Yet another reason why the Dual Chargers option is worth having...

[David99]

It's an economics thing called "perceived value". It's why people pay extra for Cross Pens when you can get a Bic for 29 cents. My wife felt better knowing we had another inverter (it's not a dual charger) for the one time a year we might be out on the desert needing a charge that could take 6 hours instead of 3. For her, and therefore for me, it's worth it.

I totally agree, there are many things I'm also willing to pay extra for. But that's a whole different kind of 'value'. When someone tries to argue that a dual charger is saving you money on electricity because of a small off-peak window, then that's just not true. That's what I was responding to. Even when driving more than 100 miles every day (4 times more than the average person) it would take many years to just break even. That argument is debunked.

But let's take the 'convenience value' a step further. Why is 20 kW charging the way to go? It still takes more than 4 hours to charge an empty battery. If I want to take a 100 mile trip I still have to way almost 2 hours to charge. How about a CHADeMO at home? Yeah it's $25k but you get 45 kW charging. That's more than twice as fast! Why not pay that for the convenience? Why not be the hero in your community and make it public at the same time! If you have the money, why not! The point here is, 'convenience value' is 100% relative. For some the extra cost to charge at 80 Amp over 40 is just not worth it, for others it's a no brainer. There is no right or wrong here, it's what each person perceives as 'value' or not worth it.

I think it's great that Tesla has it as an option and some people want it. But when people try to come up with scenarios why 10 kW doesn't cut it while 20 does, that's just as arbitrary as a scenario I can come up with where 20 kW just doesn't cut it and 45 is the way to go. Fact is even at 200 miles of driving every day, a 10 kW charger is more than enough. Unless you have insomnia

 

[e-FTW]

I totally agree, there are many things I'm also willing to pay extra for. But that's a whole different kind of 'value'. When someone tries to argue that a dual charger is saving you money on electricity because of a small off-peak window, then that's just not true. That's what I was responding to. Even when driving more than 100 miles every day (4 times more than the average person) it would take many years to just break even. That argument is debunked.

But let's take the 'convenience value' a step further. Why is 20 kW charging the way to go? It still takes more than 4 hours to charge an empty battery. If I want to take a 100 mile trip I still have to way almost 2 hours to charge. How about a CHADeMO at home? Yeah it's $25k but you get 45 kW charging. That's more than twice as fast! Why not pay that for the convenience? Why not be the hero in your community and make it public at the same time! If you have the money, why not! The point here is, 'convenience value' is 100% relative. For some the extra cost to charge at 80 Amp over 40 is just not worth it, for others it's a no brainer. There is no right or wrong here, it's what each person perceives as 'value' or not worth it.

I think it's great that Tesla has it as an option and some people want it. But when people try to come up with scenarios why 10 kW doesn't cut it while 20 does, that's just as arbitrary as a scenario I can come up with where 20 kW just doesn't cut it and 45 is the way to go. Fact is even at 200 miles of driving every day, a 10 kW charger is more than enough. Unless you have insomnia

Lots of good points. If you are outside of supercharger coverage, will you even have access to an 80 amp charging station or outlet while charging during the day?
But then again, that one time you do tick all of those boxes, the value goes way up.
I get why people get it. You are right: there is no right or wrong.
Just make sure you identify opportunities where you would leverage that second charger before plunking down 2k$.

I also agree it is awesome that it is possible to add it to the car, post-sale no-less! Find me another EV out there with that flexibility.