What Would You Have Done?

I think you did the right thing, I would have driven off as well.

 

This.
Why shouldn't I seeing as I probably have 500 miles of range in the fuel tank.

 

Now having a PHEV myself, I'd probably have provided some feedback to the mall's management:

** You don't have enough charging capacity for the rapidly expanding Plug-In customer base. Could you please add more?

** Free chargers are too often filled, so that any BEV drivers facing a real emergency may be unable to find space to plug in. To reduce this congestion, could you please convert these to paid service, with a fair price, i.e. similar to gasoline cost?

I cannot speak to the SuperChargers and NACS systems. But at least for my J1772 plug style, all the all-cords-in-use sites I've encountered were free sites. None of the paid sites (so far) have been full. Not even the ones where the fee was just half the cost of the equivalent gasoline.

 

If you really cared about the charge, you would have sat there watching it happen.

They probably did.

 

Some bev drivers feel that phevs should not tie up public chargers.
I think that free chargers sometimes cause problems

 

That doesn't seem unreasonable. For a pure electric vehicle, charging could be do-or-die. That's never the case with a plug-in.

 

It could be do-or-die, but around my area it usually isn't. And nearly all the BEVs (except the very oldest Leafs) can use the SuperChargers that J1772-only PHEVs cannot.

At my usual ski hill (Stevens Pass), a very broad mix of EVs and PHEVs keep the free 4-outlet station very busy during season, usually with several more plug-in vehicles waiting next to it. (The ChargePoint mobile app can give anyone an alert when any cord becomes available.) Looking at the mix this year, I could see only a single car of a model that might not have the round-trip range from well beyond Seattle, a newer Leaf. But chatting with that driver one day, I learned that he lived close enough to make the round trip without recharging.

IOW, even the BEV skiers there are just taking advantage of "free" fuel. I don't feel they "deserve" a monopoly on this resort amenity.

My various destinations could use a lot more charging stations. Most currently have none. And when stations are installed, I suggest that they now all be fee-based stations. The "free" stations have already done their incentive duty, and many are now over-used. The fee-based stations I've visited have always had plenty of openings, even those whose cost was only half that of the equivalent gasoline. I'll happily pay the full gasoline cost for electric recharging.

 

Perhaps. I thought not all Superchargers will be open to non-Teslas.

Agree, though other options are available. Volta is a free charger chain, they even have some DC units. Though only for a period of time. Something like the first 30 to 60 minutes, or about the time it takes to custom the business that installed the charger. After that, they charge. They'll also end the free portion for those deemed taking advantage of the service. So it requires registering with them, which could screen some freeloaders out by itself.

 

And with Musk firing the whole Supercharger division, I'm not sure when the others manufacturers will gain access to it.

 

A whole bunch of automakers have agreements with Tesla to start using the Supercharger network this or next year, so there are probably contract requirements Tesla must meet.

There is also $7.5B of federal incentive money from the 2021 Infrastructure bill earmarked for EV charging network expansion, and opening its system would make Tesla eligible for a decent slice of this pie.

 

tesla didn't eliminate anyone in manufacturing, and i think supercharger information is in more places than peoples heads.

 

Tesla has the info, but getting rid of their experts means time wasted as someone new learns that info.

 

But how? I thought XLE and Limited locked the plug, and you couldn't unplug it unless you were carrying your smart key.

 

possibly, but it probably won't affect sales

 

I see. To lock it automatically, you need to change the vehicle settings. Otherwise, you need to lock/unlock it by pressing the lock/unlock button next to the connector while carrying the smart key. I haven't used public charging in a while, but it is good to know.

• “Manual Lock” (Default setting)

The charging connector is locked and unlocked by pressing the charging connector lock switch when carrying the electronic key or after unlocking the doors.​

• “Auto Lock”

The charging connector is automatically locked when the charging connector is connected.*1, 2​

• “Auto Lock & Auto Unlock”

The charging connector is automatically locked when the charging connector is connected and automatically unlocked when charging is completed.*1, 2, 3​

 

... or unless the plug lacks the locking tab?

I'm not sure on this, will have to watch for it on public chargers. My Toyota portable and home fixed plugs certainly do lock with my RAV4.

 

Not now, but some Supercharger locations will start seeing no Tesla use soon. If the network starts getting crowded or not maintained, there goes a major selling point for Tesla.

 

that is the case with a Tesla 3.