I've just been way too busy to post a final summary of my situation. But it speaks directly to this. My intention was to eventually post a message to Elon and GeorgeB about my ordeal as well. (They actually did get involved during it because at one point I asked them for advice). I think they would be very interested. I see them, esp. Elon being very focused on eliminating, one by one, all the reasons that people can't or won't buy an electric car.
Great looks? Check.
Great performance? Check.
Very usable range options? Check.
Long distance travel? Check.
Quick refill? Check.
Worries about battery longevity and warranty? Check.
Worries about long term value of the vehicle? Check.
Working with states that require dealers? Working on it.
The one they havent addressed is the ability for people to charge in dense urban settings - i.e. having charging capabilities in shared garage situations.
While Tesla has made the EV more than just an urban vehicle, it is still at its core a wonderful option for urbanites. But many urbanites in large cities (or city centers) live in multi-unit dwellings with shared garages. The options to get charging are two: either the building/garage installs shared charging stations for residents use or petition the building managers to install their own. For residences, this usually means working with the HOA.
In scenarios similar to the old "satellite dish" fights, many HOAs still resist allowing residents to install their own charging. And if they dont want to install shared stations (or simply dont have the parking spaces to allocate), then this precludes anyone in the building from considering an EV.
In my case, there were no spaces to allocate. The only non-assigned spaces were those that were mandated to be ADA accessible, so we could not use any of those. I had a proposal in hand from Ecotality to get up to 4 Blink stations installed for the community at no cost. All we had to do was find the spaces to put them and we couldn't. So, my only recourse was to pursue a personal outlet/station at my parking spaces. So I put in a request to the HOA. Sadly, the HOA had been run by very risk averse, EV skeptics who, I've learned simply didnt' want to open the door to such a request.
They threw everything in terms of arguments at me:
- "I heard these cars explode and we can't take that risk"
- "EVs aren't an established form of transport yet and we can't support every odd form of transport out there, i.e. what if someone wants to put a CNG refilling station at their spot"
- "If we allow you to install an outlet at your space, it might set the precedent to allow someone to install a car wash at their spot"
I worked with them for 15 months to give me lots of lead time knowing that I would eventually place an order for the MS. (I already had a Volt, but because my wife had charging capability at work and it had the range extender, we didn't require charging at home) But because of their intransigence, I had to delay my order for the MS. While I was investigating, they were cooperating with me and being positive.
It was only when I made what was my original final proposal that they put those arguments up against me. It was at this point that I sent a long message to Elon and GeorgeB for their advice and both responded. THey put me in touch with Walter Franck who helped me try to refine my proposal to address their "concerns". I requested (and did finally get) a special Board session to re-visit my revised proposal. I had them agree to let me conference in Walter during the special session. But during the session, when the topic turned to "explosions" and "viability of EVs" I tried to conference him in, and they flatly refused me saying "We don't want to talk to you Tesla salesman".
Fortunately for me, the Board did have one member appointed by the Declarant (since our building still had developer-owned units) who understood that EVs would be a big part of the future, whether they liked it or not, and likened this to the satellite dish fights of the past. He also referenced (which I directed him to) the laws passed in CA regarding the topic. (He noted efforts in CO to push for similar laws and expected them see more in other states). And as I had the support of several residents in attendance who learned of this ordeal, they did actually approve my request, with a list of stipulations including having a $1M umbrella policy, separate metering, and the charging solution must be UL approved, and the EVSE must have a physical on/off switch (highlighting their ignorance IMO). Furthermore, I'd have to have any future owner of my unit agree to sign a statement that they would follow the stipulations as well if I sold my unit. Their add'l stipulations cost me about $2000 more for my install (which was already high since my spaces were 300 linear feet from the nearest electrical room). But I followed them to the letter and got it installed, inspected by the city, and I've been using it for 3+ months.
Even after installation, they continued to hassle me about a couple of "issues" they had with it. All of which I fought and "won". They haven't bothered me in the last month, and I *think* we're past all of their hassling now. But at the last Board meeting where I went on record to tell them of how poorly I was treated in this, one of the Board members stated that my station will be the only one to be installed. That there "wasn't capacity to install any more". Which is complete BS. My contractor said t the time mine was installed they could support 4-6 more from the panel I'm on. And there's an additional panel because our garage is shared among 2 residential high rises. Their attitude is clear.
Anyways, this long post is still just a summary of my whole ordeal. And while I am happy to report that I now have charging capability for my MS and Volt, my point in this is that this is still a very significant barrier to EV adoption. Aside from the NADA wranglings, I'd argue it is now the largest one as Elon and team have done a great job of addressing most the others ahead of it.
So, I do hope that Elon will consider this barrier and choose to take it on. Its not just a matter of finding an electrician and getting it done like it is in your own garage. And a large block of potential EV buyers live in such communities.
- - - Updated - - -
When he posted this a few days back, my first reaction was Holy Unprintable!
But then I thought of our own situation (Arizona mode). Mom-in-law's place is always our go-to site in the Valley of the Sun (coming from 80 miles out). But she lives in a townhouse complex, and its parking lot has zero 120V 15A outlets, to say nothing of anything stouter. That means we'll be spinning our wheels there - no chance of recharging in PHX unless we hand out at Fashion Square Mall* and snag the TM storefront's charging site, or wander around the (still not open????) Tesla Service Center.
*And whatinell am I supposed to do in a shopping mall, fer cry-i? Yecch!
Anyway, I fear there are a lot more people than just Curt and us who are in similar boats.
For clarity, the Tesla storefront is in the Scottsdale Mall. It is open. They do have 2-3 70A chargers in the parking garage nearest the store. The PHX-area service center is open, but in a temp location in north central PHX (SR51 and 101). It will eventually move to permanent location in north Scottsdale (Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd).
Not to open a Chademo discussion here, but there are plenty of Chademo stations IN and around town. If there was an adapter, you'd be able to charge at any of them as well if you couldn't get charging at your M-I-L's garage. Works for a temp basis I suppose. But I'd understand wanting a real solution in her garage.
