Nightmare! (Supercharger queues)

[Casss]

to me it feels as if Tesla has shifted the charger routing from "charge when it makes most sense for the journey / car" to "charge when it makes most sense for the network".
Last three out of range journeys I have done it has tried to route me to a charger in the first 20% of the journey, which only makes sense if it is doing aggressive demand management.

I get there is a converse point here about efficiency and time gains from charging deeper in the pack but if it is trying to dodge queues, that strikes me as being a net benefit (network and driver) when you're probably talking about very small percentages anyway. If charging earlier or later in the journey is inconvenient i.e. you need to get to a meeting by x time, you can ignore it and take a view on the way back.

That said, more transparency from Tesla and some kind of intuitive option to set a preference would be great. But they seem to think providing this would be the antithesis of their ethos of simplifying everything at any cost. What is a perfectly acceptable user need to us, is an edge case to them it often seems.

 

[Jason71]

I wonder if it was anticipating that the cost would be peak on the way back so better to charge earlier.

That is possible I guess. The one time I took notice was when it sent me to Heathrow which was half the price of the others at the time

 

[Jason71]

I get there is a converse point here about efficiency and time gains from charging deeper in the pack but if it is trying to dodge queues, that strikes me as being a net benefit (network and driver) when you're probably talking about very small percentages anyway. If charging earlier or later in the journey is inconvenient i.e. you need to get to a meeting by x time, you can ignore it and take a view on the way back.

That said, more transparency from Tesla and some kind of intuitive option to set a preference would be great. But they seem to think providing this would be the antithesis of their ethos of simplifying everything at any cost. What is a perfectly acceptable user need to us, is an edge case to them it often seems.

I agree. It may be a net benefit for all. And maybe it has always worked like this but the chargers were never busy enough for it to be a factor before..... It has been very noticible recently though.

 

[Sean.]

The network is definitely creaking in places.

National Grid / DNO or Tesla…or all three!!!

 

[GRiLLA]

National Grid / DNO or Tesla…or all three!!!

Supercharger network, however it's at the mercy of the others.

 

[browellm]

I think wayleaves were mentioned somewhere up the thread and this is where government really should be able to add some value to the process, e.g. setting up a body to oversee and arbitrate in a timely fashion where there is disagreement over negotiations.

Requires competent gov though.

 

[Adopado]

Requires competent gov though.

Oh well, we're stuffed then.

 

[Masklin]

Might make more sense that, if they want to try and shift a few extra cars, Tesla gave an actual cash discount rather than free queuing miles. An incentive without adding unnecessary extra load on the system.

 

[Casss]

Might make more sense that, if they want to try and shift a few extra cars, Tesla gave an actual cash discount rather than free queuing miles.

They did do that... in addition to SC miles.

 

[Sean.]

Supercharger network, however it's at the mercy of the others.

They don’t make it easy. That is for sure. Government needs to stop paying lip service to net zero.

I think wayleaves were mentioned somewhere up the thread and this is where government really should be able to add some value to the process, e.g. setting up a body to oversee and arbitrate in a timely fashion where there is disagreement over negotiations.

Requires competent gov though.

This and an actual grid reinforcement strategy. Just chucking it over the fences to the dozen or so DNOs and National Grid, to let them muddle through, isn’t good enough.

 

[WannabeOwner]

Might make more sense that, if they want to try and shift a few extra cars, Tesla gave an actual cash discount

From Tesla's perspective:

Not everyone will use 6,000 miles (even if they think they will ...)

... and at Wholesale energy prices they are cheap to Tesla but appear like " a lot" to the Punter. For anyone with a good off-peak rate 6,000 miles is £120-quid - not exactly a lot of discount. For anyone that wants to claim them, by sitting at a Supercharger, it will be 12 hours of sitting-there-charging ...

Undoubtedly for some, e.g. without home charging, it will be attractive. But not for most (after it dawns that six-thousand-miles is only a large number psychologically!)

Plus I doubt it causes queues at Superchargers - anyone that chooses to go to specifically claim free-miles (i.e. who is not actually making a trip) would need their head examining if they go to a busy supercharger at peak time ...

 

[DaveNN]

Or navigate to the location that hosts the Supercharger.

I've been chatting in another parish on this.
We are all familiar with Google maps, showing traffic queues.
Notwithstanding data protection etc, what about on top of the number of bays available, how about an indication of teslas in the immediate area?
OK it's not an exact science.

Discuss...

 

[candida]

I've been chatting in another parish on this.
We are all familiar with Google maps, showing traffic queues.
Notwithstanding data protection etc, what about on top of the number of bays available, how about an indication of teslas in the immediate area?
OK it's not an exact science.

Discuss...

Isn’t this implied in the waiting time indication that’s now showing? (Though how that can take into account 100%ers and queue jumpers I have no idea)

 

[yessuz]

question: how often tesla updates stall availability on the map inside the car?

 

[WllXM]

question: how often tesla updates stall availability on the map inside the car?

It's definitely not live. On my last road trip I planned on using a supercharger ~3 hours away. When I got to a few miles I was surprised to see on the map that the number of available stalls was exactly the same as when I left (6 I believe)... Then I pressed on the map pin... it then updated instantly to show only 1 left...
So I guess it's either every couple hours, or when the nav refreshes / new destination entered?

 

[DeejUK]

how about an indication of teslas in the immediate area?

One problem would be that if numbers are low in a given area, you'd be potentially exposing personally identifiable information by saying "there's one Tesla in this area of the map." If someone were trying to stalk their abused and fleeing partner who had fled in the Model Y and disabled remote access, this would be one attack vector.

 

[Fursty Ferret]

So I guess it's either every couple hours, or when the nav refreshes / new destination entered?

Every few minutes. As you discovered, tapping the pin forces a refresh for that particular station.

 

[Redbaron73]

Is this even still an issue post Xmas holiday rush? i had no issue supercharging last week and dont expect one tomorrow either. I tend to go NW to SE so maybe im not seeing the worst of it... Rarely go to Scotland and Tebay would be too close to home..

 

[Strategium]

'Adding insult to delay' - latest update to my Christmas supercharger experience.
I should say that in 3 years of Tesla ownership my overall experience of using the Supercharger network for road trips in the UK has been excellent. I never had any delays or problems getting access to a charger at locations in England, Wales or Scotland. First and only problem so far was a 90 minute+ delay to get on a supercharger at Gretna Green Services when recently driving back up to Scotland after Christmas. No big deal, it is obviously a particularly busy time of year. What I was not expecting however was the £100 parking fine that just arrived in my door because in queuing to charge I had apparently exceeded the 2 hour limit you are allowed to spend at the Service Area!
I have politely decline to pay and suggested they contact Telsa UK if they wish to pursue the matter further.
Has anyone else been issued parking fines for waiting to charge at locations the Tesla in car route planner has navigated you to?

 

[WannabeOwner]

how about an indication of teslas in the immediate area?

Tesla could also interrogate which of those cars has a destination of the Supercharger (and of cost post the addition of Pre-conditioning they would now also need to add "or in the vicinity" just in case actually planning to charge but not pre-condition!

All goes out of the window for a site where non-Tesla's are also allowed to charge ...