Supercharger - Tehachapi, CA (permit, 40 stalls)

[cpa]

It doesn't make a ton of sense for shorter trips, but it's still a good location for longer trips. For example, if I drove my new long range Model S with 400 rated miles on a full charge from Vegas to the Bay Area, I could make one long stop in Tehachapi as it's basically the midway point in terms of energy consumption.

It also makes sense if someone with any style of Tesla is going from the Central Coast or the Central Valley to the Owens Valley. Why take an 8-mile detour into Mojave and possibly hit a little bit of traffic (or traffic lights) when the distance on SR58 between the south exit onto old 58 and the exit for SR14 is less than three miles? I would suspect that the restroom facilities are closer and better at this putative location instead of ambling to Stater Bros., (get the bathroom code) or at Der Wienerschnitzel.

The Tehachapi location will save about 5 minutes of driving time with a trivial amount of time gained by starting at a lower SOC.

Moreover, to echo what Plus said, heading east on Interstate 40 will allow a model like his to skip Barstow completely and make it to Needles; Kingman even, if charged close to 90%, all the while saving some time by not having to head into and out of Mojave.

 

[Zoomit]

In addition, like on days such as today, ambient temps in Tehachapi are 13 degF cooler than Mojave or Bakersfield. Mid 80’s makes for a better Supercharging experience than upper 90’s.

Of course, the opposite is true in winter.

 

[Doug Martoccia]

I think it’s good to spread out the SCs a bit. In 10 years, every small town will have one.