I suspect that part of the strategy moving forward is to replace all V2 with V4. It essentially doubles the chargers by getting rid of power sharing and opens up V2 chargers to non-Tesla vehicles to generate more revenue from the same site lease. The problem is that you can't take some of these V2 stations down or you ruin road trips, so they will first install V3 and V4 along the same routes in different cities to maintain road trip coverage while they rip out the V2 chargers.
Mild disagree here. I don't think you will see them "rip out V2" at all. They will leave them in place until the leases expire, or until the cost to maintain them makes it just not worth it. If the EV revolution really is coming, V2's might be the last place a Tesla owner can get a guaranteed charge without waiting for the 2027 Aryia to move from a V4 spot.
But those V2 sites charge significantly slower than V3 and V4 and they are cut off from the revenue of opening up to other cars. V2 has the lowest utilization because of the lower speeds, power sharing that requires spacing out cars, and only Tesla access. Swapping V2 with V4 under the same lease is a big win financially for Tesla.
As someone with an older Model X, V2's are the bees knees. There's hundreds of thousands of cars out there that can't enjoy V3+. You guys can wait it out at the shiny new V4 charger that's has a double parked Silverado EV hogging spots. I'll take the slower V2 because it's available and will never have to wait for a non-Tesla to move for me to use them.
I don't understand the hostility towards non-Tesla drivers. The two spot problem doesn't really exist at V4 superchargers since the cables are longer and centered on the parking spot. So what if there's other brands charging their cars? They pay more for the privilege than we do (about 10 cents per kWh more) and take up the same number of spaces at a V4. The V2s with their bad power sharing are awful because an 8 stall site is just 4 full power stalls. Also, doesn't you older Model X at least get 180 kW to 200 kW peak? The V2 superchargers at either 120 kW or 150 kW are still under what your car can accept and it's even worse when someone is parked next to you dropping the power to 60 kW to 75 kW.
The difference in charging from a V2 to V3 is roughly 5 minutes from 10-80% because the 250 kWh Peak charging rate only lasts 3 minutes IF not sharing on the V2 (145KW) unit. Even the V3's Load share between the 4 Pedestals if in full use.
V3 de-rating due to load sharing is pretty uncommon, but V2 de-rating due to load sharing and too hot of a cable is pretty common. No need for the wet rag on the handle trick with liquid-cooled V3 or V4 cables. I don't see a good argument against upgrading V2 to V4 since it would improve the number of full power stalls that can be occupied at once and car throughout.
I think you are spot on.
I'm not suggesting that they remove the V2 sites, but the revenue from V2 continues to decrease as V3 and V4 stations open up. The throughput of a V2 station is less than half as much as V3 and V4 if demand is equal. In reality, demand for V3 and V4 is higher due to the higher speeds and compatibility with other car brands. Tesla pays a lease for these sites. Swapping hardware at V2 sites brings more revenue for the same or similar lease. Adding redundant V3 or V4 sites along these routes is necessary as well because you can't take a V2 site down for maintenance unless another site is available for drivers making that road trip.
I'm not so sure about this assertion. In my experience, 5 years ago, most V2 sites were empty. Today, (again, in my experience) they're much more likely to be full.
I don't think this is true. A full V2 site can output ~74 kW per stall (148 kW per cabinet). I full V3 site can output ~90 kW per stall (~360 kW per cabinet). The main advantage is the more flexible power sharing configuration (so you can receive more power if some cars are drawing less than 90 kW).
I have no knowledge if Tesla pays ground leases or not. One would assume so. It is certainly good business sense for the property owner to charge rent for Supercharger sites.
