What new Supercharger site do you want the most? Supercharger voting 1Q2024

[boilergus]

As some of you probably already know, Tesla's Supercharger voting has begun for 1Q2024. I've got one location that I'm definitely going to be voting for (I'll circle back to that), but for my other 4 votes I'll mainly be map-gazing to see what looks like the worst gaps that need covered. But the next logical step seems to me like we should open up some discussion here:

What voting choices around the region you live in could really use votes? What's your reason for voting for those sites over other choices? Long unserved distances are going to be one of the main reasons of course, but discussion here could help to bring to light some less-obvious reasons... the main example that comes to my mind would be something like "Sure, putting a new SC station in town XYZ only splits a ~70-mile gap, but it's right in the middle of a 3,000-foot elevation change!"

Having said all that, I'll go first: my first vote this quarter is for Gas City, IN. Pretty basic reasoning; one of the largest US interstate highway gaps remaining (#19 as I type this), plus it's right between Indiana's two largest [non-Chicagoland] cities. An added bonus is the irony factor of putting EV charging in Gas City, ha.

For the time being, I'll sit on my other 4 votes to see what I learn here.

Bonus note: if you didn't already know, you can also suggest new sites for voting on in later quarters; Gas City is one that I [and probably many other people] suggested the last couple quarters.

 

[StrykerFoxx]

I cast my votes based on where I'm mostly likely to drive in the future. I never vote for anything in my area cause I charge at home, but I can see how that would be important for those who can't charge at home.

One gripe I have about owning a Tesla is that on road trips I can't stray too far off the main highways due to lack of fast chargers in small towns. When I had my ICE car I would always take the back roads on trips and got to see some really interesting places that way.

I suggested a new site in Sydney Nova Scotia as there are none in that area yet.

 

[kilpatds]

the irony factor of putting EV charging in Gas City, ha.

I keep being surprised at the lack of fast-chargers near Electric City WA.

(Which is also a legit area for charging)

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

The answer, of course, is Henryetta, OK. Tesla knows, it's been on the findus list for a long time.

Here's an Interstate gap list:

Wiki - Largest gaps between Superchargers on US Interstates

On the Socorro, NM thread @PLUS EV asked if I had a list of gaps 140 miles or greater. Of course I do! I posted there, but I figured I'd create a separate thread for it. MAJOR EDIT: Reorganized to:: 1) Top 25 regular gaps not yet split 2) Gaps on "Future Interstates" or current fastest route...

teslamotorsclub.com

Ignoring Henryetta, OK then it's Hayti, MO or Seligman, AZ (which was on the 2023Q4 voting) for splitting the next two gaps without a current Splitter!.

 

[Timelessjones]

Need more in Scarborough and East Oshawa bowmanville

 

[Calliope]

I had no idea this existed......I'll be happy to vote every quarter now.

 

[SBlizzard]

Johnson City, TN

 

[phxazcraig]

As usual. I voted for rural locations in or around Arizona. Kayenta is my first choice - right in the middle of the Navajo reservation, a charging desert if there ever was one. Cortez, CO is also in dire need.

 

[M CARLING]

I vote for anything that helps make it practical to drive between Alaska and the lower 48. Taking Alaska seriously demonstrates a seriousness about ensuring that Teslas perform well in cold weather.

 

[tyler601717]

Death Valley National Park!

 

[ThePirate]

Summary: ***We really need a set of good, modern 250 kW (no sharing) chargers in Lee Vining, CA***.
The chargers in the region are terrible, and this is a very remote place, with no other real options, very long distances between the terrible chargers, yet, this is a very popular recreation area.

The Area:
Everyone thinks that CA is the EV mecca... well, for the most part, it is. HOWEVER...
... The east side of our major mountain range, the Sierras, is the playground of CA and to a large extent, NV and other neighboring regions. Not only are some of our most spectacular wildlands back there, as well as numerous other attractions (Bodie Ghost Town, Devil's Postpile, Obsidian Dome, Mono Lake, just to name a few), but also Mammoth ski resort, which brings in several bajillion people per year. However, the area is very, very wild and desolate. This is the kind of area where there is really *nothing*, literally no places to eat or even plug into a 120V plug in an emergency, particularly in the winter which is quite severe in this region (yes, even in CA- no joke).

There are 125 kW shared chargers waay north (Gardnerville) which is how you approach from SF area in the winter, then nothing until Mammoth, a huge ski area, 98 miles away, and the worst "superchargers" I have ever encountered, guaranteeing that no skier will ever buy a Tesla. Then there is another 42 miles until decent 250 kW in Bishop, CA. This area is mountainous, and there are lots of steep climbs (you need lotsa juice). Mammoth is also several miles off the main highway and a large time sink if you don't want to stop in the town.

So, it's really like 136 miles of often steep, and very windy and in winter very snowy conditions between decent 250 kW chargers (though these might be shared as well) in South Lake Tahoe and Bishop.

It's impossible to express how bad the Mammoth chargers are. At first one is "seduced" by this place because it is designed for convenient "drive-thru" rather than back-in charging. However, when I did try to charge there...

... the only open charger had a faulty connector. So, wasted time on that. Then...
...I never got more than like 60kW, though I was very low. so, I tried to change to another one...
... turned out NO ONE in the lot was getting more than 62 kW. Nearly an hour to get to 90% !!! (OMG Why did I blow the money on a Tesla? That's like Nissan Leaf charge time!)

So, this location is often very full, typically with long wait times, and restricted charging, but then all chargers are shared and very, very slow. I just don't get how Tesla would totally blow it for charging at a ski resort - just where you would want to impress people driving with their EV-owning buddies into getting one for themselves. That would simply * NEVER* happen at Mammoth, quite the opposite - seeing the frustration on the T owner's face and anger over a 1 hour charge would kill any nascent EV desires real quick.

Yet more :
In the summer, one can drive hwy 120 through Yosemite National Park from the San Francisco area to get to Lee Vining. You stop in Groveland, good superchargers, but then there are no chargers of any kind for the 71 miles until Mammoth on steep mountain roads. So, again, Lee VIning would be a great help. Hopefully some day there will be chargers in the national park but still...

 

[Marcia L]

My pet peeve is the lack of any Superchargers south of I-10 in Arizona. There are some pretty good-sized towns there that could use one: Sierra Vista/Hereford is top on my list, then Green Valley and Nogales, AZ.

 

[ucmndd]

Summary: ***We really need a set of good, modern 250 kW (no sharing) chargers in Lee Vining, CA***.

What real problem does this solve that the brand new v3 charger 30 miles away in Mammoth doesn’t?

70-100 mile gaps in superchargers, even in the mountains, just doesn’t seem like a big problem in 2024.

Agree that a Gardnerville upgrade would be nice and needs to happen.

Yet more :
In the summer, one can drive hwy 120 through Yosemite National Park from the San Francisco area to get to Lee Vining. You stop in Groveland, good superchargers, but then there are no chargers of any kind for the 71 miles until Mammoth on steep mountain roads.

The west side of Yosemite is very well covered at this point with ample charging opportunity - Groveland, El Portal, Mariposa, Fish Camp, Oakhurst… starting from any of these locations it’s trivial to get enough charge to get up and over Tioga pass.

So, again, Lee VIning would be a great help. Hopefully some day there will be chargers in the national park but still...

There’s a decent number of free L2 chargers in the valley, but I’d be pretty firmly against a proposal to put multi-megawatt DC charging stations and associated infrastructure inside a protected area like Yosemite.

A good charger in Lee Vining or Bridgeport would be nice. I imagine electrical infrastructure is a problem and there aren’t a ton of businesses clamoring to host a site.

Also of note, there are EA chargers along 395 as well, and at least a few other DC fast chargers as well. Investing in a CCS adapter might be wise for you if this is really a problem (will be nice when CCS more or less dies out in the next few years and those stations are converted to NACS).

 

[ThePirate]

What real problem does this solve that the brand new v3 charger 30 miles away in Mammoth doesn’t?

OK, first I have to thank you big time because I was not aware there were V3 chargers down the road from the awful ones. THANKS AGAIN!


However, ... If I am only doing stuff at LV and north, that adds 60 miles of wasted driving every time I want more juice to tool around the area from my base near Lee Vining. That is *really* a drag, and a lot of wasted energy. I really don't see why, with huge attractions like Mono Lake, and all the camping, hiking, climging, backcountry skiing and other up tioga (120) and around Lee Vining it doesn't justify at least a couple superchargers in Lee Vining.

I would also note that the Mammoth chargers are pretty far off the highway-if I recall, at least 10 min each way (correct me if I'm wrong), and that is subject to significant traffic delays in all seasons. Another reason for some in Lee Vining.

70-100 mile gaps in superchargers, even in the mountains, just doesn’t seem like a big problem in 2024.

Agree that a Gardnerville upgrade would be nice and needs to happen.


The west side of Yosemite is very well covered at this point with ample charging opportunity - Groveland, El Portal, Mariposa, Fish Camp, Oakhurst… starting from any of these locations it’s trivial to get enough charge to get up and over Tioga pass.

There’s a decent number of free L2 chargers in the valley, but I’d be pretty firmly against a proposal to put multi-megawatt DC charging stations and associated infrastructure inside a protected area like Yosemite.

A good charger in Lee Vining or Bridgeport would be nice. I imagine electrical infrastructure is a problem and there aren’t a ton of businesses clamoring to host a site.

Also of note, there are EA chargers along 395 as well, and at least a few other DC fast chargers as well. Investing in a CCS adapter might be wise for you if this is really a problem (will be nice when CCS more or less dies out in the next few years and those stations are converted to NACS).

I have a CCS adapter, but the one and only public CCS charger that ever worked for me was level 2 and it was FREE - as in there was no software or pay system to go wrong. Downloading some stupid 3rd party app and getting that payment to work is always a nightmare waste of time. So, to stop at any of those public chargers while I'm on the highway-no thanks! Anyway, the chargers in Groveland, though slow (150 kW) are adequate, I would say, but again, not if you want to do stuff around Lee Vining, as I do, there is just no way to claim Mammoth is convenient or anything less than a huge, hour-long time suck.

BTW - June lake is another ski area North of Mammoth, and they have NOTHING as in nothing in the way of chargers. The town and businesses are friendly, but not so much to EVs. (Remember the star wars cantina scene? "We don't serve THEIR kind here! Your droids, they have to wait outside." Kinda like that. "Your Teslsas - you'll have to leave them outside o town!" )

-TPC

 

[M CARLING]

I agree that Lee Vining would be a sensible place for superchargers. I seem to recall that a few years ago the Tesla Findus map used to show a planned supercharger site there. Does anyone else remember that?

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

My pet peeve is the lack of any Superchargers south of I-10 in Arizona. There are some pretty good-sized towns there that could use one: Sierra Vista/Hereford is top on my list, then Green Valley and Nogales, AZ.

2023 EV Plan Update | Department of Transportation

2023 EV Plan Update The

azdot.gov

Looks like AZ-90 by Sierra Vista would be in the 2024/2025 plans.

 

[Terry Clarke]

Interesting to see you refer to a problematic 70 - 100 mile gap Over on our side of the pond I'm hoping for a 330 mile gap between 2 SuCs (Alexsinac, Serbia and Larissa, Greece) to be plugged by a win this quarter for Skopje (Macedonia). Any Tesla owners driving from Europe to Greece for the summer have to go local to bridge the gap, and local is not very reliable for 250 of those miles.

 

[StrykerFoxx]

Interesting to see you refer to a problematic 70 - 100 mile gap Over on our side of the pond I'm hoping for a 330 mile gap between 2 SuCs (Alexsinac, Serbia and Larissa, Greece) to be plugged by a win this quarter for Skopje (Macedonia). Any Tesla owners driving from Europe to Greece for the summer have to go local to bridge the gap, and local is not very reliable for 250 of those miles.

I see what you mean, that is a huge gap. Is it common for europeans to drive their cars between western europe and greece? I thought since flights were so much cheaper in europe you'd just fly.

 

[ThePirate]

Interesting to see you refer to a problematic 70 - 100 mile gap Over on our side of the pond I'm hoping for a 330 mile gap between 2 SuCs (Alexsinac, Serbia and Larissa, Greece) to be plugged by a win this quarter for Skopje (Macedonia). Any Tesla owners driving from Europe to Greece for the summer have to go local to bridge the gap, and local is not very reliable for 250 of those miles.

Thanks for reminding us about our brethren across the world. Solidarity in fighting climate change with EVs, a world problem for all living things on earth! Solidarity in getting Tesla to replace every last gas station with SCs, a problem for Tesla owners and anyone with compatible connectors (I was about to write NACs, showing my North-American-centric ignorance)! (Here's also to solidarity in educating Tesla haters, a world problem for us Tesla owners.)

-TPC

 

[Marcia L]

2023 EV Plan Update | Department of Transportation

2023 EV Plan Update The

azdot.gov

Looks like AZ-90 by Sierra Vista would be in the 2024/2025 plans.

That's not Tesla Supercharger network though. For us free supercharger for life folks, we want to see Tesla SC.