Mid South - If it were up to you.

I-20 from Dallas to Atlanta would be first. I'd base decisions on number of owners in each city/state.

Before undertaking anything big such as I-20, finish I-65. Every SC on I-65 will complement those already in service to the east of I-65.

Just one SC in Louisville is needed to open a route to Indianapolis. A hard 200 mile segment from Nashville but still better than the alternate through Knoxville.

Memphis and Jackson would be huge because they'd help both your route 3 & 4 at the same time. I like your order although I'd probably flip your #1 and #2, due to the density of users on the coast. I believe that they will be focusing on the I-81 route very soon.

LetsGoFast said:

Memphis and Jackson would be huge because they'd help both your route 3 & 4 at the same time. I like your order although I'd probably flip your #1 and #2, due to the density of users on the coast. I believe that they will be focusing on the I-81 route very soon.

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I do agree with (West) Memphis, unsure if you intend Jackson, TN (to connect with Nashville) or Jackson, MS.
Distance @ 221 miles, West Memphis to Nashville is okay in an 85, on the edge in a 70, really stretching it in a 60: hence Jackson, TN.

Very similar mileage from West Memphis to Jackson, MS is 216 miles.
At some point TM would probably need to find a mid-point Supercharge location for either of these two routes (think ATL-to-Charlotte and St. Charles-to-Independence routes, both were finally enhanced with a mid-point Supercharger locations).


Back to OP's original challenge:
To me it seems the large area with the greatest need would run around and thru parts of Arkansas.
I tend to like:
I-40 and I-30 OKC and DAL thru to Memphis and Nashville as the E/W route
AND
I-55 STL to New Orleans as the co-joined N/S route.
Start building Superchargers simultaneously at four (or five) ends and meet in the middle.

No, it does not solve everything, but it connects the biggest portion of the currently underserved area enough so the vast distances are at least manageable, and getting off the "Supercharger Path" is not entirely cumbersome.

Yes, starting with the I-20 route would (and will eventually) be nice.
I know of multiple locations (cities) that have been identified on I-20 route, but not all the dominoes are in place.

There is still such a huge hole in the middle without any Supercharger connection, unless you are willing to use an RV park or have luck finding suitable over-night charging at a hotel/B&B, the massive additional mileage and time penalty to travel across or around it make it an ICE trip (counter-productive to why people would want to road-trip in their Model S and X).

Drucifer said:

purplewalt - thanks for weighing in. I was wondering what your opinion was on this.

I left out Paducah, KY connecting Nashville (and the rest of the southeast) to St. Louis. (and the west)

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Yep, Paducah, KY would be really helpful too, as will Louisville, KY.
But, I think it would be better to serve the "bigger goal" of criss-crossing the area and cutting it into smaller sub-tracts than to focus on specific short-term perimeter "gaps" in the Supercharger network.

I would do those fill-in routes as secondary-level after the bigger whale has been initially handled.

The Mid-South is currently such a large "blank canvas", TM should plan ahead and determine where the connecting nodes are and strive to locate in those vicinities.
That way they get the most bang for their buck, almost a two-for-one location such as West Memphis, AR and Jackson, MS on the first round.
And then eventually Shreveport, Little Rock, Joplin, MO and Birmingham, AL are next level nodes.
And THEN finally fill in the rest of the routes so 60s and 200-mile range Model 3s could make it anywhere.

It took a really long time for TM to get Texas connected to the Supercharger Network (March of this year), hope they decide to implement more routes in a LOT of directions, including South Texas and NC thru Virginia.

If it were up to me? Well, living in Tuscaloosa, I would add superchargers in the following order:
1. Birmingham
2. Huntsville
3. Memphis
4. Jackson, MS
5. Shreveport
6. Little Rock
7. Joplin, MO
8. Ft. Smith, AR

That would fill in the SC dead zone in SE. And, while we're dreaming, we need a Service Center in Birmingham. As it is, the typical AL Tesla owner has to go at least 200 miles for service.

Louisville is coming! Permitted on Friday. Will be at:


3101 BARDSTOWN RD
LOUISVILLE, KY 40205


Looks to be maybe in the parking lot of a restaurant associated with Sullivan University. Rumor has it that Sullivan is very pro-Tesla, so that would make sense.

No Tesla, don't live there but my 2c:

Foci:
- I-59
- I-20: E-W focus on the intersections

1) Slidell, LA: "bronze spike" to split one of the known longer gaps on eastern I-10
2) Birmingham, AL
3) Meridian, AL
4) Jackson, MS
5) Shreveport, LA

Then split other gaps.

"Meridian, AL"? Not MS?

1. I-81 in Western Virginia + Charlottesville
2. I-40 Burlington to Memphis

As a frustrated owner living in Little Rock, AR, does anyone have any suggestions how to get Tesla to place chargers so I can actually take a trip out of the state? I was told in 2014 that chargers would be placed along I-30 first, the I-40, so I trusted them and bought a P85D. Obviously this has not happened! Any emails to Tesla fall on deaf ears; all I keep getting told is there are no plans in the works for my region. Of course, to get warranty work I now have to pay the ranger fee which is $1000. Yes, you read that right. I can't get to a Service Center; I'm stuck. How would you go about either getting Tesla's attention to do something they promised or find 3rd party entities who would set up charging stations to charge at least as fast as my supercharger at home? I'm an early adopter and I'm feeling duped. Anyone with contacts? Information? Suggestions? Even other charging "companies" have not set anything up in these major interstate routes. I know there are few owners of Teslas in AR than most states, but that doesn't make us 'lesser citizens".

This is a hindsight situation for you at this point, but never buy tech with the hollow promises of what might be developed in the future.

I think your only options are RV parks (or other friendly owners?). Here's a resource that would likely be a Godsend for you to avoid that ranger fee: PlugShare - EV Charging Station Map - Find a place to charge your car!

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Drucifer said:

Bump. 4 months later and going slowly in these parts, IMHO.

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Same for TX and points west (NM).

I hear that Bowling Green is on the way to connect Nashville to Louisville.

Now, I-65 needs to continue on south to Birmingham and beyond...

My druthers...for mostly selfish reasons...
1)Gotta get the dang I-44 corridor completed. At least Rolla and Joplin, Springfield would be nice, but can honestly be last, though it is necessary to get one from anywhere to/from Arkansas to points North.
2)This is a bit less important to the world, but would still make a big difference, I think. I would add a small Supercharger (maybe 4 stations total) in West Plains, MO and Jonesboro, AR to allow a more direct route from just about anywhere West of St. Louis to Memphis and the Southeast. Those are small towns on non-major roads, but the options are so restrictive otherwise that it is nearly impossible to get to the Southeast from Missouri without a major reroute. Another feeder into Memphis would be the I-55 route from St.Louis through Sikeston.

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DrDon said:

As a frustrated owner living in Little Rock, AR, does anyone have any suggestions how to get Tesla to place chargers so I can actually take a trip out of the state? I was told in 2014 that chargers would be placed along I-30 first, the I-40, so I trusted them and bought a P85D. Obviously this has not happened! Any emails to Tesla fall on deaf ears; all I keep getting told is there are no plans in the works for my region. Of course, to get warranty work I now have to pay the ranger fee which is $1000. Yes, you read that right. I can't get to a Service Center; I'm stuck. How would you go about either getting Tesla's attention to do something they promised or find 3rd party entities who would set up charging stations to charge at least as fast as my supercharger at home? I'm an early adopter and I'm feeling duped. Anyone with contacts? Information? Suggestions? Even other charging "companies" have not set anything up in these major interstate routes. I know there are few owners of Teslas in AR than most states, but that doesn't make us 'lesser citizens".

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I hear you. While my situation in Springfield, MO is slightly better, it is a real pain not having some more development at least in a couple of key areas in Southern MO and Arkansas. I suspect Tesla is a bit afraid of the politics in Arkansas.

Cottonwood said:

I hear that Bowling Green is on the way to connect Nashville to Louisville.

Now, I-65 needs to continue on south to Birmingham and beyond...

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I'm indifferent as to Bowling Green or Elizabethtown. 190 miles from Franklin, TN to Louisville is doable but not desirable.

Birmingham and Huntsville/Decatur are other major voids. Looking at the supercharger.info map it would appear a front is forming in the west from Texas to Missouri coming east to flesh out Arkansas and Mississippi. That is progress but I am dismayed that only two sites in the USA are under active construction.

Need either of these ASAP:

Augusta, GA (in 2014 this was on the "2014" supercharger page)
Columbia, SC