Someone unplugged my car

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

So if you're orange jacket guy, limping into a public charger late at night to find a Tesla charging there... you wait for a bit say 30 minutes, realize hes nowhere to be found, he didn't leave a note, and the parking maid aint workin right now. Its 1AM, you're tired, you only needed an hour worth of charge to make it home and yet someone parked their Tesla at a L2 and went home to go to sleep. You would do what?

This is a Tesla forum, but ya'll are really deep in the kool-aide lately

Repeat after me:
Public L2 charging is too slow to be dependable.
Public L2 charging is too slow to be dependable.
Public L2 charging is too slow to be dependable.
...

 

[Canuck]

If you’re limping, then you didn’t plan so well, now did you, assuming your charger of choice would be free?

Nice straw man but in the real world people around here no longer assume their charger of choice is free. In fact, we now assume no chargers are free so if we can't make it home, we don't take the Leaf. That's great for EV promotion, right? Own a Tesla or Bolt or leave the EV at home! I don't subscribe to that philosophy but human nature does bring us down to the lowest common denominator and offer anything for free and it will be abused. If you read my other posts, I support other EVs using Tesla destination chargers (which can now be done with an adapter) and the consent of the owner of the destination charger. I am all about the overall EV cause -- not individual selfishness.

Repeat after me:
Public L2 charging is too slow to be dependable.
Public L2 charging is too slow to be dependable.
Public L2 charging is too slow to be dependable.

Well that's news to me since it's dependable enough to get our Leaf home from downtown -- but only if a L2 EV spot is available.

In my view, you are pushing people back into their ICE and out EVs with that repeated statement that is not true at all. By the way, saying it three times, like putting it all in CAPS, does not make it true. In fact, when I see this types of emphasis, me thinks doth protest too much.

 

[Big Earl]

I was planning to do a lot of driving in the morning. I got a notification that my car had been unplugged from the nearby charger. The lot was literally empty and no one else was using any of the chargers except for myself. Someone pulled up to the lot, disconnected my car, then drove off. Infuriating.

I initially thought that the suspect was driving a Mini Cooper. Upon further review, it appears that he is driving a Fiat 500e, gray with white accents. As a 500e driver myself, I apologize for his behavior. I will not unplug someone unless they are clearly fully charged. Even then, I will leave a note explaining why I unplugged their car. It doesn't matter if it's a Tesla, a LEAF or a Volt.

 

[GatorGuy]

What I am troubled by is all the Tesla owners I've seen over the past couple of years taking up public charging spot just to save a few dollars by not charging at home. I go downtown often, to large tower office buildings that have specific EV charging spots. A few years ago, I would park there not needing the charge because they were always vacant -- so why not get free electrons? As I started to see other EV's charging there, I left a note on my windshield with my cell number in case a short range EV needed the charge -- but there were few of those a few years ago. Now there's lots of them, and lots of Teslas. I can't get a spot in those EV spots anymore mostly because of people who work there who charge while at work -- some of who I know have chargers at home but they often allow the vehicle to go low then park all day at 30 amps to charge it up. In fact, they brag about this to co-workers especially given the price of gas here. Is that okay? Is that what the OP does with the EV spaces at the hospital? Or are they only for employees? Has he tried with his landlord to get an outlet installed where he pays for the installation and the power?

I just have a lot of questions having had my daughter on the phone crying because our Leaf was in turtle mode on Hwy 99 after coming from Vancouver to South Surrey because all of the public chargers she drove by had Teslas parked in them. As I said in this post in another thread:

And again this why pretty much all public chargers should cost to charge there. Businesses should even consider charging their employees for using their chargers. It uses solid economic theory to open up chargers to those who actually need them. And takes away the incentive to needlessly tie up a charger.

 

[kingjamez]

Well that's news to me since it's dependable enough to get our Leaf home from downtown -- but only if a L2 EV spot is available.

In my view, you are pushing people back into their ICE and out EVs with that repeated statement that is not true at all. By the way, saying it three times, like putting it all in CAPS, does not make it true. In fact, when I see this types of emphasis, me thinks doth protest too much.

As a LEAF driver as well, I can firmly say that you are doing it wrong. Don't take the LEAF downtown. Nobody bought a LEAF believing it was a general purpose car. It's a short commute, get around town, 2nd car only. Trying to make the car do things it wasn't designed to do is not the fault of the L2 infrastructure or cheap Tesla drivers, it's the fault of the owner having the wrong car for their needs.

If you have a regular need to exceed the range of a LEAF, you need a different car. Even L3 charging on the leaf is kind of pointless since you'd driver for an hour, charge for an hour... it's just NOT a long range car.
-Jim

 

[Big Earl]

I initially thought that the suspect was driving a Mini Cooper. Upon further review, it appears that he is driving a Fiat 500e, gray with white accents. As a 500e driver myself, I apologize for his behavior. I will not unplug someone unless they are clearly fully charged. Even then, I will leave a note explaining why I unplugged their car. It doesn't matter if it's a Tesla, a LEAF or a Volt.

@Astraviel

I'm no P.I., but I think I've identified a possible suspect. User c1 on PlugShare drives a gray 500e with white accents and has a tendency to post/check-in on PlugShare in the overnight hours (frequently between midnight and 3am). He also posts comments like "Tesla owners please use the Tesla spots first and save the non tesla spots for other EV please."

 

[Canuck]

As a LEAF driver as well, I can firmly say that you are doing it wrong. Don't take the LEAF downtown. Nobody bought a LEAF believing it was a general purpose car. It's a short commute, get around town, 2nd car only. Trying to make the car do things it wasn't designed to do is not the fault of the L2 infrastructure or cheap Tesla drivers, it's the fault of the owner having the wrong car for their needs.
If you have a regular need to exceed the range of a LEAF, you need a different car. Even L3 charging on the leaf is kind of pointless since you'd driver for an hour, charge for an hour... it's just NOT a long range car.
-Jim

It's not that far from south Surrey to downtown Vancouver - about 80 km. Before our Leaf dropped a bar, it could make it downtown and back without a problem. Now it just needs a short charge to make it home (and would likely make it without one but the range anxiety is too much) so we no longer take it downtown -- because we can't count on even one open EVSE. So now it just stays in our neighbourhood -- unfortunately.

But I still hope for a world when people only used a public EVSE when needed -- so they would be open for others when needed. But human nature won't allow for that so it's going to take charging fees for them -- since practically all of them around here are still free -- but not for much longer, I hope.

pon further review, it appears that he is driving a Fiat 500e, gray with white accents.

I'm no P.I., but I think I've identified a possible suspect. User c1 on PlugShare drives a gray 500e with white accents and has a tendency to post/check-in on PlugShare in the overnight hours (frequently between midnight and 3am). He also posts comments like "Tesla owners please use the Tesla spots first and save the non tesla spots for other EV please."

Now that's a good eye and great detective work!

 

[scaesare]

So if you're orange jacket guy, limping into a public charger late at night to find a Tesla charging there... you wait for a bit say 30 minutes, realize hes nowhere to be found, he didn't leave a note, and the parking maid aint workin right now. Its 1AM, you're tired, you only needed an hour worth of charge to make it home and yet someone parked their Tesla at a L2 and went home to go to sleep. You would do what?

This is a Tesla forum, but ya'll are really deep in the kool-aide lately

If they are actively charging, and not in violation of the local rules/signage regarding usage, you wait.

It can take several hours for many L2 charge sessions (<20 miles of range per hour isn't uncommon)... so you expect people to stay with their car for several hours rather than get something to eat, go see a movie, get a little sleep, etc...?

 

[demundus]

Repeat after me:
Public L2 charging is too slow to be dependable.
Public L2 charging is too slow to be dependable.
Public L2 charging is too slow to be dependable.
...

What does that have to do with what I posted? If you're a Fiat 500e driver, public L2 and your home is all you have to charge on.

 

[demundus]

If they are actively charging, and not in violation of the local rules/signage regarding usage, you wait.

It can take several hours for many L2 charge sessions (<20 miles of range per hour isn't uncommon)... so you expect people to stay with their car for several hours rather than get something to eat, go see a movie, get a little sleep, etc...?

I guess I keep coming back to: What is 20 miles an hour going to do to a Tesla battery?

My battery is 3-4x the size of most other popular EVs on the road, why the heck am I in a level 2 charger thinking its going to make a dent, when 3-4 other cars could be there for the same time as me and be full. We're all about efficiency around here right?

 

[scaesare]

Well that's news to me since it's dependable enough to get our Leaf home from downtown -- but only if a L2 EV spot is available.

I think that's what it boils down to... given how slow they are, they cane be legitimately tied up for several hours. With the relatively few of them in many areas, you really shouldn't depend on one being available.

 

[demundus]

You/Orange Jacket guy would/should move on and find the next available charger. In this case, it would’ve been right next to OP’s Tesla. If you’re limping, then you didn’t plan so well, now did you, assuming your charger of choice would be free?
What if it was another brethren’s Fiat 500e that was also literally running on e-fumes instead of a Tesla? With a full range of 84miles max, they’d be there for over an hour. Would you/Orange Jacket be just as pissed, unplug them, and drive away? Methinks not.

What does a full hour do for the Tesla, 84 miles as well? An amazing 30% of his battery... compared to however many smaller cars can come through where they dont have a choice of places to charge for their entire charge. Consider that the Tesla can charge at our faster, free SC, or a L2 charger, which is 100% more choices than the Fiat 500e.

Maybe his plan was to get to that L2 charger... Not sure I would factor in to my charging plan people parking 8+ hour charge sessions on L2 overnight. Guess I'm in for a rude awakening

 

[kingjamez]

@Astraviel

I'm no P.I., but I think I've identified a possible suspect. User c1 on PlugShare drives a gray 500e with white accents and has a tendency to post/check-in on PlugShare in the overnight hours (frequently between midnight and 3am). He also posts comments like "Tesla owners please use the Tesla spots first and save the non tesla spots for other EV please."

Galvatron also drives a similar car and has checked in at City Hall.

Edit: Nevermind, I was looking at Vancouver's City Hall... not Richmond's.

 

[scaesare]

I guess I keep coming back to: What is 20 miles an hour going to do to a Tesla battery?

My battery is 3-4x the size of most other popular EVs on the road, why the heck am I in a level 2 charger thinking its going to make a dent, when 3-4 other cars could be there for the same time as me and be full. We're all about efficiency around here right?

If I need 3 gallons of gas to make the 75 mile drive home, and I only have one, what does it matter if my tank holds 12 gallons or 40?

You have no idea what a car has for it's current state of charge, or what it needs to make it to it's next destination.

I don't get that "logic" people use to justify some precedence cars with less capacity should have.

 

[Doanster1]

Nice straw man but in the real world people around here no longer assume their charger of choice is free.

Agreed. No one should have a charger of choice. Assume/plan like you’ll be charging at a diff spot each time if you rely on public stations, regardless of who’s occupying the spots. That mentality alleviates any angst (against Teslas or other EVs).
Can’t wait to get the Jaguar iPace into the mix to give another target for unpluggers to go after.
I only responded with that because of the way @demundus phrased his/her hypothetical. “I’m tired and need to charge at 3am to get home.”
Then go a block or two over and find the next charger. If that’s full, move on to the next. Leave people’s cars alone.

ps I clearly know you don’t condone unplugging, @demundus

 

[Big Earl]

Galvatron also drives a similar car and has checked in at City Hall.

I didn't see any check-ins at City Hall by Galvatron. The only other 500e that I saw at City Hall belongs to Heidimo, a 500e driver from Washington State.

 

[demundus]

If I need 3 gallons of gas to make the 75 mile drive home, and I only have one, what does it matter if my tank holds 12 gallons or 40?

You have no idea what a car has for it's current state of charge, or what it needs to make it to it's next destination.

I don't get that "logic" people use to justify some precedence cars with less capacity should have.

I dont need to use logic, just decency and kindness. I charge at home because when I bought this car I was responsible enough to ensure I had a place to reliably charge it every night.

Coming upon this situation with 0 background you could maybe assume that both of them NEED a charge because they are both "in transit".

But we know better because the OP admitted to being unable to charge at home, which lends to my overall tone in this thread. If he was traveling in some remote area with no SC access or the SC was just way too far to make sense... I'd be 100% with him in addition to the fact that I'm already 100% with him on someone unplugging his car. I'd happly argue till i drop dead with anyone who thinks its ok to unplug the OP for any reason and under any circumstance.

I am hung up on his charging habit and what it means for L2, other tesla owners, and other EV owners.

 

[Canuck]

I don't get that "logic" people use to justify some precedence cars with less capacity should have.

Maybe look at it this way: For some of us, the preference relates to "need" and not "want" and the "need" is usually greater with short range EVs vs. long range EVs. When it comes to "need" it's first come, first serve, and you can remain as long as the "need" is required and permitted by the time limit of the charger, if any. When it comes to "want" -- if you have a long range Tesla, or short range EV, and you don't "need" the charge but just "want" the free electrons, then in my book you're a inconsiderate arsehole regardless of the battery capacity of the vehicle you drive. Logically, that applies more to Tesla owners given the large battery pack so the "need" is less likely and the "want" is more likely.

Does that make sense logically to you?

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Well that's news to me since it's dependable enough to get our Leaf home from downtown -- but only if a L2 EV spot is available.

In my view, you are pushing people back into their ICE and out EVs with that repeated statement that is not true at all. By the way, saying it three times, like putting it all in CAPS, does not make it true. In fact, when I see this types of emphasis, me thinks doth protest too much.

"but only if a L2 EV spot is available". That's precisely the problem.

Coverage is a temporary challenge while volume builds, but capacity is the long-term challenge.

L2 charger capacity is very low. If you want chargers people can rely on you're going to have to pay for _lots_ of them.

DCFC capacity is much higher, which means that you can provide a useful service with a much smaller number of chargers, and if we want people to be able to travel longer distances in BEVs we need DCFC anyway.

Public L2 should merely be seen as a convenience, which is precisely how the OP used it.

Incidentally this "need" for public charging is also why short-range BEVs won't work at scale.

 

[McRat]

Repeat after me:
Public L2 charging is too slow to be dependable.
Public L2 charging is too slow to be dependable.
Public L2 charging is too slow to be dependable.
...

Repeat after me:
L2 is to a small EV what a Supercharger is to a 4500+ lb EV; it's the fastest way to charge.
2 hr @ 6.6kW can move a small EV 60 miles in hypermiling mode. That's only 5 mi/kWh, which isn't too tough for any EV under 4000lb. 6 is tough but doable. 7 is getting crazy.

If the Tesla parked there overnight with a two hour shutoff, he's doing the same thing a pickup truck does parked at a Supercharger. Icing, not charging. There is a difference.