Should I buy a model 3 if i can’t charge at home?

[raptor5244]

OK, Columbo...

Lol, wasn't trying to be funny but the Columbo line made me laugh.

The OP was making a point about how easy life is without charging at home and only drives 25 miles a day and then finishes up with I drove 1200 miles in little over a week. I am curious if folks driving 1200 miles a week could live with only supercharging and charging at the gym. It provides plenty of time to catch up on Netflix shows though.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Sounds like OP has his situation all figured out, and it works for him.

With charging at work and a Supercharger nearby, he can simply use the Supercharger when necessary. Good time to check your emails, use the bathroom, get a cup of coffee, phone a friend etc. EZ Peasy.

I really used to hate being hustled by street beggars when stopping at gas stations. They always had some sob story about why they needed the money. Would work the station until the attendant had enough and shoo'd them away. The gas stations were smelly, and the pump handles full of germs and gasoline smells. Restrooms were filthy, the items in the mini-market unhealthy and overpriced.

Once you get in a charging routine, the thought of ever using a gas station again becomes repulsive.

How long until the slimeballs figure out that they have a captive audience at public charging stations? Not looking forward to having them knocking on the window while playing video games.

At least at the pump you can still start the car and floor it and break the quick connect on the hose to get out of there when the sh*t hits the fan. You can't do that while you're plugged in can you?

 

[PowerBankT]

How long until the slimeballs figure out that they have a captive audience at public charging stations? Not looking forward to having them knocking on the window while playing video games.

At least at the pump you can still start the car and floor it and break the quick connect on the hose to get out of there when the sh*t hits the fan. You can't do that while you're plugged in can you?

This is the very reason why concealed carry exists. (Or even non concealed in your vehicle)

 

[StellarRat]

If you're only driving 25 miles per day I think it's OK. If it was more than 40 or 50 miles I think you would get frustrated with the charging situation and costs. Keep in mind that you can EASILY put 40 or 50 miles of range per night back on the car with even a 120v plug and a long extension cord. If you have L2 charging available at work you will be easily able to keep the car charged given your usage.

 

[jboy210]

Lol, wasn't trying to be funny but the Columbo line made me laugh.

The OP was making a point about how easy life is without charging at home and only drives 25 miles a day and then finishes up with I drove 1200 miles in little over a week. I am curious if folks driving 1200 miles a week could live with only supercharging and charging at the gym. It provides plenty of time to catch up on Netflix shows though.

If someone drives 1200 miles a week I bet they are on the interstates and other popular routes a lot. And that likely puts them close to Superchargers. So if they can Supercharge all workweek, they may only need to do a little charging on the weekend at other chargers.

 

[StellarRat]

My only fear with people using Superchargers exclusively is overcrowding and the negative press that will result about EVs. I think it's pretty well known that the Superchargers exist to enable people to make long trips in their Teslas. If they are used to keep a lot of people's cars charged for daily driving there simply won't be enough of them and anger and frustration will be the result along with negative press. I'd only buy an EV without any home charging if I had charging at work. I did manage to get by for years with just a 120v plug in my garage, so that is probably all a lot of people need since the average US driver only goes 40 miles per day.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

My only fear with people using Superchargers exclusively is overcrowding and the negative press that will result about EVs. I think it's pretty well known that the Superchargers exist to enable people to make long trips in their Teslas. If they are used to keep a lot of people's cars charged for daily driving there simply won't be enough of them and anger and frustration will be the result along with negative press. I'd only buy an EV without any home charging if I had charging at work. I did manage to get by for years with just a 120v plug in my garage, so that is probably all a lot of people need since the average US driver only goes 40 miles per day.

That is the rub. If you rely on public charging, your future is a little unpredictable as more of these cars are sold and the pace of new chargers can't keep up with the sales of EVs.

This guy may be a happy camper now, but in a couple of years, it could become super painful for him to charge. Home charging takes out that form of anxiety too.

 

[PowerBankT]

That is the rub. If you rely on public charging, your future is a little unpredictable as more of these cars are sold and the pace of new chargers can't keep up with the sales of EVs.

This guy may be a happy camper now, but in a couple of years, it could become super painful for him to charge. Home charging takes out that form of anxiety too.

Obviously times change and situations change, renters can look towards places that offer EV charging, and/ or getting into a home instead. He’s discussing the purchase of an EV now, so as someone who relies on public charging, I’m just giving my input on how it currently is. Hypothetical debates can go on forever. It’s entirely plausible that we’ll have double the charging infrastructure in 3 years time as well. Who knows.

 

[jboy210]

Obviously times change and situations change, renters can look towards places that offer EV charging, and/ or getting into a home instead. He’s discussing the purchase of an EV now, so as someone who relies on public charging, I’m just giving my input on how it currently is. Hypothetical debates can go on forever. It’s entirely plausible that we’ll have double the charging infrastructure in 3 years time as well. Who knows.

Definitely changing fast. We are seeing on street chargers by me in areas that have apartments and condos. Maybe we get to be like Oslo. They have charging plugs in street lamps.

 

[raptor5244]

That is the rub. If you rely on public charging, your future is a little unpredictable as more of these cars are sold and the pace of new chargers can't keep up with the sales of EVs.

This guy may be a happy camper now, but in a couple of years, it could become super painful for him to charge. Home charging takes out that form of anxiety too.

Agreed. The ability to charge at home while the car sits in the garage was high on my list for making the switch to an EV. Not having to stop at gas stations and dealing with credit card skimmers is a nice side benefit. If I couldn't charge at home I would not have bought one. It is 20 miles to the nearest Supercharger for me.

 

[webbah]

It really depends on where you live and the infrastructure available to meet your needs without too much inconvenience. I’ve been driving Tesla’s since 2012, and initially I did have a charger installed at an apartment garage until 2015 when I moved. I decided not to do the expensive installation, again at an apartment, as I rather enjoy the freedom to pickup and move whenever it suits me. I drive anywhere from 50-200Km a day and have always found it rather simple to get by. Switzerland has built out tons of infrastructure so nearly anywhere you go you can find a public parking garage, grocery store, supercharger, highway rest stop charger, at your disposal.

Back in 2012 that was much more of a challenge. For those that love the freedom to move and live the nomadic life while owning an EV it’s much much easier to do nowadays. With the exception of Eastern Europe you can pretty much go anywhere and find 50 kW chargers minimum.

I suspect this trend will also increase rapidly in 1-2 years across the US. The biggest mistake Tesla made in the US, in my opinion, was not adopting one of the charging standards like in Europe. All Model 3’s here have CCS and an abundance of fast chargers (some faster than Tesla SC’s at 350 kW like ionity) And Model S,X and 3 support Mennekes Type 2 which is also standardized for the majority of all other EV’s here. From there it was just building out third party networks that everyone could use across the continent without doing the adaptor treasure hunt and dance to make it work.

To summarize, it’s doable if your local infrastructure can match your driving habits and be convenient. And it’s likely to get easier with more charging networks expanding and standardizing.

 

[boriszima]

It’s fine for some people those who live in big cities where there many options to charge. Like having ICE car and going to a gas station but maybe more frequently and or spending more than more time there. I personally would not buy electric car if I could not charge at home. Too much anxiety for me personally.

 

[Gogamecox2010]

This is great conversation everyone! I sincerely appreciate everyone’s feedback. I didn’t intend to convince anyone that they should buy a car if doesn’t make sense for their life.

My main goal was to communicate that my model 3 fits into my life better than I though it would. Everyone’s circumstances are different. But for me, a single guy with no kids, it has not been the burden that everyone told me it would be. Ideally I would be able to charge at home (and perhaps in the future I will be) but I’m simply stating that living relatively close to a supercharger...and driving about 100 miles a week...is completely doable with no home charging. Being able to plug in at the gym and and work makes this car a breeze to live with.

 

[eevee-fan]

True, there is no generic yes or no answer. It all depends on your personal situation. I love driving EV along with no more trips to the gas station and recoup of the higher purchase price to the tune of $1K a year in 'fuel' savings.

 

[plusonechoi]

I just got picked up my Model 3 a few weeks ago and live in a condo where I do not have the benefit of having home charging available. I looked into getting one installed at my deeded parking space, but since it is 1 level below (and also underground) where the electrical room is, it required more work to bring electrical underground to my parking spot. Basically got quoted $5,000 from the company that my HOA works with to have this work completed.

Since getting my car I knew it would be more planning required to have it charged in order to have enough in the "tank." I have used a combination of free public chargers, ChargePoint chargers, and Supercharging stations. I am finding that being able to passively charge while in the office or out doing something else (eating out, shopping, the gym, etc.) has worked out quite well. Additionally thinking ahead if I know I'll be having a longer drive the next day or so.

I work as a Realtor so there are some days that have much heavier amounts of driving around; ie. 100 miles round trip with showing homes in the Bay Area. My typical commute to the office is 30 miles round trip from my home.

All in all, while it does take more planning and effort to get the charging done, the amount of fun and enjoyment from having the car has outweighed it for me!

 

[CrayZ1]

I'm currently between EV's so I'm driving on gasoline today. After 6+ years of EV driving there are three things I really miss:

1) Waking up each morning to a full tank.
2) A toasty warm car in the morning when it's below freezing.
3) Instant acceleration.
4) HOV access.

I'm not sure I'd like to give up #1 if I didn't have to.

 

[rdcisneros3]

To me, [supercharging] is a more pleasant 30 minutes than the 5 minutes at the gas station

Come on, man.

 

[raptor5244]

Come on, man.

That is when you know you are drinking the Kool-Aid.

 

[OCR1]

I charge at home and have never used a supercharger prior to this weekend. I took a trip from Orange County to San Francisco in my LR RWD. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to supercharge on the road. One stop at Kettleman City on their V3 chargers and I was good to go. I had planned on having lunch there and I found that I could not eat my lunch as quickly as the supercharger could recharge my car.

I also found that we need bathroom breaks more frequently than my car needs charging breaks. So whenever we needed to use the restroom we just stopped and charged for a few minutes. It was really effortless.

I was worried that with only 10 V3 chargers in Kettleman City that I might get stuck using a V2 charger but each time I was there I only saw one or two other cars in the V3 bays. They have a total of 40 stalls and I never saw more than five cars there in total.

 

[tomas]

That is when you know you are drinking the Kool-Aid.

No. I’ve had almost 8 years of not having to go to gas stations except when I rent a car. 95%+ of my charging at home. So for the occasional supercharge session, I either time for a meal or do my emails. No gas smells or drips. No touching the keypad on a filthy pump. No kool aid. No gasoline either.