Miles you expect to obtain from friends, destination chargers, etc. but not from Tesla Superchargers

[Missile Toad]

Answer only if you’ve owned your Tesla for 6 months or longer (all units in miles). Include informal charging from hotel wall-sockets and RV Parks' NEMA 14-50s — basically anything other than the Superchargers, and not in your house. For this question, please also exclude your main business address -- but count charging at business visits that are not your main office. In other words, I'm interested in the very occasional charges people make away from their daily routine.

In my first year of ownership, I’ve made about 30 visits to non-superchargers, to get about 1200 miles added to help me on my journeys. At least 5-6 visits were aborted charges because: a) charger wasn’t working; or b) charger wasn’t close to Tesla’s ‘up to’ numbers. I have never been ICEd out of a charging slot - though I did have to wait once, for an incumbent EV to vacate. If I were to estimate how many miles my trips were shortened by relying on the Destination Chargers, I would say I would have needed to drive another 800 miles to ‘tag up’ to Superchargers, had I not used these other chargers. So, if I think the car depreciates at $1/mi, then the informal alternative networks have saved me $800.

In the discussion, indicate if you think that you will be relying more or less on these other chargers (including the Tesla Wall Connectors) more heavily in the future, or if you think that the growth of the Supercharger network (as well as the 72kW Urban Chargers) will make your use of the alternatives diminish.

 

[JasJ]

~700 miles mostly at VRBO/AirBNB types of places, using 110v outlet and 240v dryer outlets.

 

[gabeincal]

I use destination chargers and Chargepoint quite often. Hard to judge, but probably around 5% of my mileage, which is about 600-800 miles.

 

[paulkva]

I voted 200-400, although I might've come close to 200 just in the past month -- I added ~150 in Pittsburgh and another ~40 in Durham. (And yes, I realize the survey is for the next year, not the past year.)

When I stay at most hotels I pick up 25-50 miles overnight on wall outlets, and when it's quiet at a local retail area with charging stations I'll plug in while shopping or eating, which typically only gives me 10-20 miles. In a typical year I'll take 2-5 road trips that involve hotels with wall outlets where I can charge; it's a nice supplement to supercharging.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Maybe I'm the oddball, but I never count miles that way. If I have a 50% charge and need 20% more to get where I'm going next, it's a mix of all different charge sources to get there. Do a lot of people keep track of miles added during every single charging session? That seems like an extreme time sink. I know apps like Teslafi can do it automatically, but after owning a Model S since 2014, I just never even think about tracking miles added for every single charge. I just charge enough to get where I'm going, and then go.

I guess I'm not clear on the objective of figuring out the total of all non-home, non-business, and non-supercharging miles?

Also, I can count on two hands the number of non-home, non-business, non-SC stops I've charged at in four years. And I've done several x-country (N+S that is) road trips.

 

[HankLloydRight]

If I were to estimate how many miles my trips were shortened by relying on the Destination Chargers, I would say I would have needed to drive another 800 miles to ‘tag up’ to Superchargers, had I not used these other chargers. So, if I think the car depreciates at $1/mi, then the informal alternative networks have saved me $800.

Does your equation figure in the additional time spent at L2 chargers? Were they all free? For me, that's the killer. You drove 800 less miles, but how much longer did you need to wait and charge? If only using L2 chargers overnight, does the cost of any additional hotel nights (compared to a supercharger-only route) figure into it also?

 

[hcsharp]

~700 miles mostly at VRBO/AirBNB types of places, using 110v outlet and 240v dryer outlets.

+1
My wife and I like to stay with AirBNB hosts and we've charged there on multiple occasions. We always check with them before booking to make sure we can use their dryer or other 240v outlet overnight and offer an extra $25 for the privelage. You'd be surprised more than half the places we ask will qualify. We travel with a 50' extension cord (#6AWG so no voltage drop). Usually the only issue is whether we can park within 70' of the outlet.

I've been driving my Roadster for almost 7 years now and have a lot of long trips under my belt. Roadsters are not capable of supercharging so all our long trips require creative planning. It's always a fun adventure. The Destination chargers have been a big help in the last couple years.

 

[jerry33]

There's no real way to answer this with any accuracy, because it depends on where you decide to go and how many trips you take.

A typical driving day on a trip using the SC network is:
1. Range charge at home (first day) or at a destination charger (other days).
2. Lunch stop at SC. Typically this won't be a full range charge but it will be more than just enough to get to the next charging stop.
3. Two or three SC stops charging only enough to get to the next charging stop.
4. Arrive at destination. If this is the final destination, then a daily charge. If traveling the next day, then it's a range charge.
5. If staying around the destination for several days, then each day would be a daily charge (not at an SC).
So each traveling day would have between 200 and 350 miles not at an SC based on a 650 mile traveling day. Range charges end close to the start of driving (and often they are not "charging complete" range charges).

 

[jerry33]

So, if I think the car depreciates at $1/mi, then the informal alternative networks have saved me $800.

I don't get this statement at all. At $1 per mile my car would be worth negative $17,000. I don't see how SCs or non-SC would make a lick of difference. As best I can tell there is just under 3% battery degradation in 4.5+ years (assuming you're talking about battery life).

 

[Missile Toad]

Does your equation figure in the additional time spent at L2 chargers? Were they all free? For me, that's the killer. You drove 800 less miles, but how much longer did you need to wait and charge?

I'm trying to only rely on the slower WCs, etc., when the charge time would shorten the overall trip time. I can only guess, that I'm correct, and actually save time 75% of the time (I used to be a pilot, so time/distance/refueling timing I tend to be OK at working out). For my most recent trip, the vacuum left by the complete-except-for-tie-to-the-grid Austin Supercharger, left me doing an overnight range-charge. Similarly, as a result of the planned-but-not-started College Station, TX Supercharger, I hunted for, and found probably the strongest WC in Texas (20kW output) -- which helped on my legs back and forth from Houston.

If I were to guess, I'm assuming I'll reduce my reliance on the non-Superchargers once these two planned chargers go in.

 

[Missile Toad]

I don't see how SCs or non-SC would make a lick of difference.

So, I'm slowly adjusting to the idea that the Model S has the potential to be a car that goes 300+ K miles, and might not depreciate, per marginal mile, quite as fast at 100K on the odometer. Having said that, perhaps the more effective fuel use starts to become more dominant. Still, 800 mi saved works out to only ~8 gallons of gasoline using the 103 MPG equivalent the EPA assigns to the car. So even that kind of savings is rather miniscule.

@jerry33, do you find that the annual checkups, tire replacements, etc., are substantially lower than comparable ICE -- given the mileage you've put on? Certainly, fuel expenses are comparatively small.

 

[Missile Toad]

I do get a chuckle knowing that I've had a refinery engineer, help me refuel my car in the past year. Additionally, I've had two gas station owner's let me charge off their circuits (one overnight). I do sense from these guys, that they see the wave coming -- namely, that gasoline will be phased-out for use in road transport.

 

[kort677]

for me this is an exercise in nonsense. I only use l2 units on overnight stops, they are just too slow to be used at any other part of a trip.

 

[Shock-On-T]

I've been ICEd out dozens of times, unfortunately, so hate relying on non-Superchargers. In Australia it's often necessary to use destination chargers or even municipal power outlets to go to the more remote areas.
Probably about 1000 miles a year I'll charge on non-SCs, about half of that is visiting family, and half is staying at hotels with DCs.

 

[hcsharp]

for me this is an exercise in nonsense. I only use l2 units on overnight stops, they are just too slow to be used at any other part of a trip.

Most people are like you in that they don't wait for L2 charging. Usually people stay overnight or during a meal or visit with relatives or...? That doesn't make this an exercise in nonsense.

The true exercise in nonsense is when I see people plugging in when they don't even need to. Wish I had that much free time.

 

[HankLloydRight]

I'm sorry, but what's a "WC"? A wall charger? Do you mean a typical chargepoint J1772/L2 charger at say 240v@20 to 30 amps, or a Tesla HPWC at 240v@40 to 80amps? If you mean the first, I think saying "L2" would be better, and if you mean the second, I think using "HPWC" would be clearer.

 

[Missile Toad]

I'm sorry, but what's a "WC"? A wall charger? Do you mean a typical chargepoint J1772/L2 charger at say 240v@20 to 30 amps, or a Tesla HPWC at 240v@40 to 80amps? If you mean the first, I think saying "L2" would be better, and if you mean the second, I think using "HPWC" would be clearer.

Tesla replaced the first generation High-Powered Wall Connector (HPWC) with a generation 2 Wall Connector (WC) -- very similar in capabilities. I'm thinking of all the slower chargers (there are so many types).

I'm seeing this as helpful in extending my S70Ds battery while we wait for the major interstates to be 100% covered for all driving conditions in Texas.

 

[kort677]

Most people are like you in that they don't wait for L2 charging. Usually people stay overnight or during a meal or visit with relatives or...? That doesn't make this an exercise in nonsense.

.

stay with relatives?
how many of your relatives have an l2 charger? the last trip I took to visit relatives was to chicago, I stayed in a hotel and utilized a parking garage with L2 chargers. a trip like that was an outlier. on the balance of the trip I depended on superchargers.
during a meal?
that 18 miles an hour or so that can be picked up is inconsequential. like I stated, when on a trip and I need to charge I use an SpC.
for me L2 units are used only for overnight or places where I am stopped for most of the day.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Tesla replaced the first generation High-Powered Wall Connector (HPWC) with a generation 2 Wall Connector (WC) -- very similar in capabilities. I'm thinking of all the slower chargers (there are so many types).

Ok, so this is still confusing. You say WC is the V2 Tesla charger, but then you say you mean slower L2 chargers. If that's what you mean, please say L2 or J1772 to distinguish from the usually higher powered Tesla chargers. It makes a big difference!

 

[jerry33]

So, I'm slowly adjusting to the idea that the Model S has the potential to be a car that goes 300+ K miles, and might not depreciate, per marginal mile, quite as fast at 100K on the odometer. Having said that, perhaps the more effective fuel use starts to become more dominant. Still, 800 mi saved works out to only ~8 gallons of gasoline using the 103 MPG equivalent the EPA assigns to the car. So even that kind of savings is rather miniscule.

@jerry33, do you find that the annual checkups, tire replacements, etc., are substantially lower than comparable ICE -- given the mileage you've put on? Certainly, fuel expenses are comparatively small.

Tire replacements are about the same assuming your alignment is correct. I've found it doesn't come correct from the factory probably because of being thrown out of alignment while in transit.

Annual checkups are the same as the last mid-size car I had (e.g. $600 / year with the prepaid plan). Perhaps slightly less because some hardware has been upgraded for no additional cost. But really the idea of cost justification seems odd because it implies that you are downgrading and the only reason to purchase is to save money. Switching to a Tesla is an upgrade, not a downgrade.

The 103 MPG EPA rating seems very conservative to me. From Perry SC to Ardmore SC this week. 58.8 mph average speed. Includes stop and go traffic in Oklahoma City.