I will use the supercharge stations anywhere Tesla wants to build them. However hotels are open all night long and they are often much cleaner than your typical gas station. Just completed a road trip from Salt Lake City to Seattle and back and it was great to drive the Tesla and leave the old gas burner home in the garage.
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New Supercharger expansion model?
- Thread starter ModelNforNerd
- Start date
Red Sage
The Cybernetic Samurai
Assuming it hasn't been copyrighted/trademarked by TA yet, 'travel centers' works well. They'll probably still be called 'gas stations' long after no one, anywhere, is purchasing gasoline in volume. No matter the type of 'fuel', as long as overall range is less than 600 miles, these types of places will still be necessary on the open road. Once again, they make their 'real money' off of the convenience items they sell. The fuel offered is of no consequence, beyond being a reason for Customers to stop. The need for food, drinks, and lavatories is not going away. But with the longer refueling times for electric vehicles, there may also be a need for a lounge as well. Even that possibility is likely to go away once recharging can be done in less than 15 minutes. So, yeah... It would be good business for existing highway vehicle service centers to make way for traveling electric cars as well. I doubt many will be that smart.
SpiceWare
Member
Chuq
Active Member
Another .02c : Convenience Stores ( note the distinction) are in the business of selling all of the highly marked up product on the shelves inside. They are usually linked with a gas brand via a franchise agreement. Even corporate stations are making more money on the inside products than the few cents per gallon that our market economy enforces on gas prices.
I can think of just a handful of old fashioned Service Stations with gas pumps , let alone Gas Stations , that I've been to in the thousands of miles I've driven in the past ten to 15 years.
So think of putting a SC adjoining a convenience store as a step towards having a Convenience store, open 24/7 where EVs can charge. The Store is there to make more $, the 'fuel' for ICE vehicles is gas/diesel, for EV's electricity (of course) is a very minor revenue stream on the greater scheme of their business plan.
I can think of just a handful of old fashioned Service Stations with gas pumps , let alone Gas Stations , that I've been to in the thousands of miles I've driven in the past ten to 15 years.
So think of putting a SC adjoining a convenience store as a step towards having a Convenience store, open 24/7 where EVs can charge. The Store is there to make more $, the 'fuel' for ICE vehicles is gas/diesel, for EV's electricity (of course) is a very minor revenue stream on the greater scheme of their business plan.
That seems to be the consensus feeling here that we all want to see Tesla gravitate towards:
Something open 24/7 that's safe, lit up, has restrooms, and sundries. I don't think it much matters whether it's a traditional gas station chain that decides to expand their offerings into EV, or if it's just a "regular" convenience store (i.e. doesn't currently sell gas) that just puts a charger in their parking lot.
While we all eagerly anticipate Tesla Secret Master Plan v2..... I'm wondering if maybe there's a nod to this in it.
Will Elon advocate for the new Tesla/Solar City entity to either partner with an existing chain (or chains), or forage off on their own to build an EV charging station/rest area/convenience store chain.....?
hhmmmm...... (the smart money here, IMO, would be to partner with someone existing. Let them worry about land deals and supply chain issues keeping the stores stocked, Tesla/SC can worry about the EV charging solutions)
I stopped at two different Sheetz on my way to Virginia yesterday. First was an in & Out stop for a soda & restroom break. the second was fuel & dinner , all told I was there for about 15 minutes between fueling and getting my food. I hopped right back on the highway after that. I did stop at a rest area about 10 miles down the road because I didn't want to loiter too long, the store was very busy. If I combined the rest area stop with the food/fuel break it was 30-40 minutes.
Any convenience store will need better longer term parking for SC use if they go with that model.
Any convenience store will need better longer term parking for SC use if they go with that model.
swengl
Member
I guess I tend to have a more pragmatic view: if given the choice between no SuperChargers at all and having an SC at an existing gas station, I would definitely take having one at a gas station. Of course the hope is that, eventually, the filling stations will expand their EV charging and pull out the gas tanks 
Latest video from Fully Charged Vlog
Talks about developing the FastNed charging network in Holland
Talks about developing the FastNed charging network in Holland
Chuq
Active Member
Interesting, taking a look at the Fastned page:
Fastned Founders Club
It seems to be a "Help fund us upfront and you get free lifetime usage" arrangement. Kind of like Tesla superchargers
I guess I tend to have a more pragmatic view: if given the choice between no SuperChargers at all and having an SC at an existing gas station, I would definitely take having one at a gas station. Of course the hope is that, eventually, the filling stations will expand their EV charging and pull out the gas tanks
I'm in the same boat. If a traditional gas station is forward-thinking enough to build out EV infrastructure, I'll use them if I have to.
If it's non-Tesla Level 3 charging, I'd only use it in an emergency, but isn't that pretty similar to what many of us do in ICEs now?
I've been known to drive across town because gas is $.10/gal cheaper over there. But if I'm on a trip and my idiot light is on, I'm more inclined to pay the prevailing rate in that immediate area.
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