Supercharger - Kalispell, MT (under construction Apr 2024, 12 V3 stalls)

[DMC5180]

Montana is a Vehicle registration & Sales Tax Haven. It’s well known.

I had not considered the EV specific fees in many states. Montana doesn't have those. This would radically alter it. that doesn't explain why Flathead specifically, but I think several registration services might skew those numbers a bit.

I still hope whatever is keeping a supercharger from happening there gets cleared up

Yes the Montana Tax Haven loophole.

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[Raleel]

Montana is a Vehicle registration & Sales Tax Haven. It’s well known.

Yes the Montana Tax Haven loophole.

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yea, i was somewhat aware of this. What I was not aware of is a mass of car registration services in Kalispell. I wouldn't say that I did the most thorough of searches there, but it was enough that it started skewing very quickly. While it still doesn't explain the lack of a supercharger there and the progress, it might indicate the number of registrations is artificially high.

 

[StealthP3D]

yea, i was somewhat aware of this. What I was not aware of is a mass of car registration services in Kalispell. I wouldn't say that I did the most thorough of searches there, but it was enough that it started skewing very quickly. While it still doesn't explain the lack of a supercharger there and the progress, it might indicate the number of registrations is artificially high.

Not only are the number of Montana registrations artificially high due to out-of-state registrations, but the reported income data doesn't reflect the number of wealthy people that have vacation homes there. Because the income being reported is of actual residents, not people who have a second or third or fourth home there. When I lived in Flathead Valley 30 years ago, real estate sales were booming, mostly wealthy people, movie stars, sports stars, etc. Many were buying 5-20 acre and up mini-ranchettes for conversion to luxury get-away vacation properties. These are the kind of luxury homes that may have an EV parked in the garage for the owner to use after they fly in. Some of them probably register all of their cars there.

Is the ground too frozen to dig yet?

 

[notfilc]

Still… nothing

 

[Discoducky]

Gonna try my luck again this summer with a Cybertruck roadtrip to Yellowstone; here's to hoping the supercharger is working by then!

 

[StealthP3D]

Gonna try my luck again this summer with a Cybertruck roadtrip to Yellowstone; here's to hoping the supercharger is working by then!

Did you get a VIN# yet? I was allowed to configure my Cybertruck on 12/26/2023 but no word since.

My wife and I just returned from a trip to Whitefish via I-90 and turning North at St. Regis in the Model 3 Performance. I gotta say, that St. Regis Supercharger really makes the trip so much better, all one really needs, at least with a Long-Range Tesla, is a destination charger in Flathead Valley. Not that it wouldn't be better with a Supercharger in the valley, but I didn't have any long charge times, nor did I need to moderate my speeds, even through headwinds, rain, sleet and temperatures hovering near freezing. I had charge levels to spare, coming and going, as long as I got my nightly charge.

With the permits in place, and no construction last fall, I wonder how competent the contractor is, or whether they are being incentivized to not perform. If the penalties for not performing are not sufficiently onerous, I imagine it might be easy to incentivize them to, well, not perform. Tesla might need to look at stiffening up the contractual penalties for not performing.

I saw a lot of expensive and newer trucks and SUV's in Flathead Valley, and precious few EVs. I do think not having a local Supercharger makes many EV curious buyers think a Tesla would be impractical (even though it's not the Superchargers near your home that matter). Plonk a Supercharger in the Middle of the Valley, along with a Tesla Service and Delivery Center, and we would watch the number of Tesla in Flathead valley explode in short order.

Anyone want to guess what happens next with regard to the Kalispell Supercharger? If there is no funny business going on with the contractor, I would expect groundwork to begin in earnest in March or early April, as soon as the ground is fully thawed.

 

[Mrbrock]

Did you get a VIN# yet? I was allowed to configure my Cybertruck on 12/26/2023 but no word since.

My wife and I just returned from a trip to Whitefish via I-90 and turning North at St. Regis in the Model 3 Performance. I gotta say, that St. Regis Supercharger really makes the trip so much better, all one really needs, at least with a Long-Range Tesla, is a destination charger in Flathead Valley. Not that it wouldn't be better with a Supercharger in the valley, but I didn't have any long charge times, nor did I need to moderate my speeds, even through headwinds, rain, sleet and temperatures hovering near freezing. I had charge levels to spare, coming and going, as long as I got my nightly charge.

With the permits in place, and no construction last fall, I wonder how competent the contractor is, or whether they are being incentivized to not perform. If the penalties for not performing are not sufficiently onerous, I imagine it might be easy to incentivize them to, well, not perform. Tesla might need to look at stiffening up the contractual penalties for not performing.

I saw a lot of expensive and newer trucks and SUV's in Flathead Valley, and precious few EVs. I do think not having a local Supercharger makes many EV curious buyers think a Tesla would be impractical (even though it's not the Superchargers near your home that matter). Plonk a Supercharger in the Middle of the Valley, along with a Tesla Service and Delivery Center, and we would watch the number of Tesla in Flathead valley explode in short order.

Anyone want to guess what happens next with regard to the Kalispell Supercharger? If there is no funny business going on with the contractor, I would expect groundwork to begin in earnest in March or early April, as soon as the ground is fully thawed.

The contractor listed on the permit issued in January 2023 is Blackstone, one of the most competent Supercharger installers in the northwest.

 

[StealthP3D]

The contractor listed on the permit issued in January 2023 is Blackstone, one of the most competent Supercharger installers in the northwest.

I've seen no evidence of that with regard to their contract to install the Kalispell station. How many Supercharger sites have they installed previously? Do you have hard data?

Contractors are like restaurants. They may have great service and delicious food, until, suddenly, they don't. It sounds like that is the case here.

 

[Big Earl]

I'll also vouch for Blackstone. They've done hundreds of Supercharger installations, often working on multiple sites at the same time. Their work is typically of high quality with minimal delays. That's not to say they're going to be great all the time - it's certainly possible that they would struggle from time to time. I'm not sure what's going on with this site, but Blackstone has a history of strong performance. I certainly wouldn't suggest "funny business" without a strong case to support it.

 

[StealthP3D]

I'll also vouch for Blackstone. They've done hundreds of Supercharger installations, often working on multiple sites at the same time. Their work is typically of high quality with minimal delays. That's not to say they're going to be great all the time - it's certainly possible that they would struggle from time to time. I'm not sure what's going on with this site, but Blackstone has a history of strong performance. I certainly wouldn't suggest "funny business" without a strong case to support it.

Blackstone has contracted and completed hundreds of Supercharger sites?

I doubt it.

In any case, there is nothing wrong with suggesting the possibility of "funny business". That is always a possibility, and I will always refrain from outright accusations without the essential proof. It's undeniable that not all "bad apples" start out as "bad apples". Most are legitimate until they are not. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance.

 

[ImScotty]

Blackstone has contracted and completed hundreds of Supercharger sites?

I doubt it.

In any case, there is nothing wrong with suggesting the possibility of "funny business". That is always a possibility, and I will always refrain from outright accusations without the essential proof. It's undeniable that not all "bad apples" start out as "bad apples". Most are legitimate until they are not. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance.

Nah, Blackstone definitely has done hundreds of supercharger sites across the US. They're Tesla's preferred installer for Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. While the possibility of "funny business" is not outside the realm of what's possible. I would think that weather would play a larger factor in the timeliness of this install. Kalispell is not sunny and 75º this time of year. Breaking ground on a new supercharger install would be rather challenging. That's why Butte, Missoula, Belgrade, Billings, and Laurel all broke ground in Q2 2023 when the weather was more friendly.

 

[Mrbrock]

Blackstone has contracted and completed hundreds of Supercharger sites?

I doubt it.

In any case, there is nothing wrong with suggesting the possibility of "funny business". That is always a possibility, and I will always refrain from outright accusations without the essential proof. It's undeniable that not all "bad apples" start out as "bad apples". Most are legitimate until they are not. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance.

First, heres the issued permit report for Kalispell.

Second:
Go to www.searchandstatus.com. select WA, OR, etc. Type Blackstone in the "excavator" field and Tesla in the "work done for field". This is 1/1/19-today for WA

OR


And due to intracacies of the site and how data is entered, this isn't even everything. You can try variations of how to spell blackstone and tesla (telsa, etc.). Lots of operator error when typing things in.

Maybe search these forums a bit more before dismissing someone out of hand (especially someone in charge of supercharger.info). This information has been posted in each of the threads about these chargers. Its all public information.

 

[Big Earl]

Sorry for the exaggeration. I found 80 Search & Status records, so the real number is probably around 100, not multiple hundreds.

 

[Rocky_H]

Yeah, on the over or under side of 100 was about what I was estimating. I've seen Blackstone be the installer for a lot of Supercharger sites over many years.

 

[StealthP3D]

First, heres the issued permit report for Kalispell.
View attachment 1014043

Second:
Go to www.searchandstatus.com. select WA, OR, etc. Type Blackstone in the "excavator" field and Tesla in the "work done for field". This is 1/1/19-today for WA
View attachment 1014051
OR
View attachment 1014055

And due to intracacies of the site and how data is entered, this isn't even everything. You can try variations of how to spell blackstone and tesla (telsa, etc.). Lots of operator error when typing things in.

Maybe search these forums a bit more before dismissing someone out of hand (especially someone in charge of supercharger.info). This information has been posted in each of the threads about these chargers. Its all public information.

Don't try to twist the truth by suggesting there are over 100 Blackstone Supercharger sites built that are not showing up due to misspellings, that's just crazy talk. I wasn't born yesterday.

Further, I didn't dismiss ANYTHING out of hand, I said I doubted Blackstone had built 100's of Supercharger sites. Turns out my hunch was almost certainly correct. You need to chill out. Do you even know what "doubt" means?

 

[StealthP3D]

Sorry for the exaggeration. I found 80 Search & Status records, so the real number is probably around 100, not multiple hundreds.

Thanks @Big Earl, that's good to know. And I appreciating your willingness to put accuracy above rhetoric, unlike some others here that seem intent on distorting reality.

 

[Big Earl]

Thanks @Big Earl, that's good to know. And I appreciating your willingness to put accuracy above rhetoric, unlike some others here that seem intent on distorting reality.

The reality is Blackstone has been and continues to be a key partner in the Supercharger network buildout.

 

[Rocky_H]

unlike some others here that seem intent on distorting reality.

That includes yourself, by the way, so maybe walk back the projection a bit. You started off with the wild fantasy accusations, and the response of Blackstone being solid did get exaggerated in the numbers. It's 1-1 on my scorecard.

 

[StealthP3D]

Nah, Blackstone definitely has done hundreds of supercharger sites across the US. They're Tesla's preferred installer for Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. While the possibility of "funny business" is not outside the realm of what's possible. I would think that weather would play a larger factor in the timeliness of this install. Kalispell is not sunny and 75º this time of year. Breaking ground on a new supercharger install would be rather challenging. That's why Butte, Missoula, Belgrade, Billings, and Laurel all broke ground in Q2 2023 when the weather was more friendly.

Weather cannot explain no construction in 2023 considering the site was permitted in January of last year, the spring snowpack was below average, the snow melted unusually rapidly last spring, and suitable weather existed deep into the end of last year.

I don't claim to know what is going on here, but I have zero evidence that monied interests didn't bribe them to not perform. I'm not saying that is the case, I'm saying that we have no evidence it is not. That possibility remains viable unless someone is able to document there were permitting issues (after the site was initially permitted in January) that prevented the carrying out of this rather small project. The possible reasons why the site wasn't built in 2023 are endless, including the electrical utility taking an active role in making things difficult/impossible.

It's obvious we don't know what the issue(s) is(are), but I have to laugh at people that dismiss the possibility of "funny business", because it's not normal to take 6 years to get a single Supercharger Station installed in a single geographic area.

 

[StealthP3D]

That includes yourself, by the way, so maybe walk back the projection a bit. You started off with the wild fantasy accusations, and the response of Blackstone being solid did get exaggerated in the numbers. It's 1-1 on my scorecard.

I did not accuse anyone of anything. I discussed possible scenarios. Big difference. You are continuing to put rhetoric ahead of reality.