Hawaii And Alaska Superchargers!

I don't know about Alaska, but I'm fairly certain that Tesla will not build a Supercharger in Hawaii. Their main reason for doing so isn't the density of how many Teslas are on the road, but to aid in interstate mobility. Not an issue here, though it would be nice to have a place to juice up quickly.

I think the main reason not to have superchargers in Hawaii is that on most islands you can get anywhere and back on a full charge. The Big Island has distances long enough to justify a supercharger or two, but there need to be enough cars there to justify the expense. Likewise, there need to be more than the current handful of Teslas in Alaska before they will build the superchargers.

emupilot said:

I think the main reason not to have superchargers in Hawaii is that on most islands you can get anywhere and back on a full charge. The Big Island has distances long enough to justify a supercharger or two, but there need to be enough cars there to justify the expense. Likewise, there need to be more than the current handful of Teslas in Alaska before they will build the superchargers.

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Population density/urban living (like China) can make a cause for Superchargers within cities. However I don't think it will happen for a while.

airj1012 said:

Population density/urban living (like China) can make a cause for Superchargers within cities. However I don't think it will happen for a while.

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Elon has stated more than once this year that Tesla will be placing Superchargers in cities in China, London, and maybe in San Francisco and other American cities. This is because in cities there are many potential buyers who cannot get adequate electrical power to their overnight parking location.

There are already two Superchargers in Shanghai, one in Beijing, and one in London. More are on the way, including in Los Angeles.

Initially Tesla had the mindset that Superchargers would only be outside cities and were exclusively for long distance travel. But the company has realized that it will boost sales to have them in some large cities even though they will in part be used by locals to charge at instead of charging at home. It's a trade off: more cars sold but Tesla will have to absorb the added construction and operating expense of more Superchargers.

ecarfan said:

Elon has stated more than once this year that Tesla will be placing Superchargers in cities in China, London, and maybe in San Francisco and other American cities. This is because in cities there are many potential buyers who cannot get adequate electrical power to their overnight parking location.

There are already two Superchargers in Shanghai, one in Beijing, and one in London. More are on the way, including in Los Angeles.

Initially Tesla had the mindset that Superchargers would only be outside cities and were exclusively for long distance travel. But the company has realized that it will boost sales to have them in some large cities even though they will in part be used by locals to charge at instead of charging at home. It's a trade off: more cars sold but Tesla will have to absorb the added construction and operating expense of more Superchargers.

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I meant in Hawaii. I don't think Hawaii will get a Supercharger due to population density for a while.

ecarfan said:

Elon has stated more than once this year that Tesla will be placing Superchargers in cities in China, London, and maybe in San Francisco and other American cities. This is because in cities there are many potential buyers who cannot get adequate electrical power to their overnight parking location.

There are already two Superchargers in Shanghai, one in Beijing, and one in London. More are on the way, including in Los Angeles.

Initially Tesla had the mindset that Superchargers would only be outside cities and were exclusively for long distance travel. But the company has realized that it will boost sales to have them in some large cities even though they will in part be used by locals to charge at instead of charging at home. It's a trade off: more cars sold but Tesla will have to absorb the added construction and operating expense of more Superchargers.

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That's interesting. It'd be great to have Supercharger coverage in wealthy cities with a high proportion of non-single-family housing, such as Boston or Chicago. Honolulu fits that bill. 2016, maybe?

ecarfan said:

Elon has stated more than once this year that Tesla will be placing Superchargers in cities in China, London, and maybe in San Francisco and other American cities. This is because in cities there are many potential buyers who cannot get adequate electrical power to their overnight parking location.

There are already two Superchargers in Shanghai, one in Beijing, and one in London. More are on the way, including in Los Angeles.

Initially Tesla had the mindset that Superchargers would only be outside cities and were exclusively for long distance travel. But the company has realized that it will boost sales to have them in some large cities even though they will in part be used by locals to charge at instead of charging at home. It's a trade off: more cars sold but Tesla will have to absorb the added construction and operating expense of more Superchargers.

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Agreed. Hong Kong is getting two supercharging stations at the same time of Model S launch which is just coming up, with more on the way. And driving from one end to the other of Hong Kong is less than 100 miles, so it's not because of long distances. Only cars with dual license plates are allowed to cross between China and Hong Kong, so for most, they won't be able to drive into China (like me).

The main purpose for superchargers in Hong Kong is definitely the very high level of people who don't own or control their own parking space.

On July 23rd (5 days from now), the launch event will take place in Hong Kong, and at that location, "Kai Tak Ocean Terminal", there is a supercharger being installed as I write this, the other one being in Hopewell Centre in downtown Hong Kong.

While supercharging is free, it seems parking is not. Price to park should be something like 1.3 USD pr hour, as far as I have heard.

Similar for London, and some other cities - superchargers are not always just for long distances.

ecarfan said:

Elon has stated more than once this year that Tesla will be placing Superchargers in cities in China, London, and maybe in San Francisco and other American cities. This is because in cities there are many potential buyers who cannot get adequate electrical power to their overnight parking location.

There are already two Superchargers in Shanghai, one in Beijing, and one in London. More are on the way, including in Los Angeles.

Initially Tesla had the mindset that Superchargers would only be outside cities and were exclusively for long distance travel. But the company has realized that it will boost sales to have them in some large cities even though they will in part be used by locals to charge at instead of charging at home. It's a trade off: more cars sold but Tesla will have to absorb the added construction and operating expense of more Superchargers.

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Well this makes a lot of sense then. There is a lot of urban dwellers on Oahu with no control over their charging situation (or a very costly proposition of paying for an install when they may be renting). If I was still living in apartments, which I did for the first 20 years here, it would certainly deter me from getting a Tesla. Hopefully we will see one eventually, though I think this is a bit in the future.

I have provided TM with SpC locations that would make travel around Alaska effortless; their official response (some 9-12 months back) was that they hadn't any plans for same on the horizon.

As emupilot writes,

Likewise, there need to be more than the current handful of Teslas in Alaska before they will build the superchargers.

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The appropriate and important counterarguments to this include
1. Tesla would be far more popular in Alaska were the SpCs extant - there is a very large fraction of AK residents with a lot of disposable income; and
2. As Larry's thread "Trip to Alaska" is evidence, the road trip to and around Alaska is on a spectacularly large number of Americans' bucket lists. And it IS the epitome of a trip of a lifetime. It would be fantastic if TM could see their way to threading SpCs through western Canada and around Alaska. H*ll....I'll even throw in my highly-priced consulting fees for a discount of....oh, about 101%.

Even though I can't use one, I don't think there's a need for a supercharger on Oahu. I have a 40/60 and did the circle isle drive with 30 miles to spare. The laws here require an EV charger for public parking lots with over 100 stalls so there's a lot of chargers around the island although they're leaf'd most of time :cursing:. But the argument about apartment dwellers is a good one though although one owner here just charges at one of the 3 or 4 free chargers around him that are walking distance. Am sure he would appreciate a faster charge though!

There are a few Teslas here in Alaska. There would be more if TM would install at least one set of superchargers.Suggestion, put it in the parking lot of the Golden Corral Restaurant in Anchorage. Wasilla would be a good place for a second one.

I’ve long felt that the very most inappropriate place in the Western Hemisphere for a SpC is in metro Anchorage.
Why?
1. If one is traveling anywhere, you’re headed in one of exactly two directions: either north through the Valley, or south toward the Kenai.
2. Multi-family housing in Anchorage is minuscule.
3. Enclosed garaging of cars - certainly for detached housing but also for the small amount of apartment dwellers - is effectively universal.

Therefore, 99.x% of all charging most appropriately can be done at home - always the best option. The sole population center anywhere on earth that may share these characteristics is...ta da!....Fairbanks, except that even Fairbanks has (ooooh!) THREE ways out of town.

Anyway, in my very considered opinion, utterly ideal SpC sites would be :
1. to the north of town, the Parks/Richardson junction. Near the Valley Hospital is one specific site; even closer to the junction’s split there are a few better locations.

2. South: the Girdwood turnoff. That would be convenient for skiers, for ferry-goers, and for Kenai-bound travelers. In other words, ALL southbound traffic.

Both of these locations together capture 100% of all travelers and shake out almost every driver who’s just rattling around the Bowl. In other words, it fits Tesla’s original description of what Superchargers are for absolutely perfectly.

By those arguments, I obviously disagree with your Golden Corral. For your Wasilla choice, I agree only insofar as it is close enough to that “Tee” so that it enables Palmer-bound and other RichHwy travelers as well as ParksHwy ones - thus the site I mentioned.

By the way, similar sites for Fairbanks would be:
South - either Gold Hill or the Ester turnoff.
West - some few miles beyond North Pole. The Knotty Shop, for example, would be both an ideal distance away from any Fairbanksan’s garage and also from an eventual Delta Jct SpC, where the next one is perfect.
North - well, though now we’re getting into the Huh? Where? traffic, either Hilltop or the Steese turnoff would capture 100% of Steese, Elliott AND Dalton Hwy traffic.