I think it's likely there will be a lot of discussion about Supercharger sites as the roll out occurs so I have decided to create separate threads for each site once it confirmed. Below are some pictures posted by brewstermac on the general Supercharger thread.
It's getting close This is a bit of overkill but I'm excited!! :wink: A short clip of 50sec of the Supercharger in Richmond in the process of getting built. One of the workers grouting up the base of the Tesla sign.
Yep. My car is scheduled for June and James has said that I will be one of the first to "take delivery in our new Service Centre in Richmond" Looks lot closer than that! Any one have schedule delivery very soon?
Michael Shimmins on Twitter: Not actually active yet (According to Tesla's call centre) but it's gotta be damn close.
Amazing how EVERYTHING is standard at Tesla sites. Even the wheel buffers are the same as in Sydney. The rear clearly passes over them so that you know just how far to reverse to not block traffic!
Charge cord doesn't fit the Pathfinder Hybrid!!! Waiting for Model X. Interestingly the supercharger plug doesn't have the tear drop center pin so looks like it would plug into any Type 2 socket. Perhaps the supercharger could charge other cars by DC mid if others negotiate with Tesla.
The workshop is still very empty, presumably that will take a little while longer. However I did not see the extent of the fit out when I visited the St Leonards earlier this year. The facility shows hours of operation for the showroom and workshop not the superchargers. I guess they will work 24/7 like Sydney?
There was a moments debate as to whether the Sydney superchargers were going to be permanently open. The decision to make them that way was taken very quickly though. I guess Melbourne will be the same. Sydney does have gates they could lock, but really, what is the point. I have been down there on a Sunday charging, when people off the street have been there window shopping. So, i guess that happens a lot. I am going to complain!! I see that Melbourne has flower beds outside the showroom. Sydney does not!!! THAT is a point of difference between the fittouts! The plants at reception, however are the same!
It looks like all of the industrial units in that complex in Melbourne have external flower beds, not just Tesla. There are other differences in the photos I have seen from Sydney, like the position of the Superchargers being on the perimeter of the complex where as Melbourne has them against the showroom windows. Tesla just uses each complex as best they can for their ability to function. All exteriors are going to be unique in their own way
This is looking great and I'm looking forward to the launch. Thanks for the photos Zoltrix. To answer Zoltrix's earlier question: yes, potentially, other cars could use Tesla's superchargers if they have a type 2 plug, BUT ONLY if they sort out their battery cooling methods. This is more a matter of cost, rather than engineering, because with more cooling comes higher component costs and more expensive cooling methods. The engineering is already done and available. To the extent that it was developed in house by Tesla, other companies can just use their patents. Tesla don't even need to be notified about it. That's why a Nissan Leaf can accept a 50kW chademo DC charge, but not a 130kW Tesla Supercharge, even if the Nissan Leaf had a compatible outlet, for the moment.
There is also an authentication between the Supercharger and the vehicle, where the vehicle sends the VIN number. This has been verified by people snooping the CANbus. So, it seems, ANY use of the Superchargers would require Tesla's cooperation. Tesla can also remotely enable a single Supercharge session for Model S vehicles that do not have Supercharging enabled. This has been done for people that arrived at a Supercharger expecting to charge but had not paid up. Instead of sending a flat-bed, Tesla allowed them to charge once, albeit with some customer education included. This will rarely be a problem in the future, since all currently orderable Tesla models have Supercharging included.
Yes, I was more surprised that the connector wasn't keyed any differently than a standard type 2 connector, eg the notch at the top and the teardrop. The socket on a Model S appeared to have some unique features. I do believe I read somewhere that the Tesla type is deeper however to accept a greater contact area for the DC supercharging. Unlike the Type 2 combo that seems to be what everyone else is going for. As far as I can see, CHAdeMO is dying outside Japan anyway, its connector is massive and its charge rate to low for up-and coming EVs. The type 1 and type 2 combo plus make more sense (not as much as the Tesla type 2 though).