Looks like Tesla may be working on new superchargers that aren't listed as "Coming Soon" on the map; see link and snippet below. They have these locations listed with finite dates to apply. Seems promising to me.
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New superchargers coming soon? Columbia & Charleston, SC
- Thread starter Jeremy3292
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I can’t imagine they would put one in Columbia anywhere other than the I-26 corridor…that is clearly a need as it traverses the entire state. The current one in Columbia services I-77 and Northeast Columbia and is nowhere near those coming down from Asheville and further north to the coast. There is already one in North Charleston so I imagine they are putting another down there due to demand as well.
Amen to this! I can't wait for an I26 SC. I really dislike going off my route to hit Santee...
I would personally hate to see them put the new SC in Columbia near the mall on Harbison Blvd. That area is already an absolute nightmare and there is going to be road construction there for the next 8-10 years quite literally. It is a 10x worse area than the SC on Woodruff Road in Greenville which is already tough for travelers. My guess is it will be somewhere near the I-26 and I-20 interchange. Still going to be road construction there but no mall and shopping traffic at least.
My guess is the new SC will be at the Doubletree Hilton at 2100 Bush River Rd.
My guess is the new SC will be at the Doubletree Hilton at 2100 Bush River Rd.
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Maybe my memory is just failing me, but except for European supercharger locations where it's still pretty regular, I can't remember the last time Tesla put a new supercharger at a hotel. They've all been at shopping centers, gas stations, malls, and city owned parking lots/garages for a long time. But no hotels lately. So, I doubt that's where it will go.
It all depends on what is available in the local area. The SC's in Greenville and NE Columbia are both at Hilton Garden Inn's. There are no Sheetz in South Carolina which is Tesla's favorite gas station on the East Coast to put a SC it seems. Knowing the Columbia area there really aren't any big gas station chains either like QT, WaWa, or Sheetz. Columbia's main gas station are Shell's and they are usually small and would not support a SC and multiple parking spots. The Columbiana Mall in Irmo off I-26 certainly has plenty of parking and would be at a good spot with lots of shopping and food choices other than the ridiculous traffic and current 8 year interstate widening plan going on. I'm not saying it is absolutely going to be at a hotel as I could certainly be wrong but that is my take based on my knowledge of the area.
I would also speculate the reason they haven't put one in Columbia off I-26 yet for years is bc they are struggling to find a good place for one. It has been a gaping hole in the SC network for a long time now. It's not like it's some obscure route either as it is a major interstate and the only way to get to Charleston. I-26 has nothing from Asheville until North Charleston, a 252 mile gap.
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Tesla updated the map earlier today and still nothing new for Columbia and Charleston unfortunately. Seeing a few more new ones on the I-95 corridor...Yemassee and Summerton added. Walterboro and St George were already on there.
I was thinking the same as you. But yesterday a new Supercharger was spotted under construction at a Courtyard by Marriott in Knoxville: Supercharger - Knoxville, TN. Brookview Center
Where Tesla has the ability to put SC's in the South is different than other regions of the country. You can't make a blanket statement that is applicable across the entire country IMO.
Fair point, tbh. I was looking at the map with the earlier GPS coordinates that had it slightly south of there. It looks like the actual location is much closer to the hotel.
I still like this kind of setup much more than the ones like the existing Columbia location, though. Its crammed in the back of the hotel with really nothing else within walking distance.
I 100% agree with you. The Greenville SC is the same way but slightly better. I really feel like Tesla is having a hard time securing locations in Columbia and Charleston. The NE Columbia SC is also regularly full.
Greenville, SC was opened 2015-11-09
Columbia, SC was opened 2016-11-15
So neither is indicative of Tesla's current approach.
@mociaf9 is right that Tesla reduced the proportion of locations over time, it's really a last resort. The few recent locations in the USA have been in low density locations or resorts.. In recent years their locations have mainly been at malls, supermarkets and gas stations, especially where Tesla gets an agreement with chains. Those are all usually better locations.
Hotels are bad locations for two reasons:
- they aren't geared towards serving transient customers; in some cases people here have even suggested that employees were hostile to them.
- the spots are subject to ICEing at busy times, and the hotel won't disturb the customers.
Personally I think supermarket locations are the best overall for their general ability to serve travelers, apartment dwellers and people temporarily without home charging (e.g. outage or equipment failure).
These are good points; thanks for the info.
I think Tesla is having trouble in Columbia and Charleston securing a location for SC's so these being at your normally expected Tesla points may not be the case. Additionally, the location I speculated on previously is a very similar type of locale as the new one in Knoxville that is opening soon. However, I agree it may not be the best choice if they can secure a local grocery store. I personally don't care where they put it as long as they get them online soon!
I agree. They didn't take as long as they did to get Charleston installed because they wanted to, it just turned out to be really hard for some reason. It seems that their main partners in the southeast (sheetz, wawa, and even Parkers) do not have locations on I26. I don't think they have many superchargers at QT, but I'd love it if they added one at their Orangeburg I26 location.
QT is my favorite gas station for sure but I feel as though Tesla would need to secure a corporate deal to have them there like they do with Sheetz and WaWa. QT's are slammed packed and busy as it is...not sure they would want to give up spots for SC's.
Like you said, their main partners are nowhere to be found on I-26 and that is why I speculate they are having trouble securing locations in Columbia and Charleston and that we may get a "random" spot vs. an expected choice. I mean the one in North Charleston is at a Mellow Mushroom and is a TINY footprint so they worked with what they could...you would think they would've just put it next door at the Tanger Outlets with hundreds of parking spots. Obviously it's not that simple!
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I found this out the hard way recently. I planned to stop at the one near the border without realizing that it was 6 miles off the interstate at an overly congested sheetz. Oops.
I heard something about them trying to locate it at Tanger but not being able to reach an agreement. I think QT might be a similar issue, but it would be really helpful if that changed.
Yeah but for us road trippers who need restrooms after hours, supermarkets don't work so well. Gas stations(Sheetz, QT, etc) generally stay open longer and would be better IMO.
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