Supercharger growth

[Gerasimental]

I was told by a Tesla source that this is due to particularly slow bureaucratic procedures for getting a new large-capacity power feed installed in France - hence all the early installations were based on whatever power they could find that was already available without getting the power company to do new work.

He was rather unhappy to have read comments in forums about their "incompetence" in installing only 2 stalls, when in fact they had been busting a gut to get anything installed at all!

Thanks for the explanation (as hard as that is to say as an Oxonian!).
I had guessed there must be some good reason for this beyond Tesla being incompetent. Hopefully the French will soon sort out the processes and allow these things to happen more easily. It makes good economic sense for them going into the future, especially since they have 3 car companies all of which will soon be relying on this kind of infrastructure.

 

[ecarfan]

He was rather unhappy to have read comments in forums about their "incompetence" in installing only 2 stalls, when in fact they had been busting a gut to get anything installed at all!

I am sure he was annoyed, and with good reason. Yet another case of people assuming facts not in evidence (no, I am not an attorney).

France sounds like a very challenging environment for the Tesla Supercharger team.

 

[Ohm Alone]

I am sure he was annoyed, and with good reason. Yet another case of people assuming facts not in evidence (no, I am not an attorney).

France sounds like a very challenging environment for the Tesla Supercharger team.

France can be a challenging environment to get any infrastructure--a phone line, a water line, an internet link, a power line--installed. Going from the reports of friends, it might be why the French excel at diversions--wines, cheeses, cuisine, revolutions. :biggrin:

 

[Ohm Alone]

I noticed three big changes for the East Coast of Canada, 2 in 2015 and one in 2016. It seems there is one in Quebec City/Levis and one in Riviere-du-Loup on the Trans Canada 20 (take as given the correct accents--this computer refuses to show them). Then in 2016 one at Woodstock New Brunswick at the Trans Canada 2 @ and New Brunswick 95--which is the extension of US Interstate 95. Those three make long distance travel to/from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick--as well as Quebec ski country like Mont Ste Anne and the Atlantic coast of eastern Quebec more possible. There is already a good Level 2 free infrastructure available via Sun Country, so if you 'plan' to stop for long lunches or tourist attractions or stay overnight, it is currently very doable, if slow. I think PEI has twenty some public free locations and my closest in Kensington is a 90 Amp Sun Country. There are already EVs and wannabe EVs here on our little Island (Volts, Leafs, plug-in Fords and Prii, i-MiEV and a Tesla S or two, as well as a home-made old Ford Festiva), but the longer trips via the US (interstate 95) of Canada (TransCanada routes 16/2/20) are still 'challenging'. PEI to Woodstock NB is 400 km/250 miles, and then either Riviere du Loup QC is another 300 km/180 miles, while Bangor is 225 Km/130 miles. Riviere du Loup, Quebec City and Woodstock weren't on any timeline before, so this is a welcome addition.

 

[Papafox]

I've been waiting for the supercharger network in the U.S. to fill in enough to justify a tour of the country in a Model S. This summer looks like we're there, for all practical purposes. A few destinations, such as Northern Michigan, will require off-network driving, but 90% of my driving can be done supercharger to supercharger now. I'm particularly happy to see Highway 80 across Nevada filling in. I suspect potential buyers of Teslas will react similarly when they look at the map. The low cost of long-distance driving in a Tesla may give new life to the long road trip as a summer diversion.

A drop in gasoline prices might spur more ICE road trips, but it's nothing like the incentive offered by this growing supercharger network.

 

[Saghost]

I suspect potential buyers of Teslas will react similarly when they look at the map. The low cost of long-distance driving in a Tesla may give new life to the long road trip as a summer diversion.

Don't forget the reduced workload/fatigue from Autopilot - or the reduced hassles from the new Energy forecasting.

Between the free supercharging and autopilot and the improvements to navigation they are starting to put out (energy forecasting,) I think there's a good chance owning a Model S or X will lead to lots of summer road trips.
Walter

 

[Papafox]

Don't forget the reduced workload/fatigue from Autopilot - or the reduced hassles from the new Energy forecasting.

Between the free supercharging and autopilot and the improvements to navigation they are starting to put out (energy forecasting,) I think there's a good chance owning a Model S or X will lead to lots of summer road trips.
Walter

Yes indeed, and the quiet of the car allows for the comfortable listening of audio-books. Due to time constraints I have switched nearly entirely from reading books to listening to them. The rather tedious business of long-distance driving becomes quite a bit more manageable with autopilot, audiobooks, and the whole range of creature comforts that a Tesla S offers. Add in great safety, fabulous acceleration and handling, plus the no-fee economics of superchargers and the open road becomes much more inviting

 

[jhm]

Is anyone claiming to have driven to every NA SC station. It seems an almost impossible feat. By the time you have drive from one end of the country to the othe, there will be new ones opened you'd need to go back for.

 

[chickensevil]

Is anyone claiming to have driven to every NA SC station. It seems an almost impossible feat. By the time you have drive from one end of the country to the othe, there will be new ones opened you'd need to go back for.

The closest was Flat Stanley... Albiet a fictional character who had the aid of a bunch of Tesla owners in support of a 7 year old's school project. Even at that time with many people hitting all Tue chargers we could so many were coming online it was hard to keep up. By the time we finished (due to the constraints of the school project) we had over 100 hit, if memory serves correctly, and there were still like 10-15 remaining at the time in the US and Europe was barely touched (although there were a couple Europeans who chipped in to the numbers!)

Point is, I think it would be impossible for one person to visit all of them given the rate of growth. Even just seeing them all as they currently exist today would require a lot of effort and a decent amount of cash and time.

There is a thread around here somewhere that people would post their tally of visited chargers. Don't know if people are still posting there or not, but last year there was some impressive numbers posted by people.

 

[Robert.Boston]

Is anyone claiming to have driven to every NA SC station. It seems an almost impossible feat. By the time you have drive from one end of the country to the othe, there will be new ones opened you'd need to go back for.

There's a wiki for that. It wouldn't be possible today to do a trip on SCing alone because Texas and Quebec are not interconnected. (Coincidentally, their electric transmission grids aren't interconnected to the rest of the continent's, either.)

Flat Stanley only reported back from 85 SCs. @tamman34 has notched 102:

Darien,Bethesda,Woodbridge,Glen Allen,Rocky Mount,Burlington-NC ,Lumberton, East Greenwich,Milford,Greenwich,Hamilton Marketplace,Newark,Hagerstown,Somerset, Cranberry,Macedonia,Maumee,Angola,Mishawaka,Aurora,Rockford,Madison,Mauston,La Crosse,Albert Lee,Worthington,Mitchell,Murdo,Rapid City,Lusky,Cheyenne,Lone Tree, Silverthorne,Glenwood Springs,Grand Junction,Green River,Richfield,Beaver,Las Vegas, Barstow,Gilroy,Harris Ranch,Tejon Ranch,Hawthorne,San Juan Capistrano, Atascadero, Buelton,Fremont,Vacaville,Corning,Mt. Shasta,Grant Pass,Springfield, Woodburn, Centralia,Burlington-WA,Squamish,Ellensburg,Ritzville,Detroit Lake, Atascadero,Buellton, Roseville,Truckee,Folsom,Yuma,Gila Bend,Buckeye,Wickenburg, Quartzsite,Kingman, Flagstaff,Holbrook,Gallup,Farmington,Blanding,Moab,Eau Claire,Pleasant Prairie,Highland Park,St.Joseph,South Hill,Santee,Savannah,Macon,Tifton,Lake City,Port Orange,Port St.Lucie,Fort Myers,Brandon,St.Augustine,Rocky Mount, Plymouth,Edison,JFK,Syosset, Triadelphia,Normal,Salina,Hays,Goodland,Limon,St.George,Indio

It could be a cheap vacation, albeit a long one, to take a stab at breaking his record; just treat it like a camping trip. Lots of campgrounds have 40A NEMA14-50 plugs, and there's plenty of room in the back of a Model S, with the seats folded down, for a couple of sleeping bags. Bring along a camp stove (oh, the horror, using fossil fuels to cook!) and pick up fresh supplies en route. There's a gap-year project for some ambitious person!

 

[Robert.Boston]

Did a little trip planning using evtripplanner.com, and got a route through all NA superchargers that isn't grossly inefficient. 17,524 miles, 264 hours of driving, 6,716 kWh of charge used. That's starting from Portland ME and ending in Montreal, so add and 280 miles to get home.

And that didn't even hit all of the under-construction SCs....

 

[chickensevil]

Did a little trip planning using evtripplanner.com, and got a route through all NA superchargers that isn't grossly inefficient. 17,524 miles, 264 hours of driving, 6,716 kWh of charge used. That's starting from Portland ME and ending in Montreal, so add and 280 miles to get home.

And that didn't even hit all of the under-construction SCs....

with reasonable stopping that would come out to something like a month vacation to drive around the US (and parts of Canada)

 

[jhm]

Wow, 351 Superchargers now open according to Superchargers.
353 according to Supercharger | Tesla Motors.

 

[ScepticMatt]

They are missing two in China I think.

 

[chickensevil]

Wow, 351 Superchargers now open according to Superchargers.
353 according to Supercharger | Tesla Motors.

We were at around 300 on 16 December... so another 50 in about 30 days!!! This is pretty awesome! At this rate by the time the ER happens we will be breaking 400

 

[jhm]

358! I like how Tesla is updating this daily, Supercharger | Tesla Motors
5 more stations in 2 days.

 

[Rheazombi]

Holy superchargers, Batman!

 

[GenIIIBuyer]

This is turning into quite an asset!

 

[scaesare]

I am sure he was annoyed, and with good reason. Yet another case of people assuming facts not in evidence (no, I am not an attorney).

This.

It's unfortunate how many folks are quick to pounce on perceived flaws/failings and then ignore the significant positive developments. Or make incorrect assumptions, typically negative ones.

As a PM of a team of 30 providing service to our customer, I can tell you that a single statement of recognition or appreciation goes so much farther than a constant barrage of complaint.

it's why I go out of my way to ask for the supervisor/manager of somebody who provides excellent service and make a point of stating that.

 

[jhm]

358! I like how Tesla is updating this daily, Supercharger | Tesla Motors
5 more stations in 2 days.

366, 8 more in 8 days, not too shabby!