US Supercharger Progress ?!?!

[Kevin Harney]

So looks like October is another typical average month of Supercharger progress in the US (approximately 5/month for this year). :crying: At this rate they will have trouble meeting 2014 goals in 2015 :scared: and total buildout in about 10 years.

Any insight on if this will improve ? Does anyone expect to hear more on this in the quarterly report/meeting next week ?

I was super excited about the P85D announcement. Not because I want one but because all along I have said that Tesla needs to up its game if it is going to compete in the Luxury Car market. The announcement for the D showed me that !! I am looking forward to getting a Model 3 P85D convertible to replace my 3 Series BMW convertible. I know that this is way in the future but the progress on Superchargers is disheartening.

Any good news would be appreciated. I know it will come but I am disenchanted with the VERY SLOW progress.

 

[BlueTan85]

I'm guessing right after the earnings report, they update the US map, and "COMING SOON" becomes 2014 (at best) and "2014" becomes "2015" (again, at best).

Agree, the progress is very disappointing, considering the statements Tesla has made about how aggressive they were going to be in final months of 2014 at building out the network. It just isn't happening.

One pet theory: they're throttling back the rate of rollout because it's impacting their earnings even a tiny bit (say, adding $5M to their expenditures) and so things are being pushed to 2015. I dunno.

 

[FLDarren]

My theory: It's all the red tape Tesla has to jump through in America. Every time I've seen a holdup, its either been the power company or the inspection process (government). It never seems to be Tesla holding up the process. Is it just me or do others think Europe's SC network is expanding much faster because of less "red tape".

 

[Cottonwood]

Here is a table of Supercharger counts in North America. It is based on the data at Supercharger.Info. The Start Count is the total at the beginning each month, the Built column is for finishes each month, and the 3-month average is the 3-month average of the current month with the 2 preceding months.

As you can see, except for the December/January push last winter, North America has been very consistent with 5-6 completions a month. Looking at the 3-month average, and taking a leap of faith, one might claim an increase in the last 6 months from 5 a month to 6.3 a month.

Europe had a big push in July, August, and September, but so far has only had 7 completions in October. We shall see what their pace settles down to.

I would love to see 10 or more completions each month in both Europe and North America. With a few in Asia, maybe Tesla could settle into 30 a month, one a day average, world-wide. Just dreaming...

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My theory: It's all the red tape Tesla has to jump through in America. Every time I've seen a holdup, its either been the power company or the inspection process (government). It never seems to be Tesla holding up the process. Is it just me or do others think Europe's SC network is expanding much faster because of less "red tape".

As I have said several times, delays are just that, delays. If Tesla keeps starting Superchargers, delays will force more in process at any one time, but eventually, completion rates should equal start rates. For delays to not affect completion rates, Tesla has to maintain a constant start rate, and not hold to a constant "in process" rate.

 

[S-dog]

I think we will see a good ramp up for November before the weather becomes too much of a factor. After that it will be full speed ahead in the south and west until March. Just have a feeling. Cottonwood... have some faith man!

 

[Brass Guy]

There are a few going in here in New England finally - West Hartford, Sagamore (4 weeks complete but no start-up), Auburn, West Springfield - and the rumored Hookset rest areas. (I hope Hookset is real.) So maybe there is a push for some November openings after all.

I hear the European network has its own story though, with some regulation coming into effect in a year or two that will prevent any further Tesla Superchargers from being constructed. Something to do with only allowing chargers that work on all EVs. If this is true, it would explain Tesla's (relatively) feverish pace over there.

 

[Kevin Harney]

My theory: It's all the red tape Tesla has to jump through in America. Every time I've seen a holdup, its either been the power company or the inspection process (government). It never seems to be Tesla holding up the process. Is it just me or do others think Europe's SC network is expanding much faster because of less "red tape".

I agree with you that red tape is probably higher in the US but who really knows. I also think that the EU saw the same big jump that we saw here last winter for Elon's trip. But Cottonwood is definately right if you want to see an even flow out of the pipe eventually then you need to keep filling it at a constant rate even if nothing is coming out yet. But lets be real they have been at this for a couple years. The flow should be constant by now and they are seemingly not filling it. Cottonwood do you have one of those fancy charts for permits and construction starts for this year ? :wink: That would show us if the trend up from 5 to 6.3 is real or not.

 

[BobSPitt]

I couldn't agree more. I am VERY DISAPPOINTED with the US rollout, particularly in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. If I had known it was going to be this slow when I bought my Model S, I probably would have waited on purchasing my Model S. I am reluctant to recommend the car to people who drive mostly in the Eastern US.

 

[Skotty]

It's slow and I wish it was moving faster, but at the same time, they are doing it when no other auto company has even done a good faith consideration of building or assisting in the build of an EV charging network that facilitates long range travel. So even if build out is slow and doesn't meet projected timelines, I find it hard to complain. Hopefully it will pick up steam in the next couple of months. But even if it doesn't, it's still years ahead of what anyone else is doing.

 

[TexasEV]

I agree with you that red tape is probably higher in the US but who really knows. I also think that the EU saw the same big jump that we saw here last winter for Elon's trip. But Cottonwood is definately right if you want to see an even flow out of the pipe eventually then you need to keep filling it at a constant rate even if nothing is coming out yet. But lets be real they have been at this for a couple years. The flow should be constant by now and they are seemingly not filling it. Cottonwood do you have one of those fancy charts for permits and construction starts for this year ? :wink: That would show us if the trend up from 5 to 6.3 is real or not.

Tesla was able to connect Austin-Dallas-Houston-San Antonio quickly last year so I doubt it's red tape stopping us from being able to drive off this island in any direction. Going north on I-35 to connect with I-40 and I-70, and going east on I-10, is on the 2014 map but there is no sign of any construction anywhere yet.