Tesla Superchargers

Great PR.

 

Indeed. Folks should visit the page and try moving the slider. Or there's this cool animated GIF from Tesla tripling supercharger network for LA to NY trip - May. 30, 2013 .

Elon Musk's brief spiel on this:

 

Equally great, both Chademo & Super Charger are working on adapters so that both users can take advantage of e/other's technology. That only makes sense, because the good folks in Japan are chomping at the bit to buy Tesla S's. And since there are Chademo's all over the landscape there, both sides will benefit by being able to use each other's quick chargers.
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Video: Tesla Model S Supercharges to Drive 846 Miles in 59 Hours for Free

 

This is all great: The Tesla Superchargers will make (are making) it possible for the Model S and future Teslas to travel long distances. And making them free is a public relations coup. Electricity is so cheap that giving it away free does not cost the company much, but once again puts Tesla ahead in innovation.

Unfortunately, I still probably won't be able to drive where I go without a long stop at an RV park along the way.



The chargers to the left of Calgary look like they're probably on the Trans-Canada Highway, near Banff and Revelstoke, but there's nothing on the secondary roads that link Spokane with the Trans-Canada. I'd have to go via Seattle, which is about three times farther. I'd need a charger in Cranbrook, BC, and another in Nelson or Castlegar to make the direct trip without very long stops at an RV park, and that probably won't happen for a while. For the foreseeable future I'll probably be taking my Prius on my Canada hiking trips and just using the Tesla for in-town errands and day trips within 100 miles of home.

 

And I wonder if there's anything similar in the rest of the World, or at least important World markets for Tesla? If not, then they'll remain a rich mans curio outside America.

 

Supercharger | Tesla Motors

Select Europe and then slide the slider to see what they're planning. They don't seem to be planning on doing the M1, which I find pretty interesting.

The network build-out is based on key markets and major routes, but I'm sure that if they continue to have success they'll try to keep building out.

 

Hmmm, it looks like someone has taken a compass gauged to 200 miles and just drawn a circle. In that case, the UK only needs 3 chargers, whereas reality is somewhat different. I believe there's quite a good charging network here already, though just not upto the power requirements of a Tesla quick charger.

At least Tesla are doing somethign.

 

I can't speak to Supercharger deployment there, but EVs supposedly have a very strong presence in Norway. See Tesla Model S Was Top-Selling Car In Norway During First Two Weeks Of September | CleanTechnica.

Nissan Leaf Sales Are Booming In Norway -- Second Best-Selling Car In April | CleanTechnica
In Norway, Nissan LEAF Took #7 In Overall Sales in July With 2.4% Share; Tesla Model S Joins Party In August

Compare that to the Leaf in the US at August 2013 U.S. Vehicle Sales Rankings - Top 262 Best-Selling Vehicles In America - Every Vehicle Ranked - GOOD CAR BAD CAR and a guess for Tesla at the bottom (since they don't report monthly sales figures, only quarterly figures as part of their quarterly financials).

 

The Roadster is a rich man's toy. That was the only way to break into a mature industry like cars. The Model S is a rich man's toy at the top end (85 kWh, Performance model, fully loaded) and a car for the upper middle class at the low end (40 kWh, no frills). Again, the road from start-up to mass manufacturer starts at the top end and moves gradually down the income scale. The Model E will be a car for the enlightened commuter with a secure income. In 20 years there will be an economy EV. Perhaps the Model W, a car for blue-collar workers.

The charging network will grow slowly, since it's expensive to build. If battery technology progresses far enough, mid-day charging might disappear altogether, to be replaced by all-day EVs that charge at night, and the charging stations will move to motels and the parking garages of upscale hotels, and you'll reserve a charging spot when you reserve your room on road trips.

The industry does not need everyone to buy an EV at this early stage. All the EV makers put together could not build enough cars to supply every car buyer with one. It only needs to sell what it can build, and to do that all it needs is a steady, slow growth in the number of people who realize that an EV is a good choice the next time one of their 2 or 3 family cars is ready for the junk yard. The Model S is laying the groundwork: More and more people will see it and realize its strengths, and some of those will buy a Model E in 3 or 4 years when it comes out, because in that time they'll have gotten used to the idea. The supercharger network will help by increasing the visibility. Enough folks will feel that a 20-minute charge on those rare road trips is not too long a wait, and that's enough to keep the industry growing. But the real growth for now, while the charger network is in its infancy, will be families who realize that their commuter car does not have to be a road-trip car. I love my Roadster, and I've never charged it anywhere but at home.

 

So, free superchargers in Denmark and rest of Europe also?

Cost Of Electricity Worldwide; Which Countries Are Electric Vehicles The Cheapest To Operate?​

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The 40 kwh Model S is no longer available. In fact, it never shipped. The (apparently) few that ordered it received a 60 kwh unit w/software to limit available battery capacity to 40 kwh.

Unfortunately, that means the cheapest "no frills" Model S is a 60 kwh model starting at ~$71,250 before tax, title, license, tax credits/state incentives, etc. Add another $2K or $2.5K to that model to enable "free forever" supercharging.

Examples of many stories/coverage of this:
Tesla kills 40 kWh battery for Model S over 'lack of demand' | The Car Tech blog - CNET Reviews
Tesla Model S Sales Exceed Target | Press Releases | Tesla Motors

Right now, the only way to get a 40 kwh pack EV is to buy the "poor man's Tesla", the Rav4 EV.

 

Hawaii has an unusual situation. Some time in the distant past, in order to electrify the island state, a monopoly was granted to the company that built the infrastructure, based on diesel generators running on petroleum. At the time it was the only practical way, and since the oil had to be shipped in, it was very expensive. Because of the high infrastructure cost, the monopoly was deemed necessary to convince a private company to step in.

The result is that while you can put up solar panels or a wind turbine for your own use, nobody can sell electricity in competition with the existing utility. At one time a research facility was built (which you can visit and tour, on the Big Island) to experiment with the idea of pumping cold sea water from deep in the ocean, and generating electricity based on the temperature differential between deep and shallow sea water. But because of the utility's monopoly, the idea could not be put into practice. The facility is now a museum of alternative energy, and the deep pipes supply cold water to an abalone farm, which sells clam-sized abalones at an exorbitant price. Apparently connoisseurs think they are worth the price. I didn't try them because it seemed outrageous. On the same campus there's also a seahorse farm, which is much more interesting.

Those expensive electric rates around the country only apply to people who do not have their own electric generation via solar, wind, micro-hydro, or whatever. The wilderness hiking lodges I love so much up in Canada use solar and micro-hydro, since there is no grid where they are. Darrel the EV Nut pays nothing to charge his EV in California, since his electricity comes from the roof of his house. So whenever anyone quotes the cost of driving this or that EV in this or that state, those prices only apply to folks who buy their electricity from the public utility, and in most places, folks who want to badly enough, can sidestep the utility.

 

The 40 kwh model isn't going to be sold this side of the pond, only the top end models. So unfortunately it will remain a rich mans toy. It's also priced at the top end of Mercedes S class territory, contrary to the US intention of Tesla to slowly trickle down to more mass market appeal.

It appears that here Tesla intends to remain a high end, expensive curio with the Model S. Shame. I've nothing against rich people having toys and I understand that Tesla had to go that route to gain a foot hold. Unfortunately, it appears to me that Tesla Europe just want to keep things as they are, rather than the forward thinking of the US side of things. I wonder if this is already a start of large company rot in a similar way to GM (obviously on a smaller scale). The dynamic, forward thinking US Tesla has great plans for the expansion of electric motoring, filtering down to mass appeal. The European side is 6,000 miles away and happy to be lazy, selling small numbers of a rich mans toy for minimum effort? Perhaps there is a distance limit to Elons reach?

I might be wrong. I hope I'm wrong.

 

Uh.... I don't' think it's been sold anywhere. See my earlier post.

Tesla chose not to manufacture it and thus doesn't even offer it as a choice in the US anymore. I doubt they'd decide to offer it anywhere else and begin manufacturing it.

 

I hate to be a downer, but...it ain't never gonna happen. And before you all jump on me, I am an EV owner.

The Tesla charging strategy is unique to Tesla. The plan defies the logic of costs...setting up charging stations on valuable real estate and giving away free electricity. This car is never going to be a mainstream car. For such a wide charging network to be successful, the car has to be pervasive.

IMHO, charging stations are going to migrate to existing gas stations, as the locations already exist, they have bathrooms, convenience stores, and more importantly...Big Slurpees and Lotto tickets.

 

The model S will always be a car for those who could afford a BMW. Tesla, however, has already announced a car (the Model E) at half the cost, and since Elon Musk's vision is to transform transportation, and he knows even $30,000 is out of the reach of many, Tesla will undoubtedly keep moving to less expensive cars. It will take time, and the Model S is only step two in the process.

Increasing world demand for a declining supply of oil will gradually make electricity more attractive even in the face of some inconvenience. At present the infrastructure exists for a large percentage of the population to charge at home but not on the road. This will change gradually as well, as early adopters, willing to accept the inconveniences, provide a customer base for highway charging. It's a slow process, but it, too, will be driven by the rising worldwide demand for oil.

When gas is $15 per gallon, a lot more folks will be willing to wait half an hour, or even several hours, to juice up their car. Perhaps in twenty years we'll even see the return of electric inter-city trains.

 

But here the Tesla S costs MORE than a BMW 5 series and even a top of the range BMW 7 series! I think only the luxury Mercedes S600 limo is more expensive.

So not just a car for the well heeled, but one for the seriously rich. That is the point I'm making. The UK RHD versions are way more expensive compared to comparable cars. Shame.