Supercharger - Laredo TX

[Jxtheone]

Took these today.

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

Right behind JcPenny you see in the background there is a food court, and there is a movie theater and chuckee cheese on Dillards side.

 

[azred]

[

there are only two normal road routes for Monterrey. Now both are accessible. When San Antonio opens it will be easier still. Even easier when Dilley, Sabinas Hidalgo and General Bravo open presumably within the next few months. Even Saltillo should open soon too. That makes the business and tourist centres surrounding Monterrey all accessible even for 60's.

I wonder how soon the route all the way to Mexico City will be completed. My guess is probably quite soon, based on the six Superchargers already open surrounding the Mexico City region. Once that happens Tesla tourism to South Texas/Mexico should rise rapidly.

It is astonishing to see how rapidly many such gaps are being eradicated. 2018 will be quite eventful in Supercharger terms.

You really believe lots of Tesla owners are clamoring to take their cars into Mexico?

 

[jbcarioca]

You really believe lots of Tesla owners are clamoring to take their cars into Mexico?

No, not lots. There are many Mexicans who want Tesla and they also drive. The point I am making is not the huge pent-up demand for these routes. Rather it is that Tesla is filling many plausible routes between major urban centers, major tourist destinations and induserial areas. That is happening not only in North America but in Europe and Asia too. Prior to Superchargers many of these are getting Destination Chargers. A quick look shows most areas of Mexico can now be visited with the combination of Superchargers and Destination Chargers.

There are many more Tesla-driving visitors in much of Mexico than there are in, for example, Lhasa, Tibet, which has Destination Chargers and has already had Teslas arriving.

As for clamoring, my own Tesla will travel to Saltillo once my schedule permits.

 

[BerTX]

No, not lots. There are many Mexicans who want Tesla and they also drive. The point I am making is not the huge pent-up demand for these routes. Rather it is that Tesla is filling many plausible routes between major urban centers, major tourist destinations and induserial areas. That is happening not only in North America but in Europe and Asia too. Prior to Superchargers many of these are getting Destination Chargers. A quick look shows most areas of Mexico can now be visited with the combination of Superchargers and Destination Chargers.

There are many more Tesla-driving visitors in much of Mexico than there are in, for example, Lhasa, Tibet, which has Destination Chargers and has already had Teslas arriving.

As for clamoring, my own Tesla will travel to Saltillo once my schedule permits.

True, there are a good number of Escalades with Mexico plates any time one visits the outlet malls in San Marcos. Maybe they will be replaced with Teslas!

 

[Twiglett]

this means I'll be able to get down for the airshow - nice

 

[buttershrimp]

@buttershrimp; joke? Gosh, I just thought it was some guy going to pump up a flat tire.

Have you seen No Country for Old Men? Good movie... run if you see that guy though.

 

[Jxtheone]

...As for clamoring, my own Tesla will travel to Saltillo once my schedule permits.

I thought that your Tesla car warranty is void if you drive it to Mexico (but not if driven to Canada). Please correct me if this is wrong. I still wouldn't want to drive my Tesla to Mexico, but may consider for something quick.

 

[azred]

I thought that your Tesla car warranty is void if you drive it to Mexico (but not if driven to Canada). Please correct me if this is wrong. I still wouldn't want to drive my Tesla to Mexico, but may consider for something quick.

I think the correct way to state the issue is needed warranty work incurred while in Mexico would need to be done back in the US, although there is at least one Tesla Service Center in Mexico so maybe that’s not true anymore.

 

[jbcarioca]

I think the correct way to state the issue is needed warranty work incurred while in Mexico would need to be done back in the US, although there is at least one Tesla Service Center in Mexico so maybe that’s not true anymore.

At the moment Tesla shows a Store in DF and a SC in Monterrey. Officially my documents from 2014 say driving in Mexico voids the warranty. That language is absent from 2017 warranty but that one has no reference to Mexico. I have requested clarification from Tesla and will post it here when I have more information.

 

[jbcarioca]

At the moment Tesla shows a Store in DF and a SC in Monterrey. Officially my documents from 2014 say driving in Mexico voids the warranty. That language is absent from 2017 warranty but that one has no reference to Mexico. I have requested clarification from Tesla and will post it here when I have more information.

I had a reply from one Tesla employee who said the "belief" was that the warranty no longer excludes Mexico because doing so when there are Sales, Service, Superchargers and Destination chargers seems quite illogical. Further the 2017 warranty label says North America and refers to US, Canada and Mexico in teh title but does not mention Mexico in the body.
he is reaching out to the legal team for official clarification. I asked for it to be public, but his promise only included advising me on my own car.

My guess is that more people need to ask this question in order to obtain formal clarification for all Tesla owners in NA.

 

[jbcarioca]

It is now official. I received a call from Tesla confirming that all Tesla warranties are valid in Mexico, regardless of earlier exclusions.

 

[BerTX]

A couple of excerpts from Mexico Travel Warning
...
U.S. citizens have been murdered in carjackings and highway robberies, most frequently at night and on isolated roads. Carjackers use a variety of techniques, including roadblocks, bumping/moving vehicles to force them to stop, and running vehicles off the road at high speeds. There are indications that criminals target newer and larger vehicles, but drivers of old sedans and buses coming from the United States are also targeted. U.S. government personnel are not permitted to drive from the U.S.-Mexico border to or from the interior parts of Mexico. U.S. government personnel are prohibited from intercity travel after dark in many areas of Mexico. U.S. citizens should use toll roads (cuotas) whenever possible. In remote areas, cell phone coverage is limited or non-existent.

The Mexican government has deployed federal police and military personnel throughout the country as part of its efforts to combat organized criminal groups. U.S. citizens traveling on Mexican roads and highways by car or bus may encounter government checkpoints, staffed by military or law enforcement personnel. In some places, criminal organizations have erected their own unauthorized checkpoints, at times wearing police and military uniforms, and have killed or abducted motorists who have failed to stop at them. You should cooperate at all checkpoints.
...
Coahuila: U.S. citizens should defer non-essential travel to Coahuila, with the exception of Saltillo, Bosques de Monterreal, and Parras de la Fuente, because of the high incidence of violent crime, particularly along the highways between Piedras Negras and Nuevo Laredo. State and municipal law enforcement capacity is limited in some parts of Coahuila, particularly in the north. U.S. government personnel are allowed to travel during daylight hours to Saltillo, Bosques de Monterreal, and Parras de la Fuente, using the most direct routes and maximizing the use of toll highways. Between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m., U.S. government personnel must abide by the Embassy-imposed curfew and remain within Saltillo, Bosques de Monterreal, or Parras de la Fuente.
...

 

[arcus]

A couple of excerpts from Mexico Travel Warning

Such a shame, since it is a beautiful country.

 

[jbcarioca]

A couple of excerpts from Mexico Travel Warning
...
...

It is very hard for me to take US State Department warnings with much more than the proverbial grain of salt.
The periodic warnings they issue for my city, Rio de Janeiro, are almost laughable. The would be except that people actually think that the entire country is unsafe.
There is crime, and it is a serious problem. By the way, do they issue nighttime prohibitions to enter downtown Detroit, Baltimore, the South Bronx and so on?

As it happens I have lived in 16 countries. In at least ten of them there have been travel warnings from the US State Department.
The only time in my life that I have been subject to a crime was in zip code 90274 (look it up).
During travel to places as diverse as Algeria and Zimbabwe, with many in between, zero problems.

That said there is no question that Mexico has a crime problem. Act accordingly and go anyway is what I do.
FWIW, due to family and business I often travel between McAllen, Texas and Monterrey, and often to various cities in Tamaulipas. I do so in US registered luxury vehicles (so far not in my Tesla). Never a problem.

I do not intend to be dismissive of risks; that would be stupid. On the other hand if I followed their prescriptions during my life I would have missed some of the most interesting experiences of my life. I avoid nighttime travel in many parts of the world.

No doubt we'll here more about this specific situation since Tesla now has Superchargers convenient to travel through and around some of those US Stay Department certified scarey areas. I'll go from McAllen to Monterrey right through Reynosa just as I have been doing for forty years, but now with better roads and a Tesla. I will travel during daylight hours too, just as I typically do.

NOTE: The preceding is not advice. Anybody thinking about taking my advice should consider that I lived in and drove all over around Lebanon, Yemen and Iran and adjoining countries. Of course there have been lots of others. It is plausible that my risk tolerance might exceed that of the typical NA Tesla owner.

 

[BerTX]

It is very hard for me to take US State Department warnings with much more than the proverbial grain of salt.
The periodic warnings they issue for my city, Rio de Janeiro, are almost laughable. The would be except that people actually think that the entire country is unsafe.
There is crime, and it is a serious problem. By the way, do they issue nighttime prohibitions to enter downtown Detroit, Baltimore, the South Bronx and so on?

As it happens I have lived in 16 countries. In at least ten of them there have been travel warnings from the US State Department.
The only time in my life that I have been subject to a crime was in zip code 90274 (look it up).
During travel to places as diverse as Algeria and Zimbabwe, with many in between, zero problems.

That said there is no question that Mexico has a crime problem. Act accordingly and go anyway is what I do.
FWIW, due to family and business I often travel between McAllen, Texas and Monterrey, and often to various cities in Tamaulipas. I do so in US registered luxury vehicles (so far not in my Tesla). Never a problem.

I do not intend to be dismissive of risks; that would be stupid. On the other hand if I followed their prescriptions during my life I would have missed some of the most interesting experiences of my life. I avoid nighttime travel in many parts of the world.

No doubt we'll here more about this specific situation since Tesla now has Superchargers convenient to travel through and around some of those US Stay Department certified scarey areas. I'll go from McAllen to Monterrey right through Reynosa just as I have been doing for forty years, but now with better roads and a Tesla. I will travel during daylight hours too, just as I typically do.

NOTE: The preceding is not advice. Anybody thinking about taking my advice should consider that I lived in and drove all over around Lebanon, Yemen and Iran and adjoining countries. Of course there have been lots of others. It is plausible that my risk tolerance might exceed that of the typical NA Tesla owner.

I agree that the warnings would be just as strong if just about ANY US city were subject to the travel warnings. On total, the crime here is probably much worse.

I'm concerned about people driving very expensive cars into problem areas, and making themselves a target for crime. I'll wage that, when you visited those areas you refer to, you were not driving a $100k automobile that stands out and is recognizable by anyone as, not only a very expensive car, but having occupants who are either carrying loads of cash or, even worse, indicating assets worthy of a kidnapping attempt.

I'm careful in the US, but I may not know how to be careful in other countries. And I have never heard of bandits wearing police or military uniforms putting up a roadblock to stop travelers in the US.

I'm jealous of your travels and, no doubt, the many cultural experiences you have had as a result of your attitude. But just as you would not flash big rolls of cash in many of those areas, maybe you should think twice about driving a Tesla there.

 

[jbcarioca]

... I'll wage that, when you visited those areas you refer to, you were not driving a $100k automobile that stands out and is recognizable by anyone as, not only a very expensive car, but having occupants who are either carrying loads of cash or, even worse, indicating assets worthy of a kidnapping attempt.

...

. But just as you would not flash big rolls of cash in many of those areas, maybe you should think twice about driving a Tesla there.

Iran: Opel Commodore/MB S class; Yemen: BMW 5-Series; Lebanon: Ferrari 308.
I never carry much cash and, apart form my vehicle choices from time to time, tend to be unnoticeable. And anyway my Ferrari was a nasty brown colour to make it less obvious.
My Tesla will go where I go.

disclosure: in eastern Turkey while driving new high end Peugeot from Paris to Tehran we did have some people begin to steal our wheels as we were sleeping. We woke up and drove away without harm. That was my closest call anywhere.

 

[MarcoRP]

First photo on PlugShare this morning.​