Supercharger - Lubbock (SC), TX

[Talmen]

I wonder if Lubbock’s reluctance to embrace EVs is because it is very near the heart of the gas and oil areas around the Permian basin. Also, you can earn a degree in Petroleum Engineering at Tech.

Well, that and that area is heavy in the agriculture and oil industry so everyone, has trucks. Especially outside of Lubbock in all the smaller towns and communities. EVs aren't seen as being able to meet the needs for a lot of the people up there. The sentiment I've seen from people up there even regarding the Ford F150 lightning is that it's not a good because attaching a trailer instantly hamstrings its range. The lightning is seen more like a "city folks" truck for people that rarely if ever actually need to haul things. My father in-law is a cotton farmer around Levelland, TX (small town west of Lubbock) and I've had extensive conversations with him and his farmer friends out there about their "views" on electrification since they always want to talk about my car when I'm up there... Those were riveting conversations but basically, they mostly see EVs as a thing that east Texas city folks are into but isn't relevant to west Texas folk. They like my Tesla but wouldn't get one, or any EV, themselves.

That being said, EVs are starting to take a hold slowly but surely up in that area (mostly in Lubbock itself). I've seen several Teslas (and other brand EVs) up there the last couple of trips I've made. It would help immensely with adoption though if West Texas and the Panhandle weren't charging deserts. That feels like a chicken and egg problem though.

 

[Hydrocarbon302]

Them: Do you realize the electricity at that powers your electric car comes from fossil fuels?”
Me: ”Yes. Mostly natural gas. My EV is supporting the oil and gas industry.”
Them: “Wait? Whut? You’re not supposed to say that..”

 

[Cigar Man]

Well, that and that area is heavy in the agriculture and oil industry so everyone, has trucks. Especially outside of Lubbock in all the smaller towns and communities. EVs aren't seen as being able to meet the needs for a lot of the people up there. The sentiment I've seen from people up there even regarding the Ford F150 lightning is that it's not a good because attaching a trailer instantly hamstrings its range. The lightning is seen more like a "city folks" truck for people that rarely if ever actually need to haul things. My father in-law is a cotton farmer around Levelland, TX (small town west of Lubbock) and I've had extensive conversations with him and his farmer friends out there about their "views" on electrification since they always want to talk about my car when I'm up there... Those were riveting conversations but basically, they mostly see EVs as a thing that east Texas city folks are into but isn't relevant to west Texas folk. They like my Tesla but wouldn't get one, or any EV, themselves.

Once upon a time I used to work extensively in Eastern New Mexico and West Texas - and yes, I've been to Levelland where I worked with South Plains College.

I live way down in the Rio Grande Valley now and there are a lot of Winter Texans around me. My neighbor is a retired farm implements dealer from South Dakota. On many evenings, he invites his buddies over for a beer and there is often a lot of good nature hooting and hollerin' when I come home and plug in my car. Like your FIL and his friends, they love to talk about my EV, but generally have no use for them. While I sip a beer with them, we have polite conversations and I dispel many of the myths they believe.

I tend to agree that the Lightening will not do what they need. Putting a trailer filled with eight steers behind an electric truck means you won't be able to drive from Amarillo to Levelland and return, especially with no chargers in the area - certainly not like a dually with a diesel V8. Someday, such heavy duty electric trucks will be available and chargers will be in place in deeply rural areas - but not now. EVs are just another battle in the culture war between urban and rural America.

 

[electricglider]

Them: Do you realize the electricity at that powers your electric car comes from fossil fuels?”
Me: ”Yes. Mostly natural gas. My EV is supporting the oil and gas industry.”
Them: “Wait? Whut? You’re not supposed to say that..”

I've been in the same conversations before and in additional to this example, I also add that EVs support ALL energy industries since EVs are agnostic to where it receives its power from. EVs give you the option to CHOOSE your energy source so you can be a lot more energy independent than driving a gas vehicle where you have no choice and are stuck with only gas/oil energy.

 

[blecchus_rex]

I wonder if Lubbock’s reluctance to embrace EVs is because it is very near the heart of the gas and oil areas around the Permian basin. Also, you can earn a degree in Petroleum Engineering at Tech.

Possibly, but a historical gripe for TTU is that the Permanent University Fund (aka PUF... basically a sovereign wealth fund) pours money into the UT and A&M systems (and specifically not TTU or any other TX public university) from oil and other mineral revenue rights from it's granted land assets. The land in question is more or less in Texas Tech's back yard. I could imagine an artful campaign to play on Tech's napoleonic complex vis-a-vis A&M & UT to stick it to them by advancing all electric. It's a stretch... but we are talking Tech here

 

[Talmen]

UPDATE:

Looks like the plot on Zenith has had an address change. It is no longer 7012 Zenith, it has been changed to 2171 E Slaton Rd. Upon looking at the Lubbock permit database under this new address, I'm now seeing lots of permit movement for the Toot'n Totum. It also looks like the flatwork and building permit was issued for the Toot'n Totum store on 12/28/22.

I thought something was weird when the Zenith address stopped auto-filling in the permit search box like it had been doing. So I took a look at the Lubbock GIS/parcel map, and it showed that the address has been changed for this plot.

There is still no permit movement on the Supercharger itself, but the fact that construction on the host site looks imminent now since they have permits, hopefully the Supercharger isn't far behind.

Here is a link to the Lubbock permit database for the Toot'n Totum (Future Supercharger host site) on US-84 using the new address:

http://egovaccess.ci.lubbock.tx.us/EnerGov_Prod/SelfService/#/search?m=1&fm=1&ps=10&pn=1&em=true&st=2171%20E%20SLATON%20RD

 

[AudreyHTX1]

OK same parcel of land, just different address. ETA: I see now that you said “this plot”.

Wow, thanks much for figuring that one out!

 

[Talmen]

Based on a recent inspection, it appears that construction has started finally on the Toot'n Totum store. If anyone is local that can verify, that would be helpful. It will be a month or two until I'm back up there myself.

We'll be watching for permits relating to the Supercharger on both Lubbock's permit site and TDLR. Tesla has been known to build out Superchargers while the host site is still under construction and sometimes opening chargers before the host site even opens. Not saying that will happen here but one can hope!

TLDR Summary as of 2/9/23 for new thread readers so you don't have to read 21 pages of posts:

• There is a small 4 stall Supercharger at the Lubbock Service center. This is not considered the primary "Lubbock Supercharger", at least in the long term. There is some talk that the Service Center Supercharger may actually be closed to the public once the primary one opens.
• There is a Toot'n Totum Travel Center being built near the intersection of the Slaton Highway (US-84) and the Loop (TX Loop-289) on the southeast side of the city. It has mostly been confirmed that this will be the host site for the primary Lubbock Supercharger.
• Construction appears to be underway for the Toot'n Totum that will eventually host the Lubbock Supercharger. The stall count, as of now, is still unknown.
• Some rumors of maybe another possible site in town but as of now, those are just rumors.

 

[theflyer]

Based on a recent inspection, it appears that construction has started finally on the Toot'n Totum store. If anyone is local that can verify, that would be helpful. It will be a month or two until I'm back up there myself.

We'll be watching for permits relating to the Supercharger on both Lubbock's permit site and TDLR. Tesla has been known to build out Superchargers while the host site is still under construction and sometimes opening chargers before the host site even opens. Not saying that will happen here but one can hope!

TLDR Summary as of 2/9/23 for new thread readers so you don't have to read 21 pages of posts:

• There is a small 4 stall Supercharger at the Lubbock Service center. This is not considered the primary "Lubbock Supercharger", at least in the long term. There is some talk that the Service Center Supercharger may actually be closed to the public once the primary one opens.
• There is a Toot'n Totum Travel Center being built near the intersection of the Slaton Highway (US-84) and the Loop (TX Loop-289) on the southeast side of the city. It has mostly been confirmed that this will be the host site for the primary Lubbock Supercharger.
• Construction appears to be underway for the Toot'n Totum that will eventually host the Lubbock Supercharger. The stall count, as of now, is still unknown.
• Some rumors of maybe another possible site in town but as of now, those are just rumors.

Thanks for the TLDR.

IMO, this thread should be renamed to Lubbock (SC), TX and a new thread should be started for the Toot'n Totum location with a title something like "Lubbock, TX - address of the Toot'n Totum." If desired, a third thread could be created for the speculative site to host conversations and track the evolution of that topic. The title can be easily updated over time as confidence increases around where it'll be.

(SC) is used widely here on TMC to denote supercharger locations at service centers, and it is also how it is listed on supercharge.info.

To rename the thread, simply use the report feature and ask the admins to rename it. Individual posts from this thread can even be moved to the new thread(s) if desired by the same reporting process. Just report and list the posts to move. Making these changes would make it much easier to stay abreast of developments at each location.

Given that this thread seems to have become a defacto discussion forum for Lubbock Tesla owners, I thought I would post my suggestion here rather than start the new threads and rename this thread unilaterally.

 

[Talmen]

Thanks for the TLDR.

IMO, this thread should be renamed to Lubbock (SC), TX and a new thread should be started for the Toot'n Totum location with a title something like "Lubbock, TX - address of the Toot'n Totum." If desired, a third thread could be created for the speculative site to host conversations and track the evolution of that topic. The title can be easily updated over time as confidence increases around where it'll be.

(SC) is used widely here on TMC to denote supercharger locations at service centers, and it is also how it is listed on supercharge.info.

To rename the thread, simply use the report feature and ask the admins to rename it. Individual posts from this thread can even be moved to the new thread(s) if desired by the same reporting process. Just report and list the posts to move. Making these changes would make it much easier to stay abreast of developments at each location.

Given that this thread seems to have become a defacto discussion forum for Lubbock Tesla owners, I thought I would post my suggestion here rather than start the new threads and rename this thread unilaterally.

Great idea, I have submitted to have this thread renamed to "Supercharger - Lubbock (SC), TX".

I have created a new thread, Supercharger - Lubbock, TX - E Slaton Hwy. This new thread will be for new updates regarding the Supercharger / Toot'n Totom going in on E Slaton Hwy.

 

[HillCountryFun]

Here’s a Pic from 2/7/2023. It has started but mostly dirt work so far.

 

[Markolise]

Any update or progress for this Supercharger?

 

[Talmen]

Any update or progress for this Supercharger?

This thread has shifted to track the Lubbock Service Center Supercharger. Discussion for the new one going in at the Toot 'n Totum has moved to: Supercharger - Lubbock, TX - E Slaton Hwy as TMC prefers to have one thread per charger site.

The last update is that the host site is under construction. There have been no Supercharger related permits filed yet with either the city or TDLR.

 

[Talmen]

Anyone know if the Lubbock Service Center Superchargers are offline? Saw a post about it earlier this morning in the North Texas Tesla Owners Club Facebook group. The phone app shows all stalls as offline while the car shows the site is having connectivity issues with an icon that has a line drawn through a signal strength icon.

The chargers also may be working but the site's cell connection may be down.

 

[cmy4x4]

Post on Plugshare at 7:47 this morning confirmed that Supercharger was working. Cannot personally confirm.

 

[richardodi]

Anyone know if the Lubbock Service Center Superchargers are offline? Saw a post about it earlier this morning in the North Texas Tesla Owners Club Facebook group. The phone app shows all stalls as offline while the car shows the site is having connectivity issues with an icon that has a line drawn through a signal strength icon.

The chargers also may be working but the site's cell connection may be down.

View attachment 923925View attachment 923926

I’ve seen that no-signal icon. It’s been like that a few weeks (I think - not sure how long) but I still charge as usual. I charged there on Thursday and business as usual - except for the icon.

 

[cmy4x4]

I’ve seen that no-signal icon. It’s been like that a few weeks (I think - not sure how long) but I still charge as usual. I charged there on Thursday and business as usual - except for the icon

That would explain why I never got billed for my charging session on 3/24. Supercharger worked fine, but never showed up in my history or on my credit card. Thanks Elon. LOL

 

[DanL3]

Sunday this supercharger properly charged my car for 58kWh. But the app also says "First idle fee waved" I was never Idle. The car was still charging when I got to it. I had tried to remove the plug with the doors locked and that shut down the charging process and it took about a minute for the phone to connect and unlock the car so that I could pull the plug. Also there was still an open stall at Lubbock at that time . This is the first time I have seen an Idle fee notice. Not even a notice that I was close to the end of charge. I am thinking that something at Lubbock is faulty causing false Idle notifications. Has anyone else had this type of problem before??

 

[PLUS EV]

Sunday this supercharger properly charged my car for 58kWh. But the app also says "First idle fee waved" I was never Idle. The car was still charging when I got to it. I had tried to remove the plug with the doors locked and that shut down the charging process and it took about a minute for the phone to connect and unlock the car so that I could pull the plug. Also there was still an open stall at Lubbock at that time . This is the first time I have seen an Idle fee notice. Not even a notice that I was close to the end of charge. I am thinking that something at Lubbock is faulty causing false Idle notifications. Has anyone else had this type of problem before??

Given what you describe, it doesn't sound out of line. If half the stalls are occupied, there is a chance for idle fees. So at a 4 stall supercharger, if there is even one more car in addition to your car that is plugged in, that means 2 out of 4 are occupied and you could get idle fees. According to what you posted 3 of 4 were occupied which is above the idle fee threshold. Then you stopped charging without unplugging, therefore you were occupying a spot without charging which triggered the idle fee warning, which makes sense to me. You do get a 5-minute grace period with idle fees so assuming you were able to get the plug out within 5 minutes, you should not actually be charged with an idle fee.

 

[DanL3]

Given what you describe, it doesn't sound out of line. If half the stalls are occupied, there is a chance for idle fees. So at a 4 stall supercharger, if there is even one more car in addition to your car that is plugged in, that means 2 out of 4 are occupied and you could get idle fees. According to what you posted 3 of 4 were occupied which is above the idle fee threshold. Then you stopped charging without unplugging, therefore you were occupying a spot without charging which triggered the idle fee warning, which makes sense to me. You do get a 5-minute grace period with idle fees so assuming you were able to get the plug out within 5 minutes, you should not actually be charged with an idle fee.

Thanks for the info. It was only about 30 seconds of "off but plugged in". Way less than the 5 minutes that you state. Is it possible that Lubbock is triggering faster? Anyway, what happened to me is not reasonable and needs to be corrected.