Improving Supercharger Availability $0.40 idle fee

[S4WRXTTCS]

At least one person has said that they have already gotten a notification that idle charges would apply.

Yeah, it looks like the warning has been implemented on the app. But, I'm curious if the entire system is in place. The next time I supercharge I'll probably purposely incur a small idling fee just to test it out. If it's late at night, and I'm not blocking someone of course.

The blog post on Tesla doesn't give an indication of time frame. So it appears to be effective immediately.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

You get a very, very small pass because you wrote you receive your Tesla next week. Those who have had their vehicles for longer have known from the get-go SpC sites are charging sites; they never were, aren't and never will be parking sites.

Way to go popping "dislikes" as a newbie onto forum Moderators. And welcome to TMC.

That's almost as bad as when someone gives ingineer a dislike.

 

[Larry]

Having been in both congested SC situations and empty SCs I understand people's bitch about trying to make it based on density. But they are CHARGING stations not parking spots. You just have to plan. If you want to nap set an alarm.

 

[MP3Mike]

Yeah, it looks like the warning has been implemented on the app. But, I'm curious if the entire system is in place. The next time I supercharge I'll probably purposely incur a small idling fee just to test it out. If it's late at night, and I'm not blocking someone of course.

Thanks! Of course they don't say where you can see your idle charge balance, so you may have to stop at a service center to find out. And of course they will probably have no clue about the whole thing, how to see your balance, or have you pay for it.

 

[keytalker]

I haven't visited the Supercharger site too many times, so I don't know whether it's possible to change charge current when charing there. If that's the case, people still limit the charing current if they really want to be low.

 

[ev-now]

Also, I think if Tesla is not doing it for money, they should apply this only when all functional stalls at the location are in use. Surely they have this info.

Problem with that approach is your not training people. This is training people to use and vacate (just as they do with a gas pump, as Tesla says) - the argument applies for many gas stations (more pumps that often in concurrent use), but we still don't park on the pump for a couple of hours while wandering the stores.

As an owner in CO who has visited the Park Meadows stalls three times just to charge once via Supercharger (there's a theory out of a european study that this is actually good for battery longevity) - I find this to be a shoppers parking lot. All stalls full (some taken by Tesla store, but not all - by policy obviously), every time.

Personally I see few Tesla owners being phased by $2 for 5 minutes, or worse $6 for 15 minutes. I think there should be two factors at play - length left - it should ramp from 0.40c if you stay there - I'd double it every 5 minutes. Distance from home that the vehicle is - you should only be allowed to go to 90% if you are within (say) 50 miles of home. There are various reasons some will argue with that, but the bottom line is that the system was intended to address range anxiety and facilitate long distance travel - so the policies should drive that behavior.

Of course the notifications need to be 100% (app and text please) - app can ask for acknowledgement and get progressively louder and more obnoxious if it doesn't get an acknowledgement.

And as others said, this is clearly ahead of a potentially large influx of M3 in the not toooooo distant future - train the existing customers before the new ones get there.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

I haven't visited the Supercharger site too many times, so I don't know whether it's possible to change charge current when charing there. If that's the case, people still limit the charing current if they really want to be low.

There is no way to change the charge current when using the direct DC charging like the Supercharger. You can only change the charge current when using the onboard charger.

You can however change the charge limit.

I'll likely change the charge current limit to 100% to give me a greater buffer. I'll still charge to 90% most of the time, but I just will manually stop it. Versus not worrying about it.

 

[YBT]

I think the idea is good in principle. Hopefully Tesla tweak it to 10min/20c per minute ($12ph/$288pd) which offers more flexibility for variance in SC charge rates & proximity to amenities while still offering the same improvements to SC congestion.

 

[Screwbal]

They need to fix their app on android so it actually sends notifications before they start this. The current version doesn't give any notifications for summon or charge start/end and multiple people have reported the same.

 

[ohmman]

This change is going to inconvenience me slightly, just as it will many honest travelers. There are times when I'm at a restaurant, and the bill has come, and we're waiting on the check. The car might be a 10 minute walk, and I get the notification that it's done. I'll often wait for the check and get back to the car afterwards.

There will be times when it seems absurd. Superchargers vacant except for my car, and me hurrying back to it to find that my solo car is about to start charging. Or, leaving a hotel room in the morning and topping off before I go (of course didn't park there overnight, we never did). Zipping up my bag and I realize the car's done charging. I have to run down, unplug, run back up and get my bag to check out.

All of those inconvenient and absurd times mean nothing compared to the times I'm trying to get home and see my kids, and there's a line at the Supercharger because someone values their time more than the rest of the Tesla community.

That sounds fair, and I love it.

 

[siucity]

Is no one upset about this?

I've maybe seen another tesla once or twice at a SC. This rule will not effect me, but it should be after SC is full. Easy to monitor.

Also I'm assumeing you can not schedule charging?

Scheduling charging at a Supercharger was never an option.

Also how will this stop a tesla or any other EV or ice from parking there and not plugging in?

It doesn't.

For a hotel for example, I could park there assuring a spot and plug in when I wake up 1.5 hours before check out.

So you're going to park at the Supercharger spot all night just so you have that spot when you wake up?

 

[number12]

Can some please answer if I start climate (for example the sleeping in the car example) wouldn't you be losing charge and have to "recharge"? Or burn a lot of heat once I get the fully charged notification if my power will go down enough to give me more time?

 

[number12]

So you're going to park at the Supercharger spot all night just so you have that spot when you wake up?

Im not but people who abuse will continue to abuse. Punishing 90% for 10% mistake is just weird at empty SCers

 

[5thumbs]

If you set to charge at 90% and need a few minutes more to return to your car, you may be able to just increase the charging level to 95% and that will give you plenty of time to return to your car.

 

[MP3Mike]

Can some please answer if I start climate (for example the sleeping in the car example) wouldn't you be losing charge and have to "recharge"? Or burn a lot of heat once I get the fully charged notification if my power will go down enough to give me more time?

I assume that the Supercharger would provide that power so your battery would stay at the set charge level, you would no longer be charging, and would be subject to the idle fees.

 

[siucity]

Can some please answer if I start climate (for example the sleeping in the car example) wouldn't you be losing charge and have to "recharge"? Or burn a lot of heat once I get the fully charged notification if my power will go down enough to give me more time?

I don't have an answer for your question, but I'm hoping anyone who's awake to turn on the heater will just move the car.

 

[MP3Mike]

Im not but people who abuse will continue to abuse. Punishing 90% for 10% mistake is just weird at empty SCers

No it isn't. It gets you trained to always move your car when it is done. Vs. you having to think about if the other stalls might be in use so you might have to go move it. You just know that you always have to go move it, and it becomes a natural part of your Supercharging routine.

 

[number12]

Ok last question. At a SC can you click stop charge on app? Hence not being fully charged

Or set charge limit to 70% then moving it up slowly every time you get alert?

Just seeing if there work arounds to buy you time?

 

[MP3Mike]

Ok last question. At a SC can you click stop charge on app? Hence not being fully charged

Or set charge limit to 70% then moving it up slowly every time you get alert?

Just seeing if there work arounds to buy you time?

I suspect they really mean that idle time is exactly that, any time you are "idle": plugged in to a Supercharger and not actively charging. Maybe the 5 minute grace period is cumulative for the entire time you are plugged in. So if after being idle 3 minutes you up the charge level to start charging again, then after 3 more minutes of being idle you up it again, and then you leave you would be charged for 6 minutes, $2.40, since you were idle for 6 minutes during that Supercharger session.

Just stop with the planning on how you are going to abuse the Superchargers and just move your car when it is done charging, or Tesla will just have to make the system more complicated and punitive.

 

[ElectricTundra]

The gas station analogy falls flat. It takes about 5 minutes to fill up a gas tank but 30-70 minutes to fill up a battery. I don't mind standing around for 5 minutes filling up with gas but will typically have dinner while charging. Totally different scenarios.

If all stalls are full then I don't mind hiking back in the middle of dinner to move my car so someone else can charge. But doing so in the middle of dinner with my family when there are empty stalls is insane. And when this interrupts dinner for 20 minutes because it's a 15 minute hike to the car, for no good reason, is ludicrous.

This changes the dynamic of Tesla road trips. Road trips work now because charging and eating can largely overlap. Charging dictates a bit about where and when we stop but we make it work (though some of the restaurant options are rather lacking). This pushes it in to another realm if dinners are interrupted on top of it.