Jack up the fees please!!!!

[tga]

They DO have the data!

And you don't. You have no idea if these are local owners or not, where they came from, where they are going to, what their SOC charge was when they arrived/left, how long they stayed plugged in, etc. IMHO, your detective skills are a bit lacking.

You only know some people are walking away (which, frankly, is intended, else every SC would be built 10mi from any services and the car would stop charging if the driver left the vehicle), and some people are returning after shopping.

Dare I say, this might warrant a "lighten up, Francis!" comment.

 

[Az_Rael]

I don't know - if 5 spots changed hands while the OP was there, I say the new fee structure is probably working. That was half of the stalls turning over in 30-60 minutes (depending on how long the OP charged), so even if folks were coming back loaded with shopping bags, they were returning to their cars relatively promptly.

 

[Reeler]

Couldn't agree more....

I've done the math, my local SC rate is still actually cheaper than home charging. I'd like to see a rate structure that geofences a MUCH higher rate (say 5X) for all SC's within a 50 mile radius of ones home address.

If you think it's bad now.... wait 18 months.

I think that is a good idea. Maybe 5x when you are withing 10 miles, 4x for 50 miles, 3x for 100 miles, 2x for 500, and 1x for 1000 miles.

 

[Ohm it]

I think that is a good idea. Maybe 5x when you are withing 10 miles, 4x for 50 miles, 3x for 100 miles, 2x for 500, and 1x for 1000 miles.

Totally disagree....thats not we all signed up for. May as well stick with my gas vehicle.

If you use most of charge and then have to head out of town and need a full charge, that takes 8+ hours at home.... they just need to
follow thru with adding SC's in timely fashion. No problem with idle fees...

If its too inconvenient, or they jack up the cost structure, I would sell it and drive a nice german car whose features all work as advertised.

 

[TexasEV]

Totally disagree....thats not we all signed up for. May as well stick with my gas vehicle.

If you use most of charge and then have to head out of town and need a full charge, that takes 8+ hours at home.... they just need to
follow thru with adding SC's in timely fashion. No problem with idle fees...

If its too inconvenient, or they jack up the cost structure, I would sell it and drive a nice german car whose features all work as advertised.

I don't understand your scenario. How often does someone drive around town all day and then head out of town, not having time to charge their car at home? Seems uncommon to me. Even If it happens, for most trips the supercharger stop would be on their way, not at the start of their trip.

Sounds like driving an EV isn't a priority for you

 

[rxlawdude]

I'm confused as to why the OP expects all owners who are Supercharging to stay in their cars.

That's against the whole paradigm of getting out of the car, stretching, eating, and honoring the call of nature.

Maybe instead of attendants, we should just have Tesla put Port-a-Potties adjacent to the Superchargers, with barbed wire fencing to keep us from leaving the vicinity?

 

[mknox]

I don't understand your scenario. How often does someone drive around town all day and then head out of town, not having time to charge their car at home? Seems uncommon to me. Even If it happens, for most trips the supercharger stop would be on their way, not at the start of their trip.

While I haven't had a problem with this yet, it was quite common for me to get home from work (100 mile round-trip) then pack the car to head to the lake house 125 miles away on a Friday afternoon. In my case, there is a Supercharger about 50miles from my house on the way where I could stop and have supper.

 

[spirrevipp]

In post #3 in this thread the OP says what he considers the problem is, locals who charge without needing it just because the charger is there. Not staying with the car is not really the issue. I certainly expect pretty much everyone to stretch their legs, hit the can and get something to eat while they wait. My opinion is that if you don't need to charge it is pretty rude to make someone wait 20-30 minutes (or even more) before they can start their charge. Why not just park in a regular space if you don't need to charge?

Most of us paid for the Supercharging when we bought our cars, but those Superchargers are for all of us so please be considerate with local charging - use it, don't abuse it. No problem using a local charger if you actually need to charge.

 

[Electric700]

so I stop off at Oxnard because I need a charge to continue from LA to Santa Barbara and I see this... every car empty. How many are actually traveling, and how many are just out for a Sunday shop at the mall??? I guess I've read about this plenty, but my first such experience. I'm sure some are legit, but not all. People are jerks.

As you said, some or most of those may be legitimately charging. With more people purchasing Teslas (a good thing), it follows that the Superchargers will be used more. Locations at or near capacity should be the first candidates to have new Supercharger connectors added. The next generation Superchargers will also help with this problem.

To me, having them at malls is a good idea. Charge while you shop or eat. If people are letting their cars sit for 10 minutes+ after their charging sessions have completed, then they should not only get notifications on their phones but also get messages in their cars in addition to incurred fees.

 

[ShockOnT]

I just don't get your lack of logic and compassion. Super chargers were intended to support distance charging. I guess Tesla made a mistake putting some near shopping, because there are so many "me only" people out there. What you have just posted confirms this to me: yep, be realistic... people are not nice.

I disagree.

There is a lot of appeal in the idea of free juice for life, and that's what attracted many people to Tesla. I can't tell you how many people I've spoken to who are amazed that the fuel is 'free'. I still think Tesla should have tried hard to keep this feature somehow, as it's so paradigm-shifting and differentiating. Psychology is a funny thing, and I still get a kick out of getting $2 worth of electricity for free in my $144K car at the local shopping centre's destination charger ($AUD).

It's a very civilized life to be able to refill ones car while doing the weekly shopping, and in a perfect world every parking spot would have charging facilities and there'd be no congestion issues (other than the usual lack of parking of any kind

Also, don't forget that it has made financial sense for Tesla to offer 'free' charging, because the up-front price meant they were able to raise capital quickly (about $2000, either as an option or including in car price) and only pay it back over many many years in the form of electricity.

The problem of congestion could be solved by people moving their cars when done charging (which @DHG. was happy to do), or by many other solutions (eg. mass HPWCs, more SCs, other nearby SCs so travelers had an alternative etc).

 

[sorka]

I also wouldn't be surprised for Tesla to rescind the "idle fee only when busy" policy, because Tesla doesn't have any way to track which charging spots are actually available. Any spots that are ICEd, not working, or have their access blocked - can't be detected by Tesla. Plus, they really need to get everyone trained to charge - and disconnect quickly.

They'll know if there are multiple Tesla's at the supercharger location not charging and having not charged which can only mean the stalls that aren't charging either don't work or are blocked so they can't be accessed.

 

[AlanSqB]

A button on the display that changes the tone of the texts to all users currently at that supercharger with > a certain percentage charge:

"A fellow Tesla driver would like to use one of the Supercharger stalls where your car is currently located. Currently your vehicle has charged to 80% capacity. Please be courteous, and avoid fees, by moving your vehicle out of the charging space as soon as possible."

"A fellow Tesla driver has been waiting X minutes for an available stall where your vehicle is currently located..."

"Hey buddy! That fellow Tesla driver is now pretty pissed off and waiting next to your car to give you a lecture about Supercharger etiquette."

 

[tomas]

For those unhappy about my detective work... may I add that I stop at this SC every time I do a round trip to LA (a topoff is necessary to get home. In a sample of about 10 times, There have never been more than a few cars there during all of my other stops on weekdays. Then, on a Sunday afternoon, it is FULL and 10 out of 10 people I see during 45 minutes are either leaving or returning to their car from shopping. Oh, and all local plates. So, sure... a few of these might have been on a long distance drive. But I don't think the majority. Maybe none.

And, judging from response on this thread, that's not a surprise. About 1/3 of those responding say it is their right to charge at the mall even if they don't need it, after all they paid for it. I just hope that every single one of those people someday has to wait for locals during a road trip or a long drive. When the shoe is on the other foot, I'm guessing they will understand my post.

 

[rxlawdude]

On the tesla.com forum, I suggested that Tesla update the firmware such that when connected to a Supercharger, after charging is complete to turn on the vehicle's flashers.
Otherwise, there's no way to tell if a specific Tesla is charging or idle. And the light display would be sort of a "badge of shame" for the abusers. (Like flashing "I'm an inconsiderate lout!")

 

[AlanSqB]

...and roll your seat all the way up and force you to roll it back manually.
...and force you to listen to only elevator music on the Slacker for the next hour.

 

[apacheguy]

All plugged in as far as I could see. Problem is that most (if not all) of them were locals out for Sunday afternoon at the mall, and because they have a Tesla and because there are super chargers there, they plugged in. Not because they need a charge. While there I saw 5 spots change hands. Every departure was people with full shopping bags. Every arrival was people who immediately lit out for the mall... some of them with empty reusable cloth bags.


Very crappy idea to put super chargers at malls.

I have done shopping there while waiting for my car to charge. Yes, I was road tripping. I'm not local.

 

[Lloyd]

I agree with other posters that I would like to see Tesla charging for electricity for Everyone within 50 to 100 miles of your home. We have the technology, we can do it!!

 

[artsci]

View attachment 212473 so I stop off at Oxnard because I need a charge to continue from LA to Santa Barbara and I see this... every car empty. How many are actually traveling, and how many are just out for a Sunday shop at the mall??? I guess I've read about this plenty, but my first such experience. I'm sure some are legit, but not all. People are jerks.

Never underestimate the selfishness and incivility of others, even some Tesla owners. This is proof of concept.

 

[apacheguy]

I agree with other posters that I would like to see Tesla charging for electricity for Everyone within 50 to 100 miles of your home. We have the technology, we can do it!!

Why? I have charged here before on a road trip. Just because it's within 100 miles doesn't mean I don't need to stop here while returning from a trip.

 

[jeffro01]

Why? I have charged here before on a road trip. Just because it's within 100 miles doesn't mean I don't need to stop here while returning from a trip.

There in lies why the "permitter" concept will never work. You can't penalize someone for using a "local" SC on their way back from a trip because they needed the extra juice to make it home. That would be ridiculously unfair. Tesla has the data and knows what's going on so far as who's charging where, how long, and how frequent. You could easily build a machine learning model after that to feed in what you're ideal circumstances are, let the computer do the work to create the policy for you...

I agree the fees are nearly high enough given the income levels of the average owner. I expect you'll see them increase at specific spots as Tesla learns what does, and does not, work. In the mean time they're figuring this out as they go, just like the rest of us. Because of that, you should expect some bumps for awhile until it's all sorted out.

Jeff