Supercharging Nightmare Begins

[digitalFan]

I have seen an astounding increase in supercharging station use within the past 3 months. Went from no waiting for a charging station almost any time of the day to waiting for a station every time (sometimes at least for 30mins!).

I don’t have any other means to charge the MX at the moment other than the supercharging station.

Almost every 2nd car I see is a Model 3 waiting to charge. Obviously this has impacted the supercharging stations.

This is in the SF Bay Area.

Unfortunately this is the problem of living in a densely populated old city. You may have a graet job, great city life but still the overall quality of life maybe poor. We moved out of the bay area to Rocklin, CA and we have two Supercharging stations within 5 mile radius from our home ... which we hardly use because we charge our Tesla at home.

You can't have your cake and eat it (too)

 

[querycreative]

Just a thought: you spent 75k+ on a Tesla, buy the $500 wall charger and pay the ≈ $300 to have it installed in your garage.

 

[RAM_Eh]

I did a road trip through California and found it really frustrating charging in LA and San Fran.....wish they would dedicate at least 10% of the chargers in any one location to cars that are registered at least 50 miles away from that charger. As the super chargers were originally designed for.

 

[n3ckf]

I live outside the Bay Area (about 100 miles away) and charge my M3 at home about 90% of the time (already had a charger from a previous EV), but when i drive to the Bay i usually top off in Manteca because i dont want to charge in the Bay Area. There's *never* more than about 3 cars in the 19 stalls available at Manteca btw. So if you're headed in/out of the Bay area on 580, stop there before heading north or south on 5....

 

[goofy166]

I live in Mill Valley, Marin County, and we have been waiting for a super charger for 7 years. The closest one is in Petaluma, a low population city that is close to Hwy 101, which I guess is why they built it there. Next in closeness is San Francisco but those are always very crowded and its a long drive. There have been rumors of a SuperCharger in Marin City near Sausalito for the last few years and that would be perfect, but so far it's a dead zone. Its very confusing why Tesla is not supporting a SuperCharger in the county that probably has more Tesla's per capita than anywhere in the world.

 

[gene]

I live in Mill Valley, Marin County, and we have been waiting for a super charger for 7 years. The closest one is in Petaluma, a low population city that is close to Hwy 101, which I guess is why they built it there. Next in closeness is San Francisco but those are always very crowded and its a long drive. There have been rumors of a SuperCharger in Marin City near Sausalito for the last few years and that would be perfect, but so far it's a dead zone. Its very confusing why Tesla is not supporting a SuperCharger in the county that probably has more Tesla's per capita than anywhere in the world.

Maybe because most people in your area live in homes where they can charge? And those few that rent can count on California law to be able to allow them to install charging. Even 120v charge will easily take you to a Supercharger should you head out of town.

 

[Silicon Desert]

Just a thought: you spent 75k+ on a Tesla, buy the $500 wall charger and pay the ≈ $300 to have it installed in your garage.

I guess the possible wrong assumption here is that the OP has the ability to do this and has a garage.

 

[Silicon Desert]

Its very confusing why Tesla is not supporting a SuperCharger in the county that probably has more Tesla's per capita than anywhere in the world.

Agree about that area having a dense population of Teslas, yet it is not confusing to me. I may be wrong, but I was understanding the selection of an SC station isn't necessarily about where the most Teslas are located, but often a selection of where it is convenient for people passing through the area. Sure there is some consideration for local people, yet it is mostly about having a network of chargers that allow people to get around the country. At least that has been the general consensus from people I've talked to on that team.

 

[ChrisJ]

I live in Mill Valley, Marin County, and we have been waiting for a super charger for 7 years. The closest one is in Petaluma, a low population city that is close to Hwy 101, which I guess is why they built it there. Next in closeness is San Francisco but those are always very crowded and its a long drive. There have been rumors of a SuperCharger in Marin City near Sausalito for the last few years and that would be perfect, but so far it's a dead zone. Its very confusing why Tesla is not supporting a SuperCharger in the county that probably has more Tesla's per capita than anywhere in the world.

The Corte Madera Superchargers are almost finished. But be prepared for it to be full 100% of the time and probably hogged by the demo cars from the adjacent Tesla stored.

Supercharger - Corte Madera (Construction started Oct 2018, 8 Urban style)

 

[M3BlueGeorgia]

Agree about that area having a dense population of Teslas, yet it is not confusing to me. I may be wrong, but I was understanding the selection of an SC station isn't necessarily about where the most Teslas are located, but often a selection of where it is convenient for people passing through the area. Sure there is some consideration for local people, yet it is mostly about having a network of chargers that allow people to get around the country. At least that has been the general consensus from people I've talked to on that team.

That should be.
However, the situation is massively distorted by Tesla owners with free supercharging using the stations.
I don't have free supercharging, so haven't used any Supercharger within 100 miles of my house, despite that there are now 3 in Metro Atlanta.

So my complaint is not for more SC within X minutes of my house, it is about gaps in the Supercharger network along major highways.

Note: As more people without good personal charging options get Tesla vehicles, there is a greater need for SC in urban locations.

 

[bcalfee]

Burlington VT. We have 88,000 miles on our 2015 Mode S. Many of the new SCs are right off the interstate where access is easier for travelers. This is all East Coast Travel and two trips to the mid west. I am still amazed at the people who say they save money by charging at a SC. We are now renting temporarily and we only have 120V in the garage. It is OK if we are around town... but when we travel we have to hit the SC which is about 12 minutes away. It is a pain in the butt and a waste of time to sit at the SC. My landlord just bought a Leaf, so he now has incentive to install a 240V 40A charger. I can't wait as there is nothing like not thinking about fuel for around town and preparing for a trip... Check out PowerHero, a startup that is working on solving the urban charging delema.

 

[Silicon Desert]

So my complaint is not for more SC within X minutes of my house, it is about gaps in the Supercharger network along major highways.

Bingo. me too..... gaps in the network. I can't take the I40 route from Oklahoma to Memphis if I only want to use an SC because of the black hole there. And in North Dakota? Forget about it.

 

[Interferon]

In a free market, shortages only happen when prices are artificially kept down.

Solution? Raise prices until there aren't shortages. Use the extra capital you make from high prices and use it to build more stalls. When there aren't shortages anymore, lower the prices again.

Problem solved.

 

[Interferon]

I live in Brooklyn, NY, and park in an uderground parking lot. I am able to charge my model X with the quick 220 system . It gives me 9 mi/hr which gives me about 100 miles overnight. I was using superchargers until I bought it.

This is the website I got mine from.
110-120 and 220-240 Voltage Converters & Accessories

You don't need to convert to 220 because all Tesla chargers can connect directly to 120. Your converter box doesn't magically create more power because it converts to 220 from 110. It just halves the current when it doubles the voltage, so you end up with the same power. Minus the inevitable losses of the conversion itself.

 

[DaddyD]

I live in the SF Bay Area. We are fortunate to have bought a house in the 'burbs while we still could, and I can charge our EVs overnight. Although one is a Tesla with free supercharging, and we have taken long road trips (WY/ MT, SoCal, Eastern Sierra) impossible in any other EV, we rarely supercharge near home. Just because we *can* do something to save a few $$, doesn't mean we should. Tesla messages that the SC's are to enable travel, not to get a free charge when you have a home charger available, and we respect this position. And, charging at 10kW overnight is better for the battery in the long run, which makes it a wiser choice even in purely financial terms.

Around here, it is totally plausible that buying an MX was well within the OP's means, but he/she does not have a garage with power. There may only be street parking, or he/she may have a $1M+ apartment with garage spaces but no power for a charger. So don't assume the OP has a better option, or that you can validly infer that buying an MX was a financially irresponsible decision by the OP. Real estate is absolutely crazy here.

The big question is, how much of the current SC demand will taper off as 6 month free charging deals expire and owners start using cheaper power overnight (for us, $0.14 per kWh at home 11pm-7am vs $0.26 if we had to pay for SC). Tesla would need to know the housing mix used by local M3 owners to estimate how many will continue to use superchargers as their only charging resource.

 

[Stratusbill]

You do realise you are part of the problem here! Superchargers were never intended to be used for daily charging and now the market is flooding with M3s it will only get worse. Especially if they are using them in the same way as you are for their daily charging routine!

You should be able to charge anywhere. Stone Age car owners don’t have fueling restrictions. Neither should evs. Tesla’s supercharging network has to match production growth.

 

[shinytop]

I have read the 110 only gives about 3 miles per charging hour. It would seem DaveTP is getting 3 times that with his converter.

 

[Silicon Desert]

I have read the 110 only gives about 3 miles per charging hour. It would seem DaveTP is getting 3 times that with his converter.

Well, actually it is 120V, but yea, same thing. Some folks still call it 110. I assume you may know that it is not about the voltage at 120V. It is about the amount of current being delivered from the circuit, with "most" 120V outlets being either 15 amp or 20 amp for a single connection.

 

[goofy166]

Chris where in Corte Madera is the new SuperCharger going?

 

[goofy166]

The Corte Madera Superchargers are almost finished. But be prepared for it to be full 100% of the time and probably hogged by the demo cars from the adjacent Tesla stored.

Supercharger - Corte Madera (Construction started Oct 2018, 8 Urban style)

Thanks Chris but isn't that just extending the current chargers that are behind the Tesla showroom in the village? And I agree it will be totally full most of the time, so not a real solution.