Prime Charging

Look into the Supercharger network. It's mind blowing.

 

I can definitely understand the trust issue. We all have our own little paranoia's in different ways.

However, with the cost thing....less than a year from now you will be able to buy a Tesla for roughly the same price as a Prime.

 

The Tesla Model S and Model X are indeed expensive but they are nicely outfitted vehicles. When and if Telsa finally manages to ramp up production of their Model 3, they may be able to attract more of us who have financial constraints.

Meanwhile, I notice that the Model S and Model X have been around long enough to start appearing in the used car market at more affordable prices. TrueCar currenty shows about 280 of them on offer at prices from $35,999 to $48,947. Not cheap but not totally insane.

As for charging, I have seen many Telsa Model S and Model X at Level-2 EVSE charging stations around town. Keep in mind that the kWh per mile is not that much greater than most PHEVs and EVs, so if their owners are driving the same number of miles as a typical Prime owner, they can "top off" their battery in about the same amount of time at a Level-2 station.

Admittedly, I really wish that the Prime had a 50-mile EV range. Its 25-mile range is OK for the vast majority of trips in our urban Boston location, but it just would not work in a more spread-out city like Denver. Even so, its ability to supplement its EV range in hybrid mode may be a greater advantage than having a few more miles of EV range before having to find a charging station or a tow truck.

 

For my travel style, it is mindblowingly sparse.

In between I-90 and the TransCanda Highway, the only stations between the Pacific Ocean and the Great Lakes are in Kelowona BC, Fort MacCleod AB, and Baxter MN. And even I-90 and Highway 1 themselves have giant gaps.

A couple years ago, the spouse and I took a very leisurely cross country sightseeing trip across the northern tier, including a couple days north of the border, to her high school reunion on the opposite coast. We generally avoided Interstates, and took very many side trips along the way.

Along Highways 20 and 2, this Supercharger map (supercharge.info) shows no service for a 1750 mile stretch. Not counting the extra miles rolled up on side trips.

 

Yep, currently a Tesla wouldn't fit your needs. I definitely suspect that will change within a few more years, especially once most decent hotels have Tesla chargers at them.

 

The charging infrastructure is definitely under the purview of private industry, not government. But like you, I'm also running up against a biological expiration date, at least for active travels, and am not confident about ever getting to use it. I'll probably be watching travelogues about it on TV from an assisted living home.

That is also one of the reasons I went ahead with putting solar PV on my house several years ago, designing and installing it myself. Even if it will be more cost effective to wait until later, I want to see and make use of it during this lifetime.

 

Older gentlemen...have faith that soon autonomous vehicles will be able to take you wherever you want to go in comfort.

 

Alas, you cannot stand in the way of progress (or, for safety, within 30-degrees of either side.)

 

I bet you are better at math than a calculator as well?

 

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