Supercharger - Mammoth Lakes, CA (8 V2 stalls)

Yes indeed, great news!

I'm will plan to go up for the ribbon cutting.

Hopefully this happens sooner, rather than later.

So this makes a Bishop SpC unnecessary? Serves them right for not being welcoming to Tesla.

MikeC said:

So this makes a Bishop SpC unnecessary? Serves them right for not being welcoming to Tesla.

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I am very pleased for any superchargers in the Owens Valley. But Bishop would have been nice because there are many east and west, north and south side trips one can make from there. Mammoth you only have north and south.

Yeah, I would have liked one at Bishop too. Maybe now we can get Sonora so those from the SF area can easily make it there!

ecarfan said:

Using EVTripPlanner.com to determine if it is possible to drive from Manteca to Mammoth in an S85, assuming 19" tires, cabin temp 72, external temp 72, speed multiplier 1.3, gives this result:
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Distance 185.3 miles
Driving Time 3:14
Total Energy Used 74.3 kWh
248 RM
Average Efficiency 401 Wh/mile
Net Elevation Change 9013 feet
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It is possible. But that is in ideal weather and it's cutting it close.

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What are those numbers if you leave the multiplier at 1.0? I was told by others that 1.0 is the average speed, not the posted speed. Is that correct?

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Cross posted from the old Mammoth thread:

Lump said:

One of the Councilmen actively monitors the forums :biggrin:

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I'm assuming your mean oldnewyork? That's what it sounds like from his post. I placed the link to the City Council discussion here for others to see. It's an interesting discussion. I got a little scared when I heard a council member say how convenient this location is because the shuttle stop is there.
Fortunately, the Tesla rep corrected them and said that the idea is that they remove their cars when done charging. My gosh, I really hope no one has the audacity to take off skiing for the whole day while their car is charging.

Just in time for Model X. I get the feeling we might see a bunch of photo shoots in the area now. Auto makers love the Eastern Sierra for commercials and print advertising.

ecarfan said:

Using EVTripPlanner.com to determine if it is possible to drive from Manteca to Mammoth in an S85, assuming 19" tires, cabin temp 72, external temp 72, speed multiplier 1.3, gives this result:
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Distance 185.3 miles
Driving Time 3:14
Total Energy Used 74.3 kWh
248 RM
Average Efficiency 401 Wh/mile
Net Elevation Change 9013 feet
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It is possible. But that is in ideal weather and it's cutting it close.

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Since that road is closed in Winter and has generally cool temperatures the rest of the year, you can probably count on reasonable (if not ideal) weather... but if in doubt, just drive 21mph and you'll have plenty of range.

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4SUPER9 said:

What are those numbers if you leave the multiplier at 1.0? I was told by others that 1.0 is the average speed, not the posted speed. Is that correct?

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The 1.3 speed multiplier is un-realistic. It would be very difficult to drive that route at that speed (30% faster than average speed is just not going to happen on this two lane road). If you use a more realistic multiplier of 1.0, you get 199 RM which is easy.

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4SUPER9 said:

I got a little scared when I heard a council member say how convenient this location is because the shuttle stop is there.
Fortunately, the Tesla rep corrected them and said that the idea is that they remove their cars when done charging. My gosh, I really hope no one has the audacity to take off skiing for the whole day while their car is charging.

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I think this is going to be a problem. It will be too tempting for skiers to leave their car for the day at the charging station and go skiing. They really should have put the charging station out at the airport where it would be more convenient for US 395 travel and would force people to wait with the car (and leave as soon as charging was done).
The Superchargers are "Charging Stations" not "Parking". You would never park your car in front of a gas pump and leave it for the day but I fear that some skiers would do just that.

mspohr said:

I think this is going to be a problem. It will be too tempting for skiers to leave their car for the day at the charging station and go skiing. They really should have put the charging station out at the airport where it would be more convenient for US 395 travel and would force people to wait with the car (and leave as soon as charging was done).
The Superchargers are "Charging Stations" not "Parking". You would never park your car in front of a gas pump and leave it for the day but I fear that some skiers would do just that.

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The airport would certainly discourage parking. At the same time, that would be inconsistent with TM message of locating SC's at places of convenience for food, etc.
As far as this location is concerned, I will be furious if I could not grab a 30 minute charge due to people parking. I think the real problem will be dinner time. Everyone will want to grab a charge while eating.

gene said:

I am very pleased for any superchargers in the Owens Valley. But Bishop would have been nice because there are many east and west, north and south side trips one can make from there. Mammoth you only have north and south.

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Side trips are more limited from Mammoth, but you can still access Bridgeport Twin Lakes, Bodie (3 miles of dirt road notwithstanding), Mono Lake, SR120 east to Benton, Benton Crossing, June Lake Loop, Rock Creek Lake. If US95 is completed with Superchargers, Tonopah can be reached easily from Mammoth (albeit with an extra 40 minutes of driving coming from LA, but shorter if coming from the north.) I would assume that Lake Sabrina would be an easy round trip from Mammoth.

There are probably trade-offs between Bishop and Mammoth.

Awesome another charger is going in but I really don't understand this one. Mammoth already has a ton of destination chargers not to mention everyone who has a house up there will likely install a charger like I did and several businesses I know of are adding destination charging. The main issue, I have done this drive about 10 times in my p85 with 19's. It can be very very very scary leaving lone pine with less tthan 200 miles RR when it's cold out or a head wind or your loaded with gear. It's only ~100 miles from lp to mammoth but it can seriously eat up juice. Bishop with a small 2-4 spot and Lee vining with 2-4 spot supercharger would have been absolutely perfect. That would allow people to really do whatever they want and not just go to mammoth. Don't get me wrong I'm thrilled about this, dream come true but I think it makes more sense further north. Thanks tesla for pushing it either way!

I've never been to Mammoth, but I'm definitely thinking about it now! (You'll find me on the bunny slopes and intermediates only!)

I can't help but think that this station serves the SoCal-Tahoe route nicely at just 100 mile intervals, suitable for all weather and all battery sizes, but doesn't really do a whole lot for those going east/west or doing the Las Vegas (my home) to Reno/Sparks (think Gigafactory 1) route. I'll speculate that we'll see more four-bay stations in proximity before 2016 is done. Probably Bishop, Hawthorne, Tonopah and Beatty are still in the cards. Who knows, maybe even Baker some day!

Tjhappel said:

Awesome another charger is going in but I really don't understand this one. Mammoth already has a ton of destination chargers not to mention everyone who has a house up there will likely install a charger like I did and several businesses I know of are adding destination charging. The main issue, I have done this drive about 10 times in my p85 with 19's. It can be very very very scary leaving lone pine with less tthan 200 miles RR when it's cold out or a head wind or your loaded with gear. It's only ~100 miles from lp to mammoth but it can seriously eat up juice. Bishop with a small 2-4 spot and Lee vining with 2-4 spot supercharger would have been absolutely perfect. That would allow people to really do whatever they want and not just go to mammoth. Don't get me wrong I'm thrilled about this, dream come true but I think it makes more sense further north. Thanks tesla for pushing it either way!

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I ran the following data on EVTripplanner: Temperature: 15 degrees. Cabin temperature: 68 degrees. Speed factor: 1.2. Payload: 850 pounds. With zero wind this used 172 range miles @515 wh/mile. A 5mph headwind increased the range miles to 190.

If we drove at the speed factor of "1," the range miles used are 154@462 wh/mile. (I made the trip in June in optimum conditions, and I used 336 wh/mile.)

So, I would think that nearly all journeys north from Lone Pine to Mammoth would be doable with 200+ range miles in the battery in all but the worst conditions possible. But we can charge extra, start out slowly to conserve a little battery life, and then if need be creep up Sherwin Grade, which would probably be the sensible thing to do in a storm, anyway.

And, not everyone is staying at Mammoth Lakes. Some are just passing through!

I have no problem with Tesla putting an SC in Mammoth (and Big Pine and Independence and Olancha, possibly June Lake, maybe even Tom's Place and Convict Lake) although the food options seem a bit sparse at that particular location, but we still need them in Bishop and Lee Vining, for 60s and Model 3s. If we have to wait beyond Memorial Day of next year for those, then Jamestown and/or Groveland become even more critical by next summer.

I think Cpa and ev Trip planner are correct, I never leave LP without 200 miles of range in basically every circumstance. It's super annoying to drive 65 mph when everyone is doing 75+++. I am sure there's gonna be a few surprised families in model x's, leave lone pine with 200 RR get to mammoth with 1 mile left. It also starts to raise the question if it's worth taking the tesla on that trip vs and ice. Last time for me was a 45 minute penalty on the way up and 30 on the way home. It doesn't sound like a ton but everyone with little kids knows what an extra hour does to trips. Hopefully they get bishop and Lee vining (hopefully at the gas station with the best food east of Sierra's) operating soon.

Tjhappel said:

I think Cpa and ev Trip planner are correct, I never leave LP without 200 miles of range in basically every circumstance. It's super annoying to drive 65 mph when everyone is doing 75+++. I am sure there's gonna be a few surprised families in model x's, leave lone pine with 200 RR get to mammoth with 1 mile left. It also starts to raise the question if it's worth taking the tesla on that trip vs and ice. Last time for me was a 45 minute penalty on the way up and 30 on the way home. It doesn't sound like a ton but everyone with little kids knows what an extra hour does to trips. Hopefully they get bishop and Lee vining (hopefully at the gas station with the best food east of Sierra's) operating soon.

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Lee Vining is supposed to be getting a couple HPWCs at the Whoa Nellie Deli, probably in time for next summer. At least that is what the daughter of the owner told me back in June. Others have received similar news. It seems highly unlikely that there would be HPWC and Superchargers at the same spot, especially one that is closed seasonally and inaccessible from Tioga Pass from (generally) Thanksgiving through April or later depending upon snow. The planned SC for Topaz Lake is only 100 miles from Mammoth, and even considering the climb up Conway would be easy even in winter.

The town council meeting video said the initial term of the lease was for five years, and that there was a renewal option for another five years. There was some mention of the possibility that the planned location at the Park 'n' Ride might eventually be prime real estate for lower-income housing, but that the plans for that development were years away. They council noted that the lease agreement with Tesla included terms that the city and Tesla would split the relocation costs 50-50 should this development occur. Tesla was informally assured that if this development panned out, that it would not be until the second 5-year term.

So, just maybe--perhaps, even--this location might be "temporary" until they can negotiate a suitable site at suitable terms in Bishop. Mammoth Lakes plugs a hole on US395 that needed to be filled. If Bishop comes on line in the next several years, Tesla can opt out of the Mammoth renewal option, or they can renew if there is enough demand at both locations. Roseville and Rocklin Service and Sales Centers are only four miles apart. It will be interesting to see if Tesla keeps the Superchargers at Roseville if/when the lease comes up for renewal.