The purpose of L3 charging is LONG DISTANCE TRAVEL. If you look at Elons evolution on the topic of free unlimited supercharging for LONG DISTANCE TRAVEL. It becomes clear that he didn't believe people would waste their time at a SC when they can charge at home. I didn't believe it either until I waited in line for 2 hours at Gilroy for a bunch of people that bought a $100k car saving $10/hr at a supercharger;
While Elon and Tesla always talked about the SC network as "enabling" long-distance travel, they were consistent about trusting the owners' judgment and rational decision-making on where and when to utilize that feature. It was never restricted to long-distance travel, and it was always understood that local SC use was not only allowed, but that it could make sense in some scenarios. Indeed, if you look at a lot of their talk about Asia, Tesla specifically encouraged local super-charging. When questioned about local SC in terms of the congestion issues that everyone in CA want to talk about, they would state repeatedly that they would supply capacity to account for the contingency of local charging, and owners were free to use the SC network as they see fit. It was sold as part of the economic justification for purchasing the car.
They started shifting dramatically to discourage local charging around 2015. This continued through 2016 when it became clear that they were not going to allow free supercharging on the Model 3.
J.B. Straubel from the 6/1/16 Shareholder's Meeting to be super interesting:
“It also pains us to see people mis-valuing their time at charging stations so often, it is far more convenient and faster for you overall to charge at home or at work. It takes one second to plug in, you don’t have to go to a separate location and wait for the car to be there. Time and time again, we see people drive to Supercharger stations, wait there for 30 minutes and drive to a different destination. And if they do their math – and they value their time – it makes no sense.”
I find this quote patronizing, and it misunderstands the complexity of the calculus undertaken by Tesla drivers. Perhaps the people doing local charging are using that time for meditation; perhaps they are using the time charging to avoid an argument with a spouse; perhaps the kids are too noisy and they want to listen to a podcast; perhaps they like the coffee at the shop next door; perhaps the SC provides a quiet place to catch up on emails. . .
Clearly, Elon and Tesla did not account for the calculus correctly. That doesn't make people doing what they were encouraged to do free-loaders. Tesla has now implicitly acknowledged their miscalculation and have made a several key adjustments. The prohibition of commercial use; Idle fees; charging for SC on the Model 3; Urban chargers; supplementing the level 2 destination charger network is another one.
I would like to trust the decision maker, but as I watch the decisions being made I have totally lost faith.
Why? Every time I go to my local Whole Foods that offers free charging, right up front. There are electric (or PHEV) cars parked there. I constantly see the two spots filled with Tesla cars. More recently, I see BMWs and other PHEV cars. Sometimes there are Leafs too!
. . . The problem? None of them (except the Leafs) are ever plugged in.
That is why I strongly support Idle fees at SC locations.
As far as the close parking at Whole Foods, those people are just being jerks. Perhaps it's rational to take the closest spot, but it's directly analogous to an able-bodied person parking in a disabled parking spot because they are driving someone else's car that has disabled plates. We have a Nissan Leaf, and my son has been blocked from a needed charge by cars (typically hybrids) who thought it would be nice to park in the closest spot.
I completely support Tesla changing policies to do away with free super-charging going forward. Where it was included as a feature, the user should not be judged for using it.
