Extremely Disappointed about SuperCharger rollout

[voidptr]

Clearly, SpaceX is developing and testing a real-world Bistromathmics star drive, except it's based on Elon's calendar math instead of restaurant checks.

Although I do wish we knew where the Summer dot in Virginia is supposed to be and when it'll open. I could actually use that one.

 

[bollar]

I don't know where this 4-6 weeks that people seem to be quoting comes from. Somebody visited the Atascadero site 2 weeks ago and saw zero signs of construction, and it's now finished and should be online within a couple days.

Sure, I'm sure they'll get faster as they go, but the evidence is based on the open SCs, which have taken quite about longer than two-three weeks -- Normal, IL was ~ seven weeks from approval to opening.

It would be interesting to know when permits were applied for Atascadeo and Buelton. We can make an assumption of how many days to add before permitting for site selection and engineering.

 

[Stoneymonster]

It would be interesting to know when permits were applied for Atascadeo and Buelton. We can make an assumption of how many days to add before permitting for site selection and engineering.

The planning office accepted the permit on 5/16 for Buelton. First inspection was 6/13.

 

[DJ Frustration]

Everyone also needs to appreciate that Tesla subs the construction management of these installs to companies like Black & Veatch. To think that Tesla is directly responsible for submitting plans to govt agencies and managing subcontractors would be wrong.

Still, I find it disappointing that we're dealing with missed dates on Supercharger go live dates. Imagine the outcry if this were a larger company with a larger consumer base. On the flip side, I'm incredibly grateful that Supercharging will be free to those who already "paid" for it with the 85 kWh batteries (and those who paid $2k with the 60 kWh).

 

[PhilBa]

The subcontractor point is spot on. Each sub is different and one that has already put in an SC is likely to do the second and third ones faster. In the Northwest, all 3 that are being built are done by the same sub. I would bet that the third (in OR) will be the quickest from breaking ground to electrons flowing into the first MS.

 

[mknox]

As long as the sun shines it's energy to the earth?

As far as I know, these Supercharger solar installations are grid tied. That means that Tesla would have to pay the utility a monthly connection charge and possibly a capacity charge as well (the sun isn't shining at night). Ideally, Tesla could charge a huge bank of batteries from the sun and use these batteries to charge the car, but I don't think that's what they're doing. I'll take Tesla at their word that it'll be free forever, but just want to point out that they likely do have recurring utility costs to provide this service.

 

[TI Sailor]

As far as I know, these Supercharger solar installations are grid tied. That means that Tesla would have to pay the utility a monthly connection charge and possibly a capacity charge as well (the sun isn't shining at night). Ideally, Tesla could charge a huge bank of batteries from the sun and use these batteries to charge the car, but I don't think that's what they're doing. I'll take Tesla at their word that it'll be free forever, but just want to point out that they likely do have recurring utility costs to provide this service.

Perhaps that's part of TM negotiations with sites, e.g., outlet malls and others: TM will pay for installation, the malls will furnish space and pay recurring costs in exchange for adding potential customers to their stores.

 

[roblab]

As far as I know, these Supercharger solar installations are grid tied. That means that Tesla would have to pay the utility a monthly connection charge and possibly a capacity charge as well (the sun isn't shining at night). Ideally, Tesla could charge a huge bank of batteries from the sun and use these batteries to charge the car, but I don't think that's what they're doing. I'll take Tesla at their word that it'll be free forever, but just want to point out that they likely do have recurring utility costs to provide this service.

I live grid tied, battery back up, free power from solar. Grid costs $5 per month (OK, 6 maybe). I use pretty much all I generate, but having the grid as buffer is worth 5 bucks. It's a pretty small percentage of monthly costs. I suspect grid tie is a small cost of running a Supercharger, especially if the goal is to generate more than you use so the power company has to pay you back.

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It not free... Owners have already paid for access to SC as part of the price of ownership.

Point of view. Glass half full or half empty. I bought and paid for my S, and Superchargers were not announced yet, much less free, much less forever. Whatever I paid for my car, the Supercharger part is gravy. They did not have to give it to you, and many would have bought without such a neat system. Many others pay ridiculous prices for J plug slow charging needed every 50 miles or so. I drove over 10K miles with never using a Supercharger, and still thought my car was the best on the planet.

As for Tesla missing timelines, after you have grown with the company for a few years, you understand, support, and work with them. It is not rose colored glasses or blinders. No Sig owner thinks Elon is promising more than he can do, except maybe things get in the way and it slows him down. Almost everything in our world works that way: Politics, Road repair, on and on. We understand all that.

Wish you did. But we commiserate.

 

[Benz]

As far as I know, these Supercharger solar installations are grid tied. That means that Tesla would have to pay the utility a monthly connection charge and possibly a capacity charge as well (the sun isn't shining at night). Ideally, Tesla could charge a huge bank of batteries from the sun and use these batteries to charge the car, but I don't think that's what they're doing. I'll take Tesla at their word that it'll be free forever, but just want to point out that they likely do have recurring utility costs to provide this service.

Please listen to the Supercharger Announcement Conference Call. Elon Musk does mention that (almost) every Supercharger will eventually (within 3 years) have solar and a stationary battery pack as well. I understand that there is no sunlight at night, but thank you for mentioning it anyway. Have a nice day. Cheers mate.

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I live grid tied, battery back up, free power from solar. Grid costs $5 per month (OK, 6 maybe). I use pretty much all I generate, but having the grid as buffer is worth 5 bucks. It's a pretty small percentage of monthly costs. I suspect grid tie is a small cost of running a Supercharger, especially if the goal is to generate more than you use so the power company has to pay you back.

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Point of view. Glass half full or half empty. I bought and paid for my S, and Superchargers were not announced yet, much less free, much less forever. Whatever I paid for my car, the Supercharger part is gravy. They did not have to give it to you, and many would have bought without such a neat system. Many others pay ridiculous prices for J plug slow charging needed every 50 miles or so. I drove over 10K miles with never using a Supercharger, and still thought my car was the best on the planet.

As for Tesla missing timelines, after you have grown with the company for a few years, you understand, support, and work with them. It is not rose colored glasses or blinders. No Sig owner thinks Elon is promising more than he can do, except maybe things get in the way and it slows him down. Almost everything in our world works that way: Politics, Road repair, on and on. We understand all that.

Wish you did. But we commiserate.

This makes sense.
Cheers mate.

 

[Enadler]

As for Tesla missing timelines, after you have grown with the company for a few years, you understand, support, and work with them. It is not rose colored glasses or blinders. No Sig owner thinks Elon is promising more than he can do, except maybe things get in the way and it slows him down. Almost everything in our world works that way: Politics, Road repair, on and on. We understand all that.

Wish you did. But we commiserate.

Actually i do understand that things take time and deadlines are sometimes missed. However I have to seriously question how a company can miss an announcement so badly that was made just 31 days ago. If they had promised 24 new superchargers and delivered 20 or even 15 i would agree but to have only delivered only 1 makes me slightly distressed and concerned.

 

[Zaxxon]

Actually i do understand that things take time and deadlines are sometimes missed. However I have to seriously question how a company can miss an announcement so badly that was made just 31 days ago. If they had promised 24 new superchargers and delivered 20 or even 15 i would agree but to have only delivered only 1 makes me slightly distressed and concerned.

This. It's not about whether Superchargers are hard to build. It's about how to properly run a business. Tesla's marketing has been making promises the company can't keep lately, and as a Tesla fan and shareholder, that's concerning. All it would take to resolve the issue is a little more restraint with the promises. It's a lesson the company will learn sooner or later, and I am hopeful that it's learned before Tesla goes truly 'mainstream'. Their customers / potential customers at that stage of the game will be much less forgiving than we are.

 

[Enadler]

This. It's not about whether Superchargers are hard to build. It's about how to properly run a business. Tesla's marketing has been making promises the company can't keep lately, and as a Tesla fan and shareholder, that's concerning. All it would take to resolve the issue is a little more restraint with the promises. It's a lesson the company will learn sooner or later, and I am hopeful that it's learned before Tesla goes truly 'mainstream'. Their customers / potential customers at that stage of the game will be much less forgiving than we are.

+ 1

 

[Stoneymonster]

This. It's not about whether Superchargers are hard to build. It's about how to properly run a business. Tesla's marketing has been making promises the company can't keep lately, and as a Tesla fan and shareholder, that's concerning. All it would take to resolve the issue is a little more restraint with the promises. It's a lesson the company will learn sooner or later, and I am hopeful that it's learned before Tesla goes truly 'mainstream'. Their customers / potential customers at that stage of the game will be much less forgiving than we are.

Totally agree. The important takeaway is that they don't have to be faster or more technological profound than they already are or plan to be. They just need to think harder before they announce things. That's it. When I quote clients schedules I always always put in a large fudge factor beyond what I think it will take, because something always comes up. Plus, if everything occasionally goes according to your internal plan, you look like a miracle worker.

Tesla seems to start from "hey wouldn't it be cool if we could do this by xx/xx/xx" without seeming to realize that cool and possible are different things.

 

[Larry Chanin]

Who else is extremely disappointed?

EXTREMELY disappointed? Really?

Sure I'd like to see Elon and company hit their targets, especially when they're just 30 days out and playing to the media, but extremely disappointed, absolutely not.

Me, I'm thrilled that I have photos of two Flordia Superchargers stations that have broken ground. I think we've got a good chance of attending the ribbon cutting ceremonies of both stations by the end of the month.

Furthermore, I think that the Supercharger team did an excellent job of finding strategic locations for these stations that have the necessary amenities.

I'm grateful for the intelligently designed progress.

Why such a high drama thread title and such a disproportionate reaction?

Larry

 

[epley]

Do they know when the SC in Bellingham, WA will be completed? I'm planning a road trip with my Boss to Vancouver for a conference in his 60 kWh and it would be great if we could use the SC.

It's in Burlington and should be open within 2 weeks. I was there Saturday and it appears nearly ready.

 

[Benz]

EXTREMELY disappointed? Really?

Sure I'd like to see Elon and company hit their targets, especially when they're just 30 days out and playing to the media, but extremely disappointed, absolutely not.

Me, I'm thrilled that I have photos of two Flordia Superchargers stations that have broken ground. I think we've got a good chance of attending the ribbon cutting ceremonies of both stations by the end of the month.

Furthermore, I think that the Supercharger team did an excellent job of finding strategic locations for these stations that have the necessary amenities.

I'm grateful for the intelligently designed progress.

Why such a high drama thread title and such a disproportionate reaction?

Larry

+ 1

 

[epley]

I agree, Larry. It takes time to do these things. New technology doesn't happen by magic--a little more patience is required. If you are EXTREMELY disappointed by this, life is gonna be tough!

EXTREMELY disappointed? Really?

Sure I'd like to see Elon and company hit their targets, especially when they're just 30 days out and playing to the media, but extremely disappointed, absolutely not.

Me, I'm thrilled that I have photos of two Flordia Superchargers stations that have broken ground. I think we've got a good chance of attending the ribbon cutting ceremonies of both stations by the end of the month.

Furthermore, I think that the Supercharger team did an excellent job of finding strategic locations for these stations that have the necessary amenities.

I'm grateful for the intelligently designed progress.

Why such a high drama thread title and such a disproportionate reaction?

Larry

 

[deonb]

On the plus side, not having spent the money for the other 20 promised SuperChargers yet, means we'll see 2.5c to 5c extra in earnings this quarter.

That could be the difference between being profitable and having a loss this quarter...

 

[Enadler]

Why such a high drama thread title and such a disproportionate reaction?

Larry

Hi drama - I think not. The June date was discussed at multiple times in multiple communications and was a short enough time frame that there is no way there should have been a major miss like has happened. As i mentioned in a previous post, if Tesla had open 20 or even 15 stations or it looked like they would have that many open by then end of this week I think I could chalk it up to some bad luck on the ground. However, to only have 1 station open and possibly 1 or 2 more to be opened by July 4th I feel is extremely disappointing. If the promise of these chargers wasn't a foregone conclusion 31 days ago then the announcement should have simply stated by the end of the Summer not by the end of next month!

I always go by the mantra under promise and over deliver. No one would have been upset if the announcement was for the 24 new superchargers will be opened by the end of the summer and in actuality they were completed by Aug 1.

Quite frankly I am a little surprised that so many people are not disappointed. Do i feel we have the best automobile, yes. Do I feel the supercharger network will be completed as expediently as possible and will create a fantastic infrastructure for long distance travel, absolutely. But am i disappointed that Tesla can't make a forecast with even 50% accuracy 30 days out, I sure am.

I really feel sorry for Elon's kids as I think their holiday road trip will have to wait for Easter because at this level of accomplishment cross country supercharger travel will not be available by the end of the year.

 

[Benz]

Quite frankly I am a little surprised that so many people are not disappointed.

Just ask yourself why that is the case?
Maybe you are the problem for your own disappointment.
Be cool man, and be glad about what Elon Musk is doing for our planet (including you and me).