Superchargers - The Ultimate Solution
In the Tesla forums, Superchargers seem to be highly debated. Who should have access, whether the access should be included with a Tesla or not, if it seems fair that someone who paid over $100,000 for their Tesla should have to wait for someone who bought the base Model 3.
I say, for Teslas, Supercharging should be included. The Supercharging network already gives Tesla a competitive advantage over other manufacturers whether it is included or not. I think including access to it would set them even further apart from the "competition".
Personally, I think it would be wise for them to "sell" quick charging capability to people who purchase their vehicle from other manufacturers. Help turn the Superchargers into profit centers. Use the capital to build more Superchargers. Allegedly, even the Chevy Bolt is said to be DC quick charging capable, but with what? Where will you be able to DC quick charge your Bolt?
I don't believe Tesla has ever been opposed to sharing their network. No other manufacturer seems to care enough about it to "pony" up any dough to help expand the network. With as large as the network already is, there would need to be a significant buy in. Sure other manufacturers have talked about trying to create a standard, but they all seem to want this infrastructure funded by someone else. I think most of them support the idea of it being funded by the government.
I say, for Teslas, Supercharging should be included. The Supercharging network already gives Tesla a competitive advantage over other manufacturers whether it is included or not. I think including access to it would set them even further apart from the "competition".
Personally, I think it would be wise for them to "sell" quick charging capability to people who purchase their vehicle from other manufacturers. Help turn the Superchargers into profit centers. Use the capital to build more Superchargers. Allegedly, even the Chevy Bolt is said to be DC quick charging capable, but with what? Where will you be able to DC quick charge your Bolt?
I don't believe Tesla has ever been opposed to sharing their network. No other manufacturer seems to care enough about it to "pony" up any dough to help expand the network. With as large as the network already is, there would need to be a significant buy in. Sure other manufacturers have talked about trying to create a standard, but they all seem to want this infrastructure funded by someone else. I think most of them support the idea of it being funded by the government.
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No freebooters.. Most M3 are going to be townies. The travelers need to pay up...with usage of Supercharger S with the M3
vperl, you nor does anyone else knows for a fact that there will be a fee for M≡ owners. They may very well adopt the same approach as the did with the MS. The standard battery pack cars would pay an "enabling" fee, where as the higher packs will have the cost built into the car like the MS85s.
Though this is just speculation/uncertain which is why I said "may".
I am sure the Tesla connector is somehow proprietary, so I guess people that owned other electric cars would need an adapter. I am sure they could build and sell an adapter that would work with the Superchargers. At a cost of course to the person who chose not to buy a Tesla.
The truth is Tesla has already stated that they do not yet know what Supercharging will look like for the Model 3.
jordanrichard might be right. Supercharging is now included with the Model S and Model X, but it hasn't always been that way. It used to be included only with the larger battery packs.
I expect to use Supercharging so infrequently, that if I will need to pay for it...I would rather pay per use then pay a flat fee. I don't take many vacations so I just don't see myself using it that much. I did however choose a Tesla because of the freedom Superchargers give Tesla owners. Well that and I like the way they look much better than the competition.
A 44 kwh battery for example would only take about 1 minutes to reach 80% charge. If Tesla manages to improve charging rate by 25% (I think possible) by launch of M3 you only need about 12 minutes for the base battery to achieve 80%. That alone will allow more M3s to charge at a given number of superchargers when traveling.
You are probably right there. I do know that Supercharger access was a big part of my decision to buy a Tesla. Well that and they just look sexier than the alternatives. They have been selling the only cars with 200+ mile range so far.
The Bolt will change that, but I haven't seen any timelines from other car manufacturers offering a 200+ mile vehicle.
Still think it would be great to charge cars from other manufacturers a fee per use to use the Superchargers. May really help build out the network.
FYI, Smaller packs don't take less time to charge, they are not like gas tanks. Charge rate is related to battery chemistry, temperature and voltage, and will tend to share same or similar profiles to the larger packs with the same type of cells. That is why the competition with limited range and very small battery packs do not have a time advantage. Larger packs have a time advantage in that the effective amount of range on a per-time basis increases more quickly than smaller packs. Charging rates also dramatically slow as the pack nears maximum capacity. I'm New battery chemistries will improve charging time across the board, and larger packs will provide greater charging speed benefits in terms of range than smaller packs.
It shouldn't be free, and it shouldn't be a big lump sum charge like Tesla used to charge for S60--$2k is not justifiable for people who may only need SC a few times a year.
Why not a pay-per-use? Tesla should just charge the lowest rate that energy companies charge in that area, so owners have no incentive to use it for daily commutes, and long distance trip takers can benefit by paying the same rate as if they were charging at home at nights.
Afterall, the benefits of SC is enormous compare to other EV chargers for its charging speed.
Once Tesla tops out car it sales (though that looks like it is a ways to go) and continues to saturate the world with Super Stations it could have capacity and footprint to be the world's largest and most profitable EV 'gas' station chain.
Would it not be crazy wonderful to have Musk announce the he is selling the best Bolt option, "nation wide travel". Buy whatever long range EV you want but go to Tesla to make it wonderful. I can see the day when folks are buying modification kits, pulling out CHAdeMO and CCS inputs and replacing with a smaller simpler Tesla power inlet.
That's what will make the customer come and buy your products instead of going to the competitors.
That's what will make the customer come and buy your products instead of going to the competitors.
For those proposing a pay as you go fee, Tesla may be restricted from doing such because that would make them a reseller of electricity.
There are plenty of pay-to-charger chargers (or EVSEs) out there. It isn't usually a problem.
I'll answer this as if I haven't done so at all in the past couple of years. Because the amount of money it would cost to process the billing transaction is more than it takes to Deliver the electricity for free. In other words, if the fee were high enough to make it worth charging a fee, that is to make it profitable, the cost to the consumer would be higher per mile than the cost of gasoline. Which would make the whole thing less palatable, because it would be both less convenient and less economical than buying a gasoline powered car. That's why not.
Red Sage ca us
I knew Tesla wasn't opposed to sharing, but I guess I figured he must have said that the other company would have to chip in on the cost of the infrastructure.
I have only ever used L1 charging from my ordinary 15A garage wall socket overnight, it would take about 6 to 8 hours to fully charge it (it actually only draws 10A @ 230V). I just plug it in every night and it's always at 80% well before I need to drive it again the next morning.
That is pretty cool. Only reason I hadn't bought a Leaf is because my round trip drive to work each day is 80 miles. I think making the trip with electric would be great, but since it gets fairly cold in Minnesota sometimes I have viewed 200+ miles/charge the point where an electric would make sense because I know that range goes down when the HVAC system on an electric is running.
I do think that it is pretty cool that there are going to be at least a couple of options that will meet that spec somewhat soon.