus in traffic, allowing you to be a passenger in that case while the car does all the stop and go.

The auto pilot doesn't really do so much in traffic. In fact, the way it doesn't budge when someone is encroaching from the side worries me. Ultimately in a fender bender the driver is responsible. I tend to steer away from those too close to me while the auto pilot doesn't seem to see them crossing the line. It does however brake under certain conditions like shadows of overpasses, cracks in the road and who knows what else. It is in heavy traffic when these become embarrassing since no one knows you are on auto pilot.

I was actually pulled over once when the car "lurched" from being close to the line. I don't recall if the lurch was the auto pilot or myself taking control back, but how can I tell the cop, "talk to the car, I wasn't driving."

 

[FlyinLow]

You’ll love the AP in traffic.

Tesla works with business owners to provide the equipment and help with the install of HPWCs.

Charging Partners | Tesla

Your employer or one nearby may be intersted in the benefits of bringing in new customers because they can get an opportunity charge while visiting your/their business.

You could plug in while at work three days a week and be super happy.

 

[gnuarm]

You’ll love the AP in traffic.

Tesla works with business owners to provide the equipment and help with the install of HPWCs.

Charging Partners | Tesla

Your employer or one nearby may be intersted in the benefits of bringing in new customers because they can get an opportunity charge while visiting your/their business.

You could plug in while at work three days a week and be super happy.

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This is for the OP.

TODAY we have Superchargers located to allow you to drive to most destinations of interest. Still, they are not as convenient as they could be. Driving a Tesla on a trip is nowhere near as convenient as driving an ICE in that regards. The goal should be to get as close to ICE convenience as practical. By not having Superchargers as close together as gas pumps, they reduce your range to where the chargers are. On trips this often means you have a 300 mile range car, but have to stop after 180 miles because the next charger would have you coasting in without power. I think they need to be closer to 25 miles apart to mitigate range anxiety and also provide the flexibility to take side trips and all the other things you just never think about in an ICE. And all that can be done without charging any faster. After all, on longer trips you want to stop and eat every four or five hours. So after 250 miles you will want to stop for an hour or so.

The destination chargers need to be a lot more plentiful. I don't know who first said it, but the rule of EVs is ABC, Always Be Charging. So if you go shopping at the mall, it would be great if they had a bunch of destination chargers so you could plug in and get 10 or 20% charge while your car waits. This part of the charging equation needs a lot of work. Destination chargers are not nearly as common as they should be.

For now charging at home is the best option. If you can get your employer to install one of the three possible charging options (Tesla destination charger, J1772 charger or a NEMA 14-50 outlet) you will be golden as well even only driving to work three days a week.