Tesla at public charger next to supercharger

[troypercival]

Just a thought in a month or so we would start to see MS/MX and eventually M3 with limit credit to supercharging. Quite a few supercharger at shopping malls have both L2 charger and supercharger together. How would other EV drivers react if they start seeing Tesla using the L2 charger instead of supercharger to save on charging cost and avoid idle fee.

 

[Derek Kessler]

A lot of times the non-Super-chargers are pay for use, and the Tesla Supercharger fees are rather reasonable, so I'd be surprised to see a Tesla owner opting for a non-Super-charger if the option is available.

But you hit on the problem at the end the: idle fees. It's going to take a concerted effort to educate the public — EV owners and otherwise — that charging spots should not be thought of as long-term parking spots. Especially Superchargers.

 

[TexasEV]

I can see a Tesla plugging into the level 2 if he's going to be there for hours and that's all the charge he needs. No point taking up a supercharger if he doesn't need a quick charge. This just isn't going to be a common occurrence though. Certainly a traveler wouldn't be plugging into the level 2 to save a few dollars in supercharging fee. If other EV drivers don't like it, well, they could have bought a Tesla if they wanted more charging options.

 

[iffatall]

I don't think it is a good idea to leave the car supercharging while shopping, unless you are just there to pick something up real quick. If I'm going to a mall to shop or watch a movie, and I need to charge (which is unlikely), I'd charge at an L2 charger, whether or not there is a supercharger next to it.

 

[whitex]

I can see a Tesla plugging into the level 2 if he's going to be there for hours and that's all the charge he needs. No point taking up a supercharger if he doesn't need a quick charge.

Or maybe charge fast at a supercharger, then move your car. That way you keep the chargers available to others who may need it. Charging slow so that you can park somewhere longer unnecessarily takes up charging spots.

If other EV drivers don't like it, well, they could have bought a Tesla if they wanted more charging options.

Or maybe a leaf is all they could afford. It's attitudes like yours here that make people park their ICE in a supercharger spot and say - hey, they should have bought a hybrid instead of Tesla so they have more fueling options. There are plenty of gas stations.

 

[Electric1]

We must consider that as Tesla owners we can use wiyher Superchargers or L2, others have only L2 which are slower and are usually leas plentiful.

Just because we can use L2, it should be a second choice, leaving that resource available for others

 

[TexasEV]

We must consider that as Tesla owners we can use wiyher Superchargers or L2, others have only L2 which are slower and are usually leas plentiful.

Less plentiful? There are many thousands more level 2 charging stations than superchargers.

 

[troypercival]

In locations where both L2 and superchargers exist, there are usually a lot more superchargers than L2. This is especially true when the L2 charging stations are free.

 

[xyeahtony]

I feel like if you can afford a tesla but you can't afford a $4 supercharger fee to charge your car, something is seriously wrong.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Or maybe charge fast at a supercharger, then move your car. That way you keep the chargers available to others who may need it. Charging slow so that you can park somewhere longer unnecessarily takes up charging spots.


Or maybe a leaf is all they could afford. It's attitudes like yours here that make people park their ICE in a supercharger spot and say - hey, they should have bought a hybrid instead of Tesla so they have more fueling options. There are plenty of gas stations.

I don't really see the analogy. ICEing a charging spot is immediately wrong because it is not using the spot as it is intended.

On the other hand, the L2 charger is intended for every EV, not matter if it is a Tesla or not. So it's fair game for a Tesla to charge there regardless of if there are supercharger stations nearby.

For example, there are places with more CHAdeMO stations than there are supercharger stations (or where there are no supercharger stations). Will anyone seriously get indignant if they see a Leaf charging at an L2 vs a nearby CHAdeMO? I don't see why a non-Tesla should get first privilege at a L2 station simply because other automakers refuse to invest more in DC infrastructure for their EVs.

 

[whitex]

I don't really see the analogy. ICEing a charging spot is immediately wrong because it is not using the spot as it is intended.

On the other hand, the L2 charger is intended for every EV, not matter if it is a Tesla or not. So it's fair game for a Tesla to charge there regardless of if there are supercharger stations nearby.

You'd probably be one of those guys who would park their ICE in a supercharger spot just because the sign says "general parking for 1hr" even if there are plenty of spots available nearby. Don't worry, you are not alone, there are superchargers like that, and in some of them, some locals notoriously park in SC spots while they go eat at a nearby Restaurant because they feel entitled like you - the sign does say "general parking" after all (you can find pictures of those ICED SC's in various threads). Curious people park a few spots down to keep the SC free, but of courtesy is a personal choice.

 

[CalBlue 85D]

Depends if you need a charge or not, depends if there were open SC stalls when you arrived, depends how long you will be there, depends if it is a L2 that gets used a lot by other BEV's. Guess there is no single answer for every charger. Can you? Yes. Should you? Maybe. I won't charge in a L2 spot if I have plenty of range and will be charging at home overnight anyway, but if I needed the charge and the SC was not available then I don't see why not.

 

[shonline]

Or maybe charge fast at a supercharger, then move your car. That way you keep the chargers available to others who may need it. Charging slow so that you can park somewhere longer unnecessarily takes up charging spots.


Or maybe a leaf is all they could afford. It's attitudes like yours here that make people park their ICE in a supercharger spot and say - hey, they should have bought a hybrid instead of Tesla so they have more fueling options. There are plenty of gas stations.

Every time I see a LEAF, I try to give them a thumbs up. They are part of the team!

 

[whitex]

Depends if you need a charge or not, depends if there were open SC stalls when you arrived, depends how long you will be there, depends if it is a L2 that gets used a lot by other BEV's. Guess there is no single answer for every charger. Can you? Yes. Should you? Maybe. I won't charge in a L2 spot if I have plenty of range and will be charging at home overnight anyway, but if I needed the charge and the SC was not available then I don't see why not.

Exactly - common sense and courtesy. There are 2 free EV chargers at my work, spots near the entrance to the building too, but I never park there unless I need a charge (which happened twice in the over 3 years since I've been driving a Tesla). There is another Tesla in the same parking lot every day too, but I never saw him park at the EV spots either. Like me, he probably doesn't need the charge, so why not let the other EV's with smaller batteries use it instead?

 

[cab]

Honestly, the charging speed difference between the average L2 and superchargers is such that you'd like be better off pulling in to the supercharger, charging for 10 minutes and then just parking in a regular spot in most cases. You likely either need big range (i.e. you are traveling) or you don't. A "quick top off" of 20 or 30 miles while I'm out shopping for the day is just generally unnecessary for most Teslas with their large batteries.

 

[stopcrazypp]

You'd probably be one of those guys who would park their ICE in a supercharger spot just because the sign says "general parking for 1hr" even if there are plenty of spots available nearby. Don't worry, you are not alone, there are superchargers like that, and in some of them, some locals notoriously park in SC spots while they go eat at a nearby Restaurant because they feel entitled like you - the sign does say "general parking" after all (you can find pictures of those ICED SC's in various threads). Curious people park a few spots down to keep the SC free, but of courtesy is a personal choice.

Actually, no, if I'm put in the same situation with an ICE, I would not park at a shared supercharger spot if there are other spots available, but that is my choice.

I would not take any attitude from an indignant Tesla owner though, for example if the non-supercharger spots cleared up and they see my ICE car at a supercharger spot. But if they asked me nicely to move, I would. Basically I see no need to set up any immediate expectation that a Tesla owner is more entitled to the spot (other than what the signage/local laws suggest).

I see the same here. A non-Tesla is not more entitled to the L2 spot than a Tesla, regardless of if there are supercharger stalls near by. I may choose not to charge in the spot because of courtesy, but they better not approach with an indignant attitude as if they are entitled to it.

I see it fundamentally different from ICEing, where it is immediately wrong or illegal in some places (subject to tow).

 

[doofenshmirtz]

Maybe this patent or some variation from Foxconn (yeah, those guys) will solve all parking entitlement issues (Tesla at L2, ICE at Tesla, ICE at L2)