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Why the void of SuperChargers in the south (particularly Arkansas)?

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thx1139

Active Member
Aug 1, 2014
2,621
12,030
Lemont, IL
I am this close (holds fingers about inch apart) from ordering a Model S. Delivery according to Tesla site would be close to Thanksgiving. We drive from Chicago to Little Rock,AR to visit my sister and would love to drive the Model S, but unfortunately there is a void of stations like straight south of Chicago. Even if I change the Tesla SuperCharger map site to end 2014 there still will be a void specifically all around Arkansas. I would think having SuperChargers near larger cities like Memphis and Little Rock would be no brainer.
 
It is annoying. I'm in South Central Missouri and we drive to Little Rock fairly regularly. It's an easy drive in the S, but charging there is a little challenging with just a few public chargers. My Sister in law has a NEMA 14-50 at her house in North LR that we usually use. I can't understand why there isn't something in Memphis either, it's the best route from Southern MO to the East Coast sites.

I'm trying to be patient with the whole SuperCharger roll out, I know it can't be cheap or easy to do, but it seems a good investment to get as much coverage as possible. As you adroitly point out, you live in a big City where sales are brisk, but you need to drive to areas where sales might not be a good indicator of Supercharger need. The absence of a SC in KC and St.Louis are baffling, frankly.
 
Superchargers are a marketing tool, and Tesla is first putting them on routes that would generate the most interest. Middle America isn't where the bulk of near $100,000 EVs are going to be sold, present company excluded of course.
 
I am this close (holds fingers about inch apart) from ordering a Model S. Delivery according to Tesla site would be close to Thanksgiving. We drive from Chicago to Little Rock,AR to visit my sister and would love to drive the Model S, but unfortunately there is a void of stations like straight south of Chicago. Even if I change the Tesla SuperCharger map site to end 2014 there still will be a void specifically all around Arkansas. I would think having SuperChargers near larger cities like Memphis and Little Rock would be no brainer.


Feel the same way. Hope to order soon after the route to New Orleans and onwards to western parks and California are completed. Big plans for road trips that need SC! [I want to go to less populated areas.........]
 
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I would imagine the SC build out is based on some combination of current sales and anticipated future demand. Some parts of the country (and of the world) are just going to be slower than others. Personally, I am pretty amazed at how many SCs have been built over the last year.
 
I am this close (holds fingers about inch apart) from ordering a Model S. Delivery according to Tesla site would be close to Thanksgiving. We drive from Chicago to Little Rock,AR to visit my sister and would love to drive the Model S, but unfortunately there is a void of stations like straight south of Chicago. Even if I change the Tesla SuperCharger map site to end 2014 there still will be a void specifically all around Arkansas. I would think having SuperChargers near larger cities like Memphis and Little Rock would be no brainer.

They have to go based on population and Model S owner density. Unfortunately there are larger fish to fry right now. If they could build out the network more quickly they would. However they can only build so many at a time and rather focus on highly populated areas/routes first. Unfortunately Memphis does not meet this criteria. I have seen a few Model Ses around Memphis, but no where near as many as I've seen other places like Atlanta.
 
I am this close (holds fingers about inch apart) from ordering a Model S. Delivery according to Tesla site would be close to Thanksgiving. We drive from Chicago to Little Rock,AR to visit my sister and would love to drive the Model S, but unfortunately there is a void of stations like straight south of Chicago. Even if I change the Tesla SuperCharger map site to end 2014 there still will be a void specifically all around Arkansas. I would think having SuperChargers near larger cities like Memphis and Little Rock would be no brainer.

If you are referring to I-55 and I-57, I share your frustration. They are common conduits from Chicago and the upper Midwest to both the deep South as well as the Southeast. My preferred route from NE Florida to Chicago goes through Atlanta, Chattanooga, Nashville, Paducah and then I-57. This is less congested than having to deal with the traffic through Louisville and Indianapolis. Georgia is being built up now and Chattanooga/Nashville are on the horizon. But not much else so far.
 
If you are referring to I-55 and I-57, I share your frustration. They are common conduits from Chicago and the upper Midwest to both the deep South as well as the Southeast. My preferred route from NE Florida to Chicago goes through Atlanta, Chattanooga, Nashville, Paducah and then I-57. This is less congested than having to deal with the traffic through Louisville and Indianapolis. Georgia is being built up now and Chattanooga/Nashville are on the horizon. But not much else so far.
Last week while charging at the Nashville (Brentwood) facility I was told they will soon have a supercharger for public use at the shop!
 
Superchargers are a marketing tool, and Tesla is first putting them on routes that would generate the most interest. Middle America isn't where the bulk of near $100,000 EVs are going to be sold, present company excluded of course.

True... Except that Texas is a large market for them (larger than they expected, I believe) and the SC rollout doesn't yet take this into account. The folks at the Galleries hear about the desire for these routes every day. I think that's why we'll see Ardmore, OK sooner rather than later, and hopefully something between Dallas & Little Rock and something near the casinos in Shreveport before 2016.
 
SC rollout is also dependent on the buy-in of local merchants that are willing to donate parking spots to the SC. With lower density of Model Ses it might be a tougher sell for the SC team. If you know of merchants that are willing to play along, you might want to fwd that info to the SC team. Similarly, if you know of a hotel owner, casino, etc that is willing to host a HPWC, you can pass that info along to [email protected].

O
 
To THX1139:
And in the meantime, you could still be enjoying your MS for the other 360 + days of the year outside of the Thanksgiving trip to Arkansas.
Anyone currently NOT exactly on one of the major connecting Supercharger network feels your pain and anxiety -- yes, we would like to be able to use a fully developed network.
Looking forward 6 months or 18 months, the Supercharger network starts to really fill in, and by all indications will be able to make travel via any ICE vehicle a thing of the past...
 
True... Except that Texas is a large market for them (larger than they expected, I believe) and the SC rollout doesn't yet take this into account. The folks at the Galleries hear about the desire for these routes every day. I think that's why we'll see Ardmore, OK sooner rather than later, and hopefully something between Dallas & Little Rock and something near the casinos in Shreveport before 2016.
Think of it this way-- which do you think would stimulate more Model S sales: more convenient supercharger access to Cape Cod, ski resorts in New England, and vacation areas of the west coast, etc. vs. more convenient access to Oklahoma, Little Rock and casinos in Shreveport? It's not the latter group.

Connecting the major population centers in Texas was a requirement for any reasonable sales level here and they did that quickly. I want other Texas routes too, particularly to the coast, but realistically they will be of marginal benefit for sales compared to the original Texas Triangle routes.
 
Think of it this way-- which do you think would stimulate more Model S sales: more convenient supercharger access to Cape Cod, ski resorts in New England, and vacation areas of the west coast, etc. vs. more convenient access to Oklahoma, Little Rock and casinos in Shreveport? It's not the latter group.

Connecting the major population centers in Texas was a requirement for any reasonable sales level here and they did that quickly. I want other Texas routes too, particularly to the coast, but realistically they will be of marginal benefit for sales compared to the original Texas Triangle routes.

<shrug> I am only reporting what I hear and see from potential purchasers. North Texas has close ties to Oklahoma & Arkansas and those potential purchasers are asking how to make those trips. There are already more Teslas in DFW than any other Texas MSA, even before we got a Gallery. IMO, the Gallery, plus SC access to routes we know to be popular up here will have a good ROI. Whether that's in 2016, or sooner.
 
The 2014 map on the TM site still shows Texas being connected by the end of the year. I was hoping they would make strides in August/September, but it looks like it will all be done in December, just like last year.
 
I was talking to the foreman building the Lake Charles, LA Supercharger (with recently discovered Denton, one of the Texas Gateways) and he knew of "two locations in Arkansas" that went out for bids. Sorry I didn't get more details but I was listening for I-90 and I-45 sites for my own interests.
 
I was talking to the foreman building the Lake Charles, LA Supercharger (with recently discovered Denton, one of the Texas Gateways) and he knew of "two locations in Arkansas" that went out for bids. Sorry I didn't get more details but I was listening for I-90 and I-45 sites for my own interests.

Seems like that would be Fort Smith & Little Rock, both of which continue I 40 and are on the 2015 list.
 
Seems like Texarkana would be a great place to put a Supercharger. Even in the "2015" map there is a great big hole right there, which makes it hard to get back and forth between Texas and, say, Tennessee.

It would be an awesome location! I continue to hold out hope that Tesla will realize that regional travel might be more important to mid-continent owners than yet another coast-to-coast route. But, if they don't, 2016 isn't that far away...
 
Lets not forget the chicken and egg problem. I live in the midwest too. While it's a moot point for me personally given that it will be a couple more years before I am financially ready to buy a $90K car, if I could buy a Tesla Model S today I wouldn't. Why? Because there are not any superchargers where I need them (yet). Superchargers are more critical for midwest buyers than they are for the coasts because everything is spread out more here. My weekly work routine would *require* some of the superchargers that don't exist yet. Not just vacation trips.

While I can't tell you how significant it is, I can guarantee you sales are lower in the midwest due to not having superchargers yet. It's not just a marketing gimmick here. It's an absolute necessity.