Whats it like to own a Tesla in Los Angeles with no access to a charger at home?

[Avocado23]

Hi everyone,

Im a huge Tesla fan and I have strongly considered getting a model 3. However, one thing that scares me is that I do not have a place to park and charge the car overnight. I live in an apartment building that has no parking, and a lot of the superchargers I see in the LA area are at malls. It doesnt really make sense to me to pay the cost of supercharging plus the cost of parking.

Those of you who live in LA and are in a similar situation like me...Is it worth even getting a Tesla? Is it a hassle finding a public charging station? What are your experiences like?

 

[JD M3]

That depends on how far you drive each day. If you drive 10-15 miles then it's very feasible, especially if you go with the long range. If you drive 60-80, that's going to be more difficult.
They make apps to find local charging stations. PlugShare is my favorite but there are others. The problem is, most of the non-superchargers are level 2 which can take some time to charge and they are often crowded in LA which means even if you find one nearby there's no guarantee that it will be open when you need/want it.
Superchargers are generally going to be your best bet to recharge, otherwise you're going to be sitting there for quite a while to charge. Unless you have access to a charger at your work or school where you could charge during the day while you're doing something else. Even if you don't have access to a charger there, you could make due with the portable charger if you have access to a wall outlet. That may be your best option. Good luck, if you can make it work then getting a Tesla is totally worth it.

 

[Watts_Up]

@Avocado23 I was in your situation until I was able to install a charger in the garage of my apartment.

But for few months I was leaving overnight my car one a week at a Whole Foods Market, and it was even free.

During the day it was rarely available. There was also several CHAdeMO chargers available but I didn't have an adapter.

Whole Foods Market provides a WiFi access, however the restrooms were not available after hours which is an issue.

The simplest was to going home while charging, and I got a OneWheel motorized skateboard to save time.

 

[ecarfan]

There are more places to DC charge a Tesla than the Supercharger network.

Search for locations at Locate a public EV charger | Electrify America and PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You

 

[benh57]

A co worker with a short commute does this, he just goes to the Supercharger once a week. He says it's fine.

 

[cwerdna]

There are more places to DC charge a Tesla than the Supercharger network.

Search for locations at Locate a public EV charger | Electrify America and PlugShare - Find Electric Vehicle Charging Locations Near You

While Plugshare's awesome, I wouldn't direct a Tesla driver to Electrify America until a CCS adapter comes out for US Teslas (yes, I'm aware of the South Korean project).

EA has J1772 at what seems like a minority of locations and it's slow beside being pricey in CA. VW-owned EA has stacked the deck in favor of cars (e.g. VW, Audi and Porsche) so all of their sites have only a single CHAdeMO plug vs. many CCS plugs. OP would need to buy CHAdeMO Adapter to use CHAdeMO. If the single CHAdeMO plug is down at an EA site, oh well.

That said, most other non-Tesla, non-EA providers don't have the skewed ratio.

 

[jjrandorin]

Maybe some will think I am being contrarian, but OP if you do not have access to charging at work or at home, I would tell you that you should not buy an EV until you can have some charging in one of those places.

Every car is not for every person (its why we have choices), and unless you have a LOT of patience you will get tired of traveling somewhere to sit and charge every few days.

Whatever you do, DONT think "oh well I am going to buy a car with 310 miles range, My round trip daily commute is only 25 miles a day, so I should only have to charge every 10 days or so".

While you can certainly do what you are asking, you need to be doing so for some reason OTHER than convenience, as an ICE vehicle will be significantly more convenient than driving an EV to a supercharger every few days (and you mention the ones around you may have parking fees).

If you can charge at work (and work full time somewhere, so are there 6-8 hours a day), this would be a lot easier. Otherwise, if you really want a tesla, and dont own the place you are living in, wait till your lease is up, and move someplace where you can charge it.

 

[SMAlset]

You didn’t say what part of the LA area you live in or frequent but you might check out and keep an eye on the likely Target Superchargers that are ID’d as new locations to go in in Southern Calif based on the list on this thread: US Target Superchargers

Not a given to happen, but maybe one is closer to where you live and would be a possible charging location for you.

Don’t know if all will be Urban chargers (max 72kWh charging rate) but I know some locations in Calif just going in like at a Pismo Beach shopping center are going in as v3.

 

[mtndrew1]

I’ve driven electric for a long time and I wouldn’t consider a BEV without at least a 120V outlet at home or work. Public charging is fine to supplement but even trickle charging just makes a huge difference in the usability of these cars.

If I were in your situation I would consider a PHEV instead.

 

[Avocado23]

You didn’t say what part of the LA area you live in or frequent but you might check out and keep an eye on the likely Target Superchargers that are ID’d as new locations to go in in Southern Calif based on the list on this thread: US Target Superchargers

Not a given to happen, but maybe one is closer to where you live and would be a possible charging location for you.

Don’t know if all will be Urban chargers (max 72kWh charging rate) but I know some locations in Calif just going in like at a Pismo Beach shopping center are going in as v3.

I just noticed that today actually. That would be a good spot (provided parking is affordable/free)

one question: is it okay to supercharge your car constantly? I remember reading with earlier Teslas that it could cause the battery to degrade

 

[jjrandorin]

I just noticed that today actually. That would be a good spot (provided parking is affordable/free)

one question: is it okay to supercharge your car constantly? I remember reading with earlier Teslas that it could cause the battery to degrade

People do it, for sure. Whether its "OK" or not is up to what your definition of OK is. On model S and X vehicles, once some number of suparcharges have taken place, they start throttling the supercharging speed. Dont think any model 3s have been throttled yet, and dont know if anyone has had one long enough time to see effects of long term supercharging.

One thing we DO know though, is that for batteries, "fast" charging is worse than "slow" charging based on how battery chemistry works. For teslas "Fast" charging is supercharging. Almost everything else is "slow" (all level 2 chargers would be slow). So, because of the way batteries work, charging your car at a supercharger would be worse for it than not doing that.

HOW MUCH worse, no one knows. It could be a minor thing over the life of the car, or it could be slightly less than minor. You would be MUCH better off with even 120v charging being supplemented by supercharging, than planning on visiting a supercharger every 3-4 days as far as long term viability of that specific car.

You could always lease the car, and pass any long term issues onto whoever buys it after you (thats what some people who lease like to think). I lease cars (but bought my model 3), and dont think that way, but a lot of people would tell you to just lease it, supercharge it, and dont worry about it because you will be returning it.

As I said before, I dont think you are a good candidate for EV ownership without charging available either at home, or at work, even if its a standard plug.... unless you are doing it for reasons like environmental impact, etc and have a passionate reason to want to tough it out.

 

[Ron95030]

I just noticed that today actually. That would be a good spot (provided parking is affordable/free)

one question: is it okay to supercharge your car constantly? I remember reading with earlier Teslas that it could cause the battery to degrade

My early 'S' has 116,5XX miles on it, and has been supercharged for 95% of them. West coast travel mainly, with a few trips into Tx and CO. At 105,000 my battery was 3.5% degraded. I was told at the service center to "keep doing what I have been". My linear projections work out the 20% degradation point to be over 575,XXX miles, but we know that degradation tends to slow asymptotically. Meanwhile, charging at 120 or 240 as needed keeps things going. I watch my SoC windows (90% top, 8-12% bottom).

Things have gotten better since then. Better formulations, refined BMS and charger tech, No just in a Tesla but those poorly cooled 2011-2014 Nissan packs. They degraded prematurely (poor design, imo) with no upgrade path for owners. That may be what you're remembering.

 

[Avocado23]

People do it, for sure. Whether its "OK" or not is up to what your definition of OK is. On model S and X vehicles, once some number of suparcharges have taken place, they start throttling the supercharging speed. Dont think any model 3s have been throttled yet, and dont know if anyone has had one long enough time to see effects of long term supercharging.

One thing we DO know though, is that for batteries, "fast" charging is worse than "slow" charging based on how battery chemistry works. For teslas "Fast" charging is supercharging. Almost everything else is "slow" (all level 2 chargers would be slow). So, because of the way batteries work, charging your car at a supercharger would be worse for it than not doing that.

HOW MUCH worse, no one knows. It could be a minor thing over the life of the car, or it could be slightly less than minor. You would be MUCH better off with even 120v charging being supplemented by supercharging, than planning on visiting a supercharger every 3-4 days as far as long term viability of that specific car.

You could always lease the car, and pass any long term issues onto whoever buys it after you (thats what some people who lease like to think). I lease cars (but bought my model 3), and dont think that way, but a lot of people would tell you to just lease it, supercharge it, and dont worry about it because you will be returning it.

As I said before, I dont think you are a good candidate for EV ownership without charging available either at home, or at work, even if its a standard plug.... unless you are doing it for reasons like environmental impact, etc and have a passionate reason to want to tough it out.

Yep I think youre right to be honest. I might get a hybrid instead. I just dont see how I could rely on an app like plug share and rely on chargers that may already be taken, or chargers that require expensive parking.

I dont know why Tesla and/or cities invest in more charging stations. Something like a gas station but literally just charging stations. I think a majority of people living in central LA live in buildings like mine with no parking structures, and no easy access to charging spots. It would be necessary for mass EV adoption

 

[SMAlset]

My husband has free supercharging on his 2017 MS so primarily uses the Superchargers. He typically will only charge to 80% unless going on a trip and needing the extra range. He has not seen any appreciable loss in his car. As I understand it Tesla sent an update for those models that adjusted the charging rate to maintain the health of the battery. Think it would increase their charging time slightly by a few minutes which some people had an issue with.

On my 2018 Model 3 LR I primarily charge at home with a NEMA 14-50 and generally charge to 90% which Elon had said was fine for these batteries. Haven’t heard anything different since. Neither of us charges every day BTW but we don’t let it go below 20% of charge.

As for the charging infrastructure, Tesla’s sales success has spurred more charging infrastructure and they are still building out on the success of the Model 3 and Y numbers. The rest of the auto industry has sat back not wanting to invest and I honestly believe they have been hoping that companies like ChargePoint, EVGo will do a massive buildout. Besides it doesn’t fit their sales model to provide the power, just like someone else sold the gasoline and diesel fuel for their cars. Lots of middlemen in the legacy auto industry. Also once VW got caught with dieselgate, the other mfgrs are undoubtedly hoping to sit back and wait for VW’s Electrify America pay for a lot of infrastructure. In the meantime they are not exactly making and selling many EVs that are in demand at this point.

As for charging locations in the L.A. area, I think the value of real estate is a big consideration.

 

[SMAlset]

As for Superchargers Tesla has several flavors of them. The latest being installed are the v3 ones that are at an even faster charge rate and will get owners in and out sooner. Porsche’s and other mfgrs are moving to faster DC capable charge rates than has been available to them in the past. I haven’t been to a v3 Supercharger yet so can’t compare to those I’ve used. Tesla’s been in the Supercharger business for many years now and has good battery management software and a great team working on new tech so I wouldn’t be concerned about using the equipment. Can’t speak to how the charging experience is for where you are though. If you are serious about a Tesla maybe rent one for a week.

 

[lUtriaNt]

OP, you can absolutely live work and play with a tesla and no way to charge at home. many do this all the time in LA. there are youtuber folks who even speak on this.

there are many areas to park and charge, even for free, if you dont want to pay.

if you dont feel like making a routine (or too lazy to) that one or 2 days a week you have to charge, then no dont get it, but make no mistake, its 100 percent doable and many people here in LA do it.