I have charged here twice. No problems St Regis would have been the perfect location. Who knows why there but the person who works at the Conoco was always super nice and no problem using the bathrooms. not much there but a walk to the river is nice. by reading this thread it seems the person had a combination of running into a few questionable characters and the drivers argumentative/ agenda personality. This could of easily been defused by just downplaying everything. I was there for 40 minutes in order to get a full charge to get all the way back to the top of the mountain in Whitefish. Saw a lot of snowmobilers with big huge trucks come in and get gas as well as folks at the restaurant across the street. Rural and probably poor based on what i saw. I always try and blend in to those situations and never have problems.
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Supercharger - Superior, MT
- Thread starter Cottonwood
- Start date
I think in general due to the potential sensitivities (perceived green agenda by wealthy) and lack of general knowledge of Tesla, etc. it is probably best to err on the side of humility and work to find common ground. Agree with other posters that gently pointing out American-made as a motivator in addition to performance.
HookBill
Member
They all probably just returned from a Trump rally. 
While I might be tempted to agree, I really think we should avoid labeling/reducing this a red/blue thing. In my experience there are fans and foes on both sides of the political spectrum. There are many diverse reasons why someone might like Tesla cars. For it to be a mass market success it needs to be true that consumers are not required to buy into all of them in order to appreciate and own the car.
- Performance
- Styling
- Technology
- Safety
- The hot new thing
- Pro Environmental / renewable energy
- Reduce dependency on foreign oil
- Performance
- Styling
- Technology
- Safety
- The hot new thing
- Pro Environmental / renewable energy
- Reduce dependency on foreign oil
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
I agree with the others. Frame your answers in a way that talks about how American it is, reduction in foreign oil, etc. Don't put it in a way that puts down their car (like the response about $12k battery costing less than gas, even though it is true).
HookBill
Member
It is very easy to talk about taking the high ground, and in most cases that would be the correct approach. But, if the story the OP told is accurate, my guess is doing so would only infuriate them more. There is a reason why people try to do good things in dangerous parts of the world only to come home wounded or dead. If your presence is truly unwanted, there will be nothing you can say other than to simply leave.
Electric700
Active Member
Glad your experience was better. If we treat ICE vehicle owners well and point out the benefits of EVs, you may help encourage these same people to be the next Tesla owners. Also I'm not sure the OP's comment about the 12 year battery life was correct since Tesla designed the batteries to last and indicated to me that they can replace individual components that may fail, rather than the entire battery. Hopefully it will last longer than 25 years, at which point you may want to look at the 285 kWh Tesla battery and autohover upgrade
stopcrazypp
Well-Known Member
He may have still picked up the rock anyways, but it seemed the response about gas costs is like a "burn" that would embarrass most people and seemed to have been a trigger point.
I have charged at about 30 different superchargers and IMO this is more a wealth vs non wealth thing. Not a red/blue, green/non green thing. I have been in heavily democratic areas at a supercharger and felt very uncomfortable/ secure because the area was close to the inner city and could see the looks and feel the vibes of resentment. It is a natural human thing that happens if not handled in a way that downplays it all. So while i am all pumped up on Tesla, in areas like these best to try and take as low profile approach as possible. I am thankful the Tesla to my eyes looks much less in your face than a BMW,Mercedes Porsche, etc. Sleek but understated.
A distant relative of mine in rural Montana, some decades back, had such irrational resentment of the "perceived green agenda by the wealthy" (good description) that she refused to sell land to the Nature Conservancy for a large profit (even though the Nature Conservancy was specifically planning to continue the current use of the land for ranching), instead selling to a developer for *much less* money. The developer didn't even manage to develop anything (there was no demand for housing in this part of rural Montana). The land may have been bought by the Nature Conservancy by now, I haven't checked.
So this particular irrational resentment of the "perceived green agenda by the wealthy" is a thing and people will *throw away large amounts of money* in futile gestures to oppose it. Crazy, really.
TaoJones
Beyond Driven
Thanks for the heads-up, as Montana is on the yet-to-visit list for later this year.
I've not had a problem at Barstow, but after the carjacking early last year, and seeing that the leftmost chargers still border a dark area (including the space reportedly from which the carjackers emerged), I tend to use the canopied chargers when possible.
I've not had a problem at Barstow, but after the carjacking early last year, and seeing that the leftmost chargers still border a dark area (including the space reportedly from which the carjackers emerged), I tend to use the canopied chargers when possible.
Leaving the utterly inappropriate off topic nonsense that is littering this thread aside, whatever the OP experienced at the Superior supercharger is atypical in my experience.
I have land in Montana and go up there fairly often. Sometimes I drive my F150 (when I'm there to hunt) and sometimes I take the P85D. I'm not a Montana native but I spend enough time there (as well as Idaho and Wyoming) that it feels like home to me. As a hunter, I also end up having a lot in common with many Montanans.
I've had people talk to me about my P85D both at the Superior supercharger and other places (diners, supply stores, gun shops, etc.) all over Montana. Some know what it is, others don't, but I've never had any conflict. Some people have negative views of EVs and I don't try to convince them otherwise. We talk, they have their opinions and I let it be. They have every right in the world to look down on EVs.
Where you definitely will get in trouble is if you have a haughty attitude or think that no one can have a negative view of EVs or Teslas in particular. If you're friendly and open to discussion with someone who simply isn't going to agree with your position, you likely will never have the experience the OP described.
I have had FAR more people in the Bay Area give me attitude about my pickup than I've had issues with people in Montana and my Tesla. I've had fake "tickets" stuck on my windshield here, claiming I was guilty of polluting the environment by driving a big truck and I've had people flip me off and yell at me for driving a truck that has hunting related bumper stickers on it (including an NRA sticker as well as Ducks Unlimited and my hunting club stickers).
I have land in Montana and go up there fairly often. Sometimes I drive my F150 (when I'm there to hunt) and sometimes I take the P85D. I'm not a Montana native but I spend enough time there (as well as Idaho and Wyoming) that it feels like home to me. As a hunter, I also end up having a lot in common with many Montanans.
I've had people talk to me about my P85D both at the Superior supercharger and other places (diners, supply stores, gun shops, etc.) all over Montana. Some know what it is, others don't, but I've never had any conflict. Some people have negative views of EVs and I don't try to convince them otherwise. We talk, they have their opinions and I let it be. They have every right in the world to look down on EVs.
Where you definitely will get in trouble is if you have a haughty attitude or think that no one can have a negative view of EVs or Teslas in particular. If you're friendly and open to discussion with someone who simply isn't going to agree with your position, you likely will never have the experience the OP described.
I have had FAR more people in the Bay Area give me attitude about my pickup than I've had issues with people in Montana and my Tesla. I've had fake "tickets" stuck on my windshield here, claiming I was guilty of polluting the environment by driving a big truck and I've had people flip me off and yell at me for driving a truck that has hunting related bumper stickers on it (including an NRA sticker as well as Ducks Unlimited and my hunting club stickers).
DrGuest
Member
I've lived in Montana most of my life and it can be said to be a bit of a rough place in some of the small rural towns that have fallen on hard times with the changes from an economy based on logging, mining and fossil fuel extraction. Non of these are sustainable and some people here are feeling they are being forced to change. Tesla is one of the signs of change. There is a poor family who's front porch looks over at the Superchargers in Superior, so they see Tesla's coming and going, which is big news in this little town. Both Superior and Butte, can be rough stops if some of the locals have popped a six pack and find a reason to blow off some steam. A couple homeless guys will sometimes visit the Butte SC since it's in the back of the parking lots near the back of some casino's.It's sad that they are suffering. We need the new economy that sustainability can bring to Montana.
Big Timber SC is also at a gas station called The Fort, however, they can see the SC from the cashier window and are very nice as is Bozeman, and Billings SC locations. Big Timber even put a garbage can and window washing squeegee for our use. You will get lots of looks but all are very friendly including Carl the local Auto mechanic who often comes over to talk when he sees a Tesla.
St Regis would have been a much better location for the SC instead of Superior, both for getting to Glacier National Park and for some of these safety concerns. Missoula, Bozeman and Billiings are all at Hotels and are the nicest Super charger Stops in Montana.
Big Timber SC is also at a gas station called The Fort, however, they can see the SC from the cashier window and are very nice as is Bozeman, and Billings SC locations. Big Timber even put a garbage can and window washing squeegee for our use. You will get lots of looks but all are very friendly including Carl the local Auto mechanic who often comes over to talk when he sees a Tesla.
St Regis would have been a much better location for the SC instead of Superior, both for getting to Glacier National Park and for some of these safety concerns. Missoula, Bozeman and Billiings are all at Hotels and are the nicest Super charger Stops in Montana.
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HookBill
Member
hockeythug
Active Member
This is allowed though?
They all probably just returned from a Trump rally.
HookBill
Member
If it qualifies, take it out. Since it belonged to me I have no problems with that.
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