Supercharger - Los Altos, CA (LIVE 7 Aug 2020, 16 urban stalls)

[miimura]

I went back again on Thursday 4/30. It was still dead quiet down there and the button did not open the charge port. I did not try plugging in.

I searched the City of Los Altos building permit site and found a Tesla permit that was issued in 2018. It passed final inspection on March 9th. That is one week after my pictures in Post #14. At this point it must be waiting for PG&E.

 

[Randy Spencer]

My post from March 5th said that all they needed was their sign-off and they were good... Stupid PG&E

 

[SMAlset]

The supercharger map shows 2 new sites near each other. One in Los Altos (near San Antonio) and one in Mountain View (near Castro and El Camino). This one is in between. Does anyone know if the other 2 sites are coming? Is 72kW correct for this site? It's a little disappointing - I though Tesla was adding 250kW predominantly.

i thought the v3 would be kind of reserved for highway driving and easy access from there, not for innercity charging.

 

[Janus]

i thought the v3 would be kind of reserved for highway driving and easy access from there, not for innercity charging.

Especially on the peninsula, SuperCharger users here are nearly all apartment/condo dwellers. Sure, some small percentage is folks starting/ending a trip, but no one passing through the Bay Area is going to take US-101 or I-280. The only reason why there are V2s on the peninsula is because they were built before urban SuperChargers were a thing.

 

[scotmac]

The los altos superchargers have been done for MONTHS! Is PGE still holding it up? WTF!?!

 

[scotmac]

There are a good number of homeowners that supercharge also.

 

[CAPTBarnacles]

According to the Tesla app, the 16 Los Altos Superchargers are now online.

 

[CAPTBarnacles]

I drove by the Whole Foods at 3.30 AM and the entrance to the parking garage was blocked off. I guess Supercharger access will be limited to Whole Foods store hours.

Given Musk’s personal/emotional issues with and public criticism of Bezos, it’s ironic that TSLA would build a Supercharger station in a Whole Foods parking garage.

 

[doug]

I drove by the Whole Foods at 3.30 AM and the entrance to the parking garage was blocked off. I guess Supercharger access will be limited to Whole Foods store hours.

A few years ago, I had an i3 while waiting for the Model 3 and would use the EVgo CCS charger at that location on my way home. The location is a bit frustrating since it's not open 24/7. I've had the lights go out on me while charging late and there's a gate they close around midnight (a couple hours after the store closes).

 

[Ecbear]

Looks open. Will try today and report back.

 

[Ecbear]

This is a pretty good location; 16 chargers and Whole Foods upstairs. Charging speed was brisk at 72 kW. One downside is the cell reception is bad down there.

 

[CAPTBarnacles]

I dropped by the Whole Foods at about 9.30 AM to charge my car.

When I arrived in my MX there was already another charging and another arriving. By the time I hooked up, three of 16 stalls were being occupied by MXs.

My 2020 MX LR+ (built 06.20.2020) is capable of 250 kW however, max charging rate was 48 kW initially.

When I got back to my car from picking up groceries From WF upstairs, there were still the three Xs, a couple of M3s and one MS.

The charging rate dropped to 21-23 kW for the last 10 miles. It was a painfully long wait with no wireless service except for free WF wifi which was weak.

I’ve got free unlimited supercharging so I can’t complain.

 

[CAPTBarnacles]

This is a pretty good location; 16 chargers and Whole Foods upstairs. Charging speed was brisk at 72 kW. One downside is the cell reception is bad down there.

I’m not sure why my charging rate was so low. I couldn’t increase it.

Was your car the only one?

 

[bmah]

I dropped by the Whole Foods at about 9.30 AM to charge my car.

When I arrived in my MX there was already another charging and another arriving. By the time I hooked up, three of 16 stalls were being occupied by MXs.

My 2020 MX LR+ (built 06.20.2020) is capable of 250 kW however, max charging rate was 48 kW initially.

These are Urban Superchargers, which put out a maximum of 72 kW. So you'll never draw more power than that at this location, regardless of what your car is capable of.

When I got back to my car from picking up groceries From WF upstairs, there were still the three Xs, a couple of M3s and one MS.

The charging rate dropped to 21-23 kW for the last 10 miles. It was a painfully long wait with no wireless service except for free WF wifi which was weak.

I’ve got free unlimited supercharging so I can’t complain.

Not sure if you're aware or not, but Supercharging tends to slow down as your battery gets more full. This tapering can be seen even if your battery is less than half full.

(There are quite a few factors that affect your charging speed.)

Bruce.

 

[Randy Spencer]

The reception wasn't that bad, I was streaming KQED the entire time, probably better than if I was trying to listen over the air.

But getting there at just before 10 pm they had already put up cones to block off the garage, so customers and employees could leave, but no one enter. I checked the info for that Supercharger on my display and there was no mention of hours, so I squeezed between the cones and went downstairs.

Otherwise no issue

 

[JSergeant]

According to the Tesla app, the 16 Los Altos Superchargers are now online.

View attachment 573334

@MarcoRP

 

[CAPTBarnacles]

These are Urban Superchargers, which put out a maximum of 72 kW. So you'll never draw more power than that at this location, regardless of what your car is capable of.



Not sure if you're aware or not, but Supercharging tends to slow down as your battery gets more full. This tapering can be seen even if your battery is less than half full.

(There are quite a few factors that affect your charging speed.)

Bruce.

Thanks for the info, Bruce.

I bought the MX for my wife and I’m not too familiar with the car so pardon my ignorance. I’m responsible for the groceries and “filling up” the cars so l’ve been seeking out nearby Superchargers.

 

[MarcoRP]

Some photos by SF Tesla Club on Twitter

 

[ohmobile]

I charged here yesterday around 2:30 PM. It was about half full when I arrived. I shopped for about 25 minutes and then found all the other chargers empty. I hardly every use Superchargers except for long drives from the Bay Area to Santa Barbara or to Tahoe. But Supercharging while food shopping showed me that we are hitting a tipping point with SC density where they are no longer only allowing us to drive long distances without range anxiety. At least in the Bay Area (a special case, but an indicator of future trends) they are becoming almost commonplace. And since Tesla seems to be ramping up SC deployment at a good rate, in a few more years we will find them a typical feature in populous areas.

 

[wws]

I did some charging there last week, while shopping at the store for a few minutes. Trying to use up my free Supercharging referral miles, from my one and only referral, before they expire in October. Unfortunately I haven't been doing much road tripping lately. So may as well use them locally. Tried out Stanford Mall, the CHM, and Sand Hill Road Superchargers too. Still need to hit Sunnyvale and Cupertino. (Got Los Gatos a long time ago.)