Tesla free supercharging again

wow, that is a confusing policy for the layman.

 

the policy will make some happy & some upset. We sold our Model S in order get an X. one selling point of the S was it had free unlimited charging - ordered prior to the shutdown. Thus we got at least $5K extra that we wouldn't have otherwise. The buyer is probably tearing his hair out.

Also - some crowded stations with 10 or more stalls get used all day long - back to back. Cranking out ~ 400V / 100kW ½hr after ½hr ... all day & night. That much use puts a good amount of heat/wear on the units. at some point, the heat gets high enough that the units will quickly ramp down to only 37kW or less. The notion of more & more 'local' users continually using the network - even though they could charge @ home (often only 5 or 10 minutes away) - will only increase the over-use of a Network that is supposed to be used for long distance drives. "Free" would appear to increase sales, at the inconvenience/expense of current owners. in effect, the superchargers now need more maintenance than ever - because they simply throttle down to about ⅓ power when they start to get hot. it's kind of comical reading on their forums how the network abusers believe they are being persecuted. They theorize that Tesla knows who they are, & deliberately throttle the units down - just those particular abusers, in hopes to drive them away.
.

 

San Juan Capistrano gets so busy they actually have a valet person to keep things from getting too 'real'. There are probably a couple other stations that need/have valet/referees as well. Way too many entitled people out there ready to go to blows. Kind of reminds me of the 1970's gas shortages with lines around the block. OK, maybe not that bad. Still - nothing like having to wait 15 or 20 miutes - to shorten one's level of patience. My 6'-5" intimidating stature may come in handy someday - because for some, apparently, cutting in line means war.

.

 

I manage an L2 EVSE and the problem with Tesla owners is they like to plug-in and stay. Many shorter charge time cars come by only to see the Tesla ticks there for hours.

So in my case, we only enable the EVSE during business hours: 6AM - 11PM. We also set the EVSE to provide one hour of max rate charging before the car has to be disconnected and reconnected.

Bob Wilson

 

A company in trouble ...

 

They've been in trouble from the start. Even so - 400K people are in line .... & their stock is Ludacris'lee high. Pun intended. Feel free to scratch your head right along with me.
.

 

Another approach, a JuiceBox 40 Pro I donated to a 50A circuit by Propst at 717 Pratt Ave, Huntsville, AL. Look it up on http://plugshare.com

Bob Wilson

 

a site to see - yes - if you are an onlooker. If you're in the middle of the line though .... not so much.



This was Tejon Ranch .... a relatively large location so the wait is typically under 15 minutes during high drive times - but Burbank is even worse because it's relatively small - with only 8 stalls. so like I said - it is sort of reminiscent of the 1970's sometimes.
.

 

The only thing missing is the "Nix-on Juice" sign. Did the drivers power down their cars while waiting?

 

There's smart money in the market and there is stupid money in the market. Some days you are the smart money and some days you're the stupid money.

Tesla will continue as long as there are people standing in line waiting to give Musk their money.

 

Even if owners power off- the cars power down only if weather permits. If the pack's temps fall or rise too much - it'll run anyway. We're on a road trip right now somewhere near the middle of the Cali Central Valley. It's a miserable 97°springtime afternoon and the cooling system is running like blue-blazes. The system has one of the most advanced thermal Management Systems so that's just the way it is.

isn't this what people mean when they say that "hindsight is 20/20"?

.

 

It is one reason I went with a BMW i3-REx, the excellent battery thermal management. It is also my biggest concern about our Prius Prime, the air-cooled battery.

Bob Wilson

 

My brother's town in VA. Don't see it much more crowded than this.