I think you would be fooling yourself if you thought that Tesla hasn't be selling these locations on the fact that people will shop at the stores or eat at their (sit down) restaurants while they charge. Maybe I'm in the minority but if I am getting in my car to move it after it is done charging, I'm leaving the location. I'm not going to move, park then go back in the store and I have the feeling most "average" people are that way as well.
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Superchargers to be limited in future? coming to McDonalds?
- Thread starter NoMoGas
- Start date
I think you would be fooling yourself if you thought that Tesla hasn't be selling these locations on the fact that people will shop at the stores or eat at their (sit down) restaurants while they charge. Maybe I'm in the minority but if I am getting in my car to move it after it is done charging, I'm leaving the location. I'm not going to move, park then go back in the store and I have the feeling most "average" people are that way as well.
Ron,
To paraphrase the President, your position seems to be evolving as this thread progresses. :wink:
I don't disagree with your current point that Tesla told the land owners that there would be business at the mall. I just disagree with your original assertion that Tesla told them that Model S owners would be parking their Model Ss for hours at a Supercharger stall.
Personally I don't intend to park for hours at a Supercharger stall and I will take the necessary action to move my car when I have adequate charging to get to my destination. (I seriously doubt that would involve me eating at McDonalds though. :biggrin: )
Larry
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I understand your point and largely agree. However, we should consider the situation at Supercharger location. If the Supercharger location was congested, yes I would get up from dining to move my car. In most cases I don't think that would be necessary.
Larry
I should note that so far Tesla's response to the situation is to open more stalls. I could be wrong, but I haven't heard anybody complain about congestion except for Harris Ranch (fixed, has anybody had a problem since expansion?), Gilroy (about to be fixed) and Hawthorn (once San Juan Cap and Oxnard open, I believe pretty much only locals will have any reason to charge there, so whatever). Speculation about what they might need to do when Gen III comes out is pure speculation. A lot can change between now and then, so I'm not going to worry about it. An 8 space supercharger can actually service a lot more than twice the number of cars than a 4 space supercharger because there will always be some quicker and some slower people charging. We know they are negotiating contracts to allow up to 10 spaces, so we'll see how long it takes before there is any congestion at such sites.
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AMPd
Well-Known Member
Gen 3 owners will most likely have to pay everytime they use a supercharger, that will cut back on some locals from using it.
and since tesla never promised them free access for life, there should be no complaints
and since tesla never promised them free access for life, there should be no complaints
Half the car's range seems like way too much given that the superchargers are spaced at 3/4 of a 60kWh range. Even 50 miles would have left me on the J1772 at Gilroy looking forlornly at the superchargers I paid to access coming back from Harris Ranch (there was a headwind).
Having frequent repeat users get lower priority seems like a much better idea to me.
wraithnot
Model 3 VIN #2942 Model S VIN #5785
I completely agree. My starbucks visits have increased greatly since I got my Model S. Especially visits to the starbucks in Tejon Ranch, Barstow, and Atascadero
Except what about the person who drives 2-3 times a week between Austin and Dallas? That doesn't really work either. Somebody can really need the supercharger to get where they need to go frequently (indeed high mileage drivers are the perfect target for a car like the Model S). Again, though, we're at early days. They have easy fixes for current problems, and we need to see what the usage pattern is in a year or two to see if something else needs to be done.
Nothing to say the current distance between SC will remain. I belive 150 miles is spacing the goal. The Model S can plug in anywhere. It's not like not using the SC will strand anyone. They may need a bump at a level 2 or other charge option for a few minutes. I have certainly done long distance drives and understand that a nice bump near my home is nice but it's OK with me if it's a slower charge if it keeps the guy that lives across the street from it from chokaling it up anyway.
This plan is a software fix with the call in "unlock" being the only labor portion. Charge point does this all the time so I think Tesla could handle it.
How about a technology solution ? If a Supercharger site has 10 bays, then how about a solution of providing 20 charge connector in 20 spaces, though power is only flowing to a max of 10 bays at any time. You would go plug your car into any of the 20 slots and if there are more than 10 charging then you will be put on a wait, and your car will start charging as soon as someone else stops charging, on a first come first basis. A computer based implementation of this is fairly easy.
This way:
- Tesla does not have to plan infrastructure to provide power for 20 simultaneous charges. Their max power requirements remain the same
- Someone who is having lunch in a nearby restaurant does not have to rush back in the middle of their meal to unplug and move their car.
- Anyone coming into the Supercharger station, would plug it in and move onto getting other work done, with the assurance that once someone finishes, their car will automatically start charging with no intervention on their part.
The only overhead here is the reservation of 20 spaces for Tesla, the extra number of charge connectors to be installed, and the computer equipment which will do the scheduling.
This way:
- Tesla does not have to plan infrastructure to provide power for 20 simultaneous charges. Their max power requirements remain the same
- Someone who is having lunch in a nearby restaurant does not have to rush back in the middle of their meal to unplug and move their car.
- Anyone coming into the Supercharger station, would plug it in and move onto getting other work done, with the assurance that once someone finishes, their car will automatically start charging with no intervention on their part.
The only overhead here is the reservation of 20 spaces for Tesla, the extra number of charge connectors to be installed, and the computer equipment which will do the scheduling.
They're already doing basically this. The superchargers are in pairs and the stacks split the max charge current between them depending on the state of the taper and who plugged in first. In some of their patents, they describe using additional factors for prioritization as well as more flexible N to M mappings (not just 2 to 1)
Teriyaki88
Member
All this angst over a POTENTIAL problem? Come on now. This...ahem...debate is not healthy. Nuff said.
My personal experience with SC's: During the past 3 weeks I've logged 2,300 miles and used 6 out of the 8 SC's in California and I've never waited at a SC. Maybe i was lucky. My trip consisted of two 2-day trips in SoCal and one 7-day trip to NoCal and back. This was all made possible because of the SC's. I used various SC's 15 times and never had to wait. I had 5 charges in Hawthorne and 4 charges in Gilroy. Again never a wait.
Maybe I've drunk the Tesla Kool-Aid but I'm not going to complain until charging abuse becomes an issue. Frankly I don't care if a local uses SC's 100 times a day as long as it doesn't impact other users. That's just me.
Have a great day everyone!
My personal experience with SC's: During the past 3 weeks I've logged 2,300 miles and used 6 out of the 8 SC's in California and I've never waited at a SC. Maybe i was lucky. My trip consisted of two 2-day trips in SoCal and one 7-day trip to NoCal and back. This was all made possible because of the SC's. I used various SC's 15 times and never had to wait. I had 5 charges in Hawthorne and 4 charges in Gilroy. Again never a wait.
Maybe I've drunk the Tesla Kool-Aid but I'm not going to complain until charging abuse becomes an issue. Frankly I don't care if a local uses SC's 100 times a day as long as it doesn't impact other users. That's just me.
Have a great day everyone!
This is simply amazing. I had to wait at Gilroy both times I came by. Hawthorne I had to wait once out of 3 visits.
roblab
Active Member
I am curious about what times and days you had to wait. We have already been told that Fri evening to Sunday morning is the super chargers' busiest times.
I know some people who insist that LA traffic is always backed up and that we need more lanes of freeway. Of course, they HAVE to go through at 4-5 PM on a weekday.
Then I have relatives who leave home at 4 AM so they go through LA just after lunch, and they "never" have any problem. Last time I went through on the 405, it was about 2 AM, hardly a car in sight.
Who's right?
Teriyaki88
Member
My four stops in Gilroy:
Mon 11:30 AM
Wed 5:30 PM
Fri: 5:00 PM, Start of Garlic Festival!!
Sun: 10:00 AM, Garlic Festival Day!!
With 10 additional charging bays coming soon, waiting at Gilroy maybe history!
My Recent 5 Stops in Hawthorne
Sun: 10:00 PM
Sun: 8:00 PM
Sun: 10:00 AM
Sun: 8:00 PM
Wed: 5:30 PM
Mon 11:30 AM
Wed 5:30 PM
Fri: 5:00 PM, Start of Garlic Festival!!
Sun: 10:00 AM, Garlic Festival Day!!
With 10 additional charging bays coming soon, waiting at Gilroy maybe history!
My Recent 5 Stops in Hawthorne
Sun: 10:00 PM
Sun: 8:00 PM
Sun: 10:00 AM
Sun: 8:00 PM
Wed: 5:30 PM
TonyWilliams
Active Member
I can't believe that nobody suggested a valet service.
One tipped employee at an impacted site could move your car when it's done charging.
One tipped employee at an impacted site could move your car when it's done charging.
Synchronicity, anyone? This reminds me of the times that I have approached on foot a particular ATM from maybe 100 yards away. When I get within 50 feet of the previously lonely ATM two cars roll up to it and some guy on a bicycle. This has happened a lot. Oh yeah, and I would have to wait…
I suggested an automated system (like...Audi?...parking) quite a bit back.
I'm not handing my fob to a valet.
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wraithnot
Model 3 VIN #2942 Model S VIN #5785
What days and times do you tend to travel? I've been slowed down by crowded superchargers the last three times at Gilroy, once at Barstow, and once at Hawthorne. These were all during late morning or afternoon stops on weekends. But my first trip Las Vegas was on a Thursday and then it was smooth sailing all the way. And I've never had to wait at Harris Ranch (5 visits total), Tejon Ranch (5 visits total), Buellton (1 visit), or Atascadero (1 visit).
I've also noticed that the situation can improve pretty quickly. When I stopped at Gilroy a month or two ago I had to wait a while for a charger and then charged slowly until the car I was paired with finished. But when I was done charging, I was the only one left. So either you tend to travel during off-peak hours or you are just really lucky ;-)
update: just saw your most recent post. It looks like you tend to travel during off-peak hours. 11 am - 5 pm on weekends has been the busiest based on my personal experience.
TonyWilliams
Active Member
If the guy/girl is a Tesla employee with ID and "uniform", and knows the uber secret code from Tesla to make your car move?
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