Why Tesla Supercharger sites should be more like airport lounges

[*KT*]

I'd rather they put the money into developing the battery ability to take a 600plus charge and be out of there in 5 minutes or less.
Time at SC is a now problem, limited by technology.
in the not too distant future it wont exist.

 

[Beryl]

If you have nothing else to do, get out and take a short walk. Sitting around even more has little appeal.

Spoken from someone in SF. There are many areas in the country where you wouldn't want to go out in the elements for 20-30 minutes. (Think Texas in the Summer and Colorado in the Winter.) It would be nice to be able leave your vehicle for a bit though.

 

[habanero69]

Other than some essential security like CCTV monitored by someone and maybe a panic button on each SC for the ladies when the SC is in a somewhat less traveled location and/or dark, I can't see spending money at the site. Spend it on R&D to have better/larger batteries to make charging a rare event rather than a mandatory/frequent one.. If I was a women by myself, I would never travel/charge alone without my friends S&W.

 

[jbcarioca]

Well the Seaside, CA (Monterey) SC is like this. Snacks, drinks, couches, 24x7 coded access to bathrooms, TV and internet. The only complaint is it's a bit dark. And they only have 4 stalls.

Blue Ash, OH is like that too. When the Supercharger comes up on screen the access code appears. Since there is no habitation within walking distance of the SC/Showroom and Supercharger it is really very nice that they have the lounge. It's almost identical to the typical SC lounge but with nice bathroom etc and expanded snacks.

 

[Owner]

Spoken from someone in SF. There are many areas in the country where you wouldn't want to go out in the elements for 20-30 minutes. (Think Texas in the Summer and Colorado in the Winter.) It would be nice to be able leave your vehicle for a bit though.

Good point. I just couldn't imagine living somewhere where I couldn't be outside most of the time!

 

[Rocky_H]

I don't think there is enough economic return or business sense to have lounges with the primary purpose of hosting Tesla owners who are Supercharging. Besides, then Tesla would have to own/lease a building and utilities for that, which would be quite a lot more expensive.

I could see a better system, where there are other businesses unassociated with Tesla with the primary purpose of selling food or goods to the public. We could call them (exaggerated finger quotes) "stores" or "restaurants". They would have parking lots that would provide space for all of their customers. They might then let Tesla install a Supercharger at the edge of their parking lot. That would be beneficial to both companies. This plan is sounding really familiar.

 

[kirkbauer]

I think when you pull up to a SC in a few years you would stop right by the service complex and the car summons to the best charger available. When its ready it leaves the charger to hold in a parking space until you call it back to the pick up zone of the service complex. And the complex would offer more than a fast food restaurant. Ceartainly a lounge in the busiest highway routes. Here in europe most sites are not inviting you to take a walk, but that is defintly something I would like

That's exactly what I have had in mind for a while now. Actually it is probably possible today and legal if the car stays in a private parking lot which will work for some superchargers.

When you get near the supercharger you are navigating to, it asks where you want to be dropped off. You choose "Five Guys" and it navs you there. You get out and it goes and charges (with a snake charger) and then parks until you summon it back to where it dropped you off.

They would just need to accurately map the parking lots the superchargers are located in.

 

[EVie'sDad]

I think they are experimenting with car washes. It would be nice to always be able to pop in for a quick douse to clean up the EV while in the vicinity fueling up, but I don't find it necesary.

However what I would like to see at a minimum are restrooms (clean and accessible 24/7), possibly a place to purchase snacks/drinks, windshield cleaners and possibly refill of wiper fluids (for those hitting heavily bug infested areas), and perhaps an air pump to refill tires should they become low during a long trip.

Any other preventative maintenance you can think of that could be done on-the-fly, while at a supercharger?

 

[mhan00]

That's exactly what I have had in mind for a while now. Actually it is probably possible today and legal if the car stays in a private parking lot which will work for some superchargers.

When you get near the supercharger you are navigating to, it asks where you want to be dropped off. You choose "Five Guys" and it navs you there. You get out and it goes and charges (with a snake charger) and then parks until you summon it back to where it dropped you off.

They would just need to accurately map the parking lots the superchargers are located in.

Very doubtful with the current tech/software. Too many unpredictable factors in a parking lot, namely people, walking around with their noses in their phones. There's a vid of some guy trying to test out pedestrian detection of his Tesla, and the car basically didn't even react to the poor sucker he got to be the test target and he had to leap out of the way. And then there would be the question of who would be responsible for any damage to the car. If some moron backed up into the car while it was parked, how would the owner know? And for less scrupulous owners, they might blame any damage they have on the summon feature, which is why Tesla requires owners to monitor their cars now when using the summon feature. Tesla has less of a leg to stand on if they allow owners to go off and eat while the car navigates itself through a parking lot. Too much possible liability to risk. Maybe on the next gen hardware with better detection (and possibly more cameras all around the car for surround view that might also be used to store images/short videos after detecting an impact) , but even then it will be difficult due to the logistics of it. It's doubtful that the property owners will be willing to reserve additional spaces for Tesla cars to hang out in.

 

[wycolo]

Since its free it should be simple:

 

[deonb]

I'll settle for them just putting a picnic table or two at the back of some Superchargers (when space allows).

Would make a huge difference especially for people traveling with dogs (we can't take them into the restaurants and coffee shops).

 

[EVie'sDad]

Since its free it should be simple:

View attachment 195695

Don't joke, some stops up and down the coast aren't much more than that, a hole in the floor inside a closet sized space.

We really need for SpC to have these types of facilities accessible 24/7, like their charging stall are.