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Hey Tesla, there is a need for that NEMA 14-30 adapter still!
- Thread starter supratachophobia
- Start date
davewill
Active Member
I hope you realize by following that logic, one should ALWAYS buy EVERYTHING that exists, because you might possibly "need" it. Money is finite. That's why there is this concept of "opportunity cost", where people in the real world with finite resources need to make decisions about what the chances are that they might actually have a need for something and if it is worth buying. Most people have a pretty good idea of what adapters they would actually make use of, and make their plans accordingly to what the charging situation is. And if they find that there is some adapter they do need, they can get it within a week, so it's not a huge need to spend hundreds of dollars to always have every adapter, at least half of which would never get used.
Better yet, Tesla has the sales data for how many 14-30's they've sold. That should give them some idea that if are selling at all, there is a market for them. Hopefully, that info paired with this very small polling sample is enough to cause them to revisit the question on if to produce them or not. I mean, this pole is saying that 70% people actually need an adapter. I'm sure Tesla could mate data they have on sample sizes on this forum to ownership as a whole to get a translated number that is more accurate. But I can't help but think that number isn't totally off.
None of that applies here. There are a finite amount of plugs you are going to encounter on a given continent, and the adapters themselves are almost as cheap as dirt, they just need to be manufactured. Even Elon claimed at the last big event "you should be able to charge from anywhere"
Even if it's 1%, and there are 150k Tesla's sold, that's 1500 people that want the thing. That just keeps scaling. 700k cars sold by the end of 2018? That 7000 people that wanted the adapter.
Ouch, my point exactly. And you did the math to really hit it home.
Since we are talking about a set of 10 adapters ($45 each, plus shipping), that's about $500. How wonderful for your station in life that you think an unnecessary $500 expense is "as cheap as dirt". If only everyone were that well off.
In addition to the cost of all the adapters , which would be an unnecessary expense for most Tesla owners, providing such a charging kit would be intimidating to most mainstream owners. It would imply a complexity that doesn't exist for most owners. If someone has a need for a particular adapter they should be able to buy it, without encountering a box full of "what is that?"Since we are talking about a set of 10 adapters ($45 each, plus shipping), that's about $500. How wonderful for your station in life that you think an unnecessary $500 expense is "as cheap as dirt". If only everyone were that well off.
Since we are talking about a set of 10 adapters ($45 each, plus shipping), that's about $500. How wonderful for your station in life that you think an unnecessary $500 expense is "as cheap as dirt". If only everyone were that well off.
In his weak defense, I've purchased the 5-20, 6-50, 14-30, 10-30, and made both a custom 5-20 to 5-15 adapter as well as a TT-30 to 14-30 adapter. I would not consider myself financially well off, but I have made a considerable investment to insure I can charge anywhere.
Fine, but you're an early adopter, not the typical Tesla owner going forward. I purchased them all too three years ago but I wouldn't want that to be required of everyone.
Fair point, but my adoption entry point (and yours) won't arguably change between 3 years ago, now, or for model 3 as it pertains to charging needs. In other words, I think we will always have two vying sides; the need to not overwhelm/confuse the owner with superfluous charging options (and added cost) and the need to provide proper charging means when required. Does every owner need the adapters we have? No, but they really do need to be made available for those that do.
However, it's silly to think we should include 10 or 8 or 6 of them with every car. Tesla did it right the first time and then for whatever reason(s), they backed away. This poll is all about bringing back the most needed one.
Since we are talking about a set of 10 adapters ($45 each, plus shipping), that's about $500. How wonderful for your station in life that you think an unnecessary $500 expense is "as cheap as dirt". If only everyone were that well off.
That's what Tesla is charging. No way it costs that much to manufacture at scale. It should cost little more than a common household plug. I also gave the solution for that above.
You want to talk about $500+ of unnecessary expense, go see what I think of the UMC. Completely unnecessary. Yet everyone fights for the reason for that thing to exist.
The UMC is the sacrificial lamb or the $800 gatekeeper to your $90k car. It might not be the charge cable you want, but it's the charge cable we need.
I'd be perfectly happen with the 24' UMC/HPWC cable being rolled up inside the trunk with auto-retraction with a collection of plugs, let's say coming out of the passenger side. Keep the driver side for supercharging.
I agree it wouldn't be necessary for most users. I don't agree that it would be overwhelming since it would come down to picking the one that matches the outlet on the wall. However, offering them separately is less overwhelming than not offering them. It was nice being told that a 14-50 made the most sense for me, but I had the option of using my dryer outlet, and I'd still get things charged overnight with plenty of time to spare on most days. I was able to buy the car and had almost three months to decide whether to install a 14-50 and I eventually did, but I felt comfortable ordering the car. I can't say for sure what would have happened otherwise, but I most likely would have put off buying the car until after I looked into getting an outlet installed, and my wife might have pushed me to get a different car before all that was done.
Factors to consider are that there are almost 400,000 reservations for the Model 3. Model 3 buyers are less likely to want to put in a new outlet than Model S buyers, but being told that an outlet might cost 2500 will be a deal breaker for some. We all know there will be a range of prices and that some will be tolerable, but when it turns out to be a deal breaker, nobody is going to call Tesla to tell them that a 14-30 might have changed things, because they won't know that it was ever an option or could be an option. They might be told explicitly by sales that a dryer outlet won't work.
All this means that a lack of demand (i.e. people asking for it) doesn't mean that people wouldn't buy it. Not offering it will cost sales. At the time it was dropped, Tesla had sold maybe 55,000 total Model S, so the volume was nowhere close to what they will need to support in the future. And finally, just because a person buys the car and doesn't buy a 14-30 doesn't mean the person would have bought the car had it not been an option. They want people to walk out of the showroom knowing that they already have a viable solution for charging, and have the option for an even better one.
On a related note...
I keep seeing round plugs at campgrounds and track venues. What's the V and A rating for those plugs? And what's the best option for Model S charging at such locations? The look something like this:
Amazon.com : Conntek Locking Adapter with 30 Amp 125 Volt Male Plug To 15/20 Amp Straight Blade Female Connector : Locking Plug Converter : Sports & Outdoors
I think the round ones are twist lock but I don't know the specs. I know there is a TT-30 which is a RV hookup found at camp grounds. It runs at 30amp but is only 110v. I used a 14-30 on my adapter so I wouldn't have to manually dial down the car or possibly forget to do so. Car doesnt care about volts, only amps.
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