Should I get a public charging network account?

[Az_Rael]

Yes. And superchargers are there too, not that anyone would use it for that.

I wish more people would use it for superchargers. People can report slow stalls or ICE'd stalls in plugshare to give an idea for others as to the current conditions of the supercharger. Since Tesla doesn't provide an option for us to crowd-source that info in their app.

 

[JohnnyG]

So is the $450 for a CHAdeMO adapter worth it?

For me, it was absolutely worth it...

1. I wanted a way to quickly charge at (or near) my home, on the occasions that my normal overnight charge wasn't sufficient for the whole day, or I got home with a low SOC and needed to immediately go back out again. I just so happen to have a free CHAdeMO charging station approximately 2 miles from my home. I was contemplating buying the CHAdeMO adapter for $450, or buying the second charger / HPWC / upgraded wiring in house for ~$4,000. It was a no-brainer... I could drive 2 miles and charge at 4 times the rate, and save ~3,500. I don't normally need to charge faster than 10kW, so the inconvenience of driving 2 miles for those occasions wasn't a bad trade-off.
2. It gives me way more flexibility and peace of mind when on trips. I don't have to route along superchargers for quick daytime charges, and I can go off the beaten path and not worry (like the Smoky Mountain National Park).

 

[Pipcecil]

I have all the cards, but that was because I owned a Leaf prior. Here in DFW there are 6 different companies that have stations so its quite a mess to be honest. But from my leaf experience, sometimes you just don't know and its nice to have backup options just in case. I expect my Model S will have less of those, but its minimal investment to sign up (sometimes none). FYI eVgo did change their system in the texas area (I was actually account #2 with them waaay long back and had unlimited everything on charging). But now, you can get a non-committal plan (no monthly fee) and L2 is just $1.50/hr (cheaper than horrible Blink rates) and CHAdeMO DC fast will probably cost you $11 per use ($5 per session and $0.20 per minute @ 30 minutes is $6 bucks). CHAdeMO adapter is on my wishlist =)

 

[Btrflyl8e]

So is the $450 for a CHAdeMO adapter worth it?

You can always do what we did: 4 of us Model S owners chipped in and bought the CHAdeMO adapter. I think we've had it for about 2 years now, and so far haven't had any issue with 2 people needing it at the same time.

 

[TexLaw]

I have ChargePoint, SemaConnect and EVgo. I figure it's cheap insurance.

 

[BerTX]

I have all the cards, but that was because I owned a Leaf prior. Here in DFW there are 6 different companies that have stations so its quite a mess to be honest. But from my leaf experience, sometimes you just don't know and its nice to have backup options just in case. I expect my Model S will have less of those, but its minimal investment to sign up (sometimes none). FYI eVgo did change their system in the texas area (I was actually account #2 with them waaay long back and had unlimited everything on charging). But now, you can get a non-committal plan (no monthly fee) and L2 is just $1.50/hr (cheaper than horrible Blink rates) and CHAdeMO DC fast will probably cost you $11 per use ($5 per session and $0.20 per minute @ 30 minutes is $6 bucks). CHAdeMO adapter is on my wishlist =)

Then it shuts off, you have to go restart it, and the next 30 minutes is another $11

 

[majcina]

As a soon-to-be Model S owner, this thread was super helpful to me. Thought I'd bump it up with future owners. Thanks everyone!

I ended up ordering a card from every network out there that has one, and I downloaded all the apps. I think I ended up paying $20 total, with no ongoing subscription fees:
Blink - created account, ordered card, got app, no up-front payment
ChargePoint - created account, ordered card, got app, no up-front payment
EV Connect - created account, no card, got app, no up-front payment
Evgo - created account, ordered card, no app?, paid $5 up-front
Greenlots - created account, ordered card, got app, paid $5 up-front
PlugShare - created account, no card, got app, no up-front payment
SemaConnect - created account, no card, got app, paid $10 up-front