Local Supercharging: Yea or Nay?

[oktane]

A bullet point on a Spec page is hardly "abundantly clear" although thank you for taking the time to find this.

Regardless, in no way was Tesla peddling the feature exclusively for long-distance travel to the media or the vast majority of its customers.

When I purchased my car, my understanding, and I'm sure many others were lead to believe we were buying Free Unlimited use of the supercharger network.

That means:
-all you can charge, anytime, anywhere
-no idle fees
-no restrictions
-no charge shaming

That was part of the "charm" of purchasing a Tesla and being an early adopter at a premium price. If they want to change that model for subsequent sales starting 1/1/2017 (or thereabouts) that is fine by me. But Tesla should honor what it promoted to us early adopters.

 

[sdorn]

A bullet point on a Spec page is hardly "abundantly clear" although thank you for taking the time to find this.

Regardless, in no way was Tesla peddling the feature exclusively for long-distance travel to the media or the vast majority of its customers.

When I purchased my car, my understanding, and I'm sure many others were lead to believe we were buying Free Unlimited use of the supercharger network.

That means:
-all you can charge, anytime, anywhere
-no idle fees
-no restrictions
-no charge shaming

That was part of the "charm" of purchasing a Tesla and being an early adopter at a premium price. If they want to change that model for subsequent sales starting 1/1/2017 (or thereabouts) that is fine by me. But Tesla should honor what it promoted to us early adopters.

There is also the fact that Tesla sent notes to people that were using superchargers for local charging telling them to stop way back in 2015, and it got a good bit of press coverage and a lengthy thread on TMC.

Tesla Sends Out Supercharger Abuse Emails - Model S Owners Not Impressed

Supercharging - Elon's statement that Daily Supercharging Users are Receiving Notes

 

[Veritas1980]

1. Yes, of course.

2. Yes in the case that I'm not inconveniencing any travelers who need to move on quickly.
In the beginning I didn't have a charger at work or at home, so I used the nearby supercharger a couple of times a week. It's not highly used and I always made sure that it got moved as soon as I was done or if travelers needed to charge. I have no moral scruples over this, since it's paid through the car and nobody has been troubled over this.

Having said that, I would much rather charge at home, much more convenient even though it will cost me more. But as a inner city condo dweller, you sometimes have to be an enthusiast to drive an EV. Hopefully it will change with more chargers in parking spaces over time, eliminating the need to drive somewhere to "fill it up".

 

[Dborn]

Yes to both.

 

[deonb]

When I purchased my car, my understanding, and I'm sure many others were lead to believe we were buying Free Unlimited use of the supercharger network.

And that argument is the reason it no longer exists.

 

[mspohr]

There is also the fact that Tesla sent notes to people that were using superchargers for local charging telling them to stop way back in 2015, and it got a good bit of press coverage and a lengthy thread on TMC.

Tesla Sends Out Supercharger Abuse Emails - Model S Owners Not Impressed

Supercharging - Elon's statement that Daily Supercharging Users are Receiving Notes

Yes. That was after I purchased my car and I was offended about the change in terms.

 

[JohnnyG]

Scenario 1 - How does this happen? How can you charge the car overnight, then drive it long enough to be "low on charge" and still have a full day ahead of you of driving?

It happens extremely easily, just not to everyone, but that doesn't make it a lie or unheard of scenario.
Here's one such scenario.... I charge to 90% at night (yes, I could go to 100%, but trying not to degrade my battery). I live on the outskirts of a metropolis, however, my place of employment is over 40 miles out in the country. My place of employment has absolutely no EV charging stations. At 3:30pm, I drive back towards the city, and then across to the absolute other side of the city to pick-up my daughter (over 50 miles). Then we drive to her extracurricular activities which are over 20 miles away. From there we drive back to her mother's place, over 25 miles away. And then I head home, which is over 20 miles away. In total, we're looking at 170 miles. That's assuming we don't need to run any errands while we are out, or head to her favorite place for dinner, or pretty much anything else outside of our necessary routine. I live in the Midwest, where the winters majorly decrease your range. This gets me home with maybe 2% battery left. Yep.... I made it... hooray! But it sure would be nice to grab a few extra miles of buffer, without ridicule.

 

[sdorn]

It happens extremely easily, just not to everyone, but that doesn't make it a lie or unheard of scenario.
Here's one such scenario.... I charge to 90% at night (yes, I could go to 100%, but trying not to degrade my battery). I live on the outskirts of a metropolis, however, my place of employment is over 40 miles out in the country. My place of employment has absolutely no EV charging stations. At 3:30pm, I drive back towards the city, and then across to the absolute other side of the city to pick-up my daughter (over 50 miles). Then we drive to her extracurricular activities which are over 20 miles away. From there we drive back to her mother's place, over 25 miles away. And then I head home, which is over 20 miles away. In total, we're looking at 170 miles. That's assuming we don't need to run any errands while we are out, or head to her favorite place for dinner, or pretty much anything else outside of our necessary routine. I live in the Midwest, where the winters majorly decrease your range. This gets me home with maybe 2% battery left. Yep.... I made it... hooray! But it sure would be nice to grab a few extra miles of buffer, without ridicule.

That isn't the scenario described by the OP. He said he had a "full day of driving" ahead of him when he was already "low on charge". Your scenario is using a full charge as part of a "full day of driving". Not the same thing, and your scenario is probably a pretty typical use case for any EV. Also, I was and am ok with local supercharging if you need the additional range because you've driven around all day and still have trips to make but no charge to make them. That is a perfectly valid use of supercharging in my book, but not what the OP described in his scenario.

 

[mspohr]

That isn't the scenario described by the OP. He said he had a "full day of driving" ahead of him when he was "low on charge". Your scenario is merely using a full charge as part of a "full day of driving". Not the same thing, and probably a pretty typical use case for any EV. Also, I was and am ok with local supercharging if you need the additional range because you've driven around all day and still have trips to make but no charge to make them. That is a perfectly valid use of supercharging in my book, but not what the OP described in his scenario.

It really doesn't matter what the scenario is... stuff happens. People who were sold "unlimited supercharging" should be able to use it whenever they want without having to make up an excuse.
(And, yes, we were sold unlimited supercharging in spite of Tesla's attempts to limit it after the sale.)

 

[sdorn]

It really doesn't matter what the scenario is... stuff happens. People who were sold "unlimited supercharging" should be able to use it whenever they want without having to make up an excuse.
(And, yes, we were sold unlimited supercharging in spite of Tesla's attempts to limit it after the sale.)

You may be right with respect to purchases made back in 2014 or earlier, but for at least the last ~2 years it has been clear that superchargers were intended for long distance travel.

 

[mspohr]

You may be right with respect to purchases made back in 2014 or earlier, but for at least the last ~2 years it has been clear that superchargers were intended for long distance travel.

It's clear that Tesla "intended" superchargers to facilitate long distance travel. It's also clear that they sold "unlimited supercharger access".
The bottom line is that I don't feel any guilt about using superchargers any time I want (and, of course, I am conscious of proper sc etiquette).
(Which part of "unlimited" don't you understand.)

 

[Merrill]

I do not really understand why locals cannot use the superchargers when they need some juice as long as you are not taking up a spot when someone is waiting. If I happen to drive north or south and do some errands or go out to the coast and I pass by the supercharger that is on my way home what is wrong with that. The two superchargers that are within 16 miles from my home never have more than a few stalls filled. We go to the Target or another store to shop and always come back to the car before it is finished charging. It is not about saving money it is about convience and making good use of your time.

 

[Gwgan]

1. Yes
2. Yes
Either way, you are using the charging spot; where you came from, where you are headed, and why you are there is irrelevant and nobody’s business.

 

[Max*]

-no idle fees

You can still have free unlimited lifetime supercharging, as long as you're supercharging, not superparking.


Also you got your car in 2016 (2017?), you're not an early adopter. People who paid $40k for vaporware in 2008/2009 and waited for 4 years to get their cars in 2012/2013 are early adopters.

 

[Gizmotoy]

It really doesn't matter what the scenario is... stuff happens. People who were sold "unlimited supercharging" should be able to use it whenever they want without having to make up an excuse.
(And, yes, we were sold unlimited supercharging in spite of Tesla's attempts to limit it after the sale.)

Agreed. "How does this happen?" Twice I had a full day of driving ahead of me and found out when I woke up that someone had unplugged my car overnight, once at home and once on the road at a hotel. Similarly, you could simply forget to plug in. Or you could eat up all your range in the morning and still have to drive in the afternoon.

 

[Chopr147]

It's clear that Tesla "intended" superchargers to facilitate long distance travel. It's also clear that they sold "unlimited supercharger access".

1) Of course
2) Of course

3) Of course I am in NY and it's usually not a problem.........yet. But the closest SC to me is also the service center with only 4 stalls and vehicles "charging" during service. This one gets busy at times due to the shortage of Superchargers in the area and 2 spots used up for service.
As to the scenario of running low and needing a charge: In the winter coming home from upstate I sometimes go straight to the SC. Then i'm good for the rest of the day.

 

[oktane]

Also you got your car in 2016 (2017?), you're not an early adopter. People who paid $40k for vaporware in 2008/2009 and waited for 4 years to get their cars in 2012/2013 are early adopters.

Sure, not as early as some of you I'm sure. But early enough to still feel the pains of an inadequate charging network.

I'm sure things will get better with time. Despite what others are saying, no one ever mentioned to me that supercharging was restricted for long-distance travel. If that was the case, it's easy, JUST SAY SO BEFORE I BUY THE CAR AND DO IT IN WRITING!

Most of us here don't care to save $10-20 in electricity bills, it's meaningless. I rarely watch TV (too busy on the internet) but still pay for every channel because I like the freedom to do what I want without limit. I rarely use my Ipad cellular signal but pay for the unlimited plan on it despite hardly using 1GB every 6 months. Wasteful yes, but also makes me feel free.

 

[Max*]

Despite what others are saying, no one ever mentioned to me that supercharging was restricted for long-distance travel.

That's because it's not restricted to long distance travel

 

[oktane]

LOL. You know what I meant.

 

[Max*]

LOL. You know what I meant.

I do