How would you prefer to pay for Supercharging?

[callmesam]

I've never heard of this. I hope this garaged-vs-non-garaged policy didn't originate from Tesla.

"We’re putting Superchargers in cities, not just between cities. And this is obviously important in places like, you know, Beijing, Shanghai, London, San Francisco, New York, where at times people may have a challenge with having a fixed parking space. It’s more like some of those people don’t have a definitive parking space. And they might have street parking or something, you know. London is particularly tricky one; where there’s – it’s got lot of high-end neighborhoods just have street parking." ELON MUSK Q12014 Earnings Call

They also put this little bit of PR out in the UK:

 

[Jeff N]

How much slower charging to 95-100% it would be this way? Like I've stated before, there are many cases where it is legitimate and necessary to charge to that SoC.

I'm not proposing 80% as the exact cutoff point -- 95% might be better. In other words, when AC charging gets "close" to the DC charging rate then switch to AC so another car can charge at full DC speed.

 

[zenmaster]

"We’re putting Superchargers in cities, not just between cities. And this is obviously important in places like, you know, Beijing, Shanghai, London, San Francisco, New York, where at times people may have a challenge with having a fixed parking space. It’s more like some of those people don’t have a definitive parking space. And they might have street parking or something, you know. London is particularly tricky one; where there’s – it’s got lot of high-end neighborhoods just have street parking." ELON MUSK Q12014 Earnings Call

They also put this little bit of PR out in the UK:

It appears that you totally missed my point. That doesn't say anything about a policy of "non-garaged are welcome to use SCs unless and until they have home/work options".

 

[callmesam]

We are putting Superchargers in places for people without garage parking is pretty clear. It takes a certain amount of mental gymnastics to miss the point. But please . . . hop on the bars.

 

[zenmaster]

We are putting Superchargers in places for people without garage parking is pretty clear. It takes a certain amount of mental gymnastics to miss the point. But please . . . hop on the bars.

You still don't get it.

 

[ccutrer]

I'm not proposing 80% as the exact cutoff point -- 95% might be better. In other words, when AC charging gets "close" to the DC charging rate then switch to AC so another car can charge at full DC speed.

You do realize that super chargers already do this, but without the AC/DC gymnastics? Adjacent stalls at a supercharger share a circuit. If another car pulls in, it halves how much current you can pull. But if your getting close to a full charge, you're not giving much up.

So basically you're saying to expand this concept. As I was just reading, the Erie, PA supercharger is set up with the chargers on an island, accessible from both sides. Effectively four stalls per charging circuit. Just have to add more connectors to make it seamless if the location gets really crowded.

It should also be noted that the new wall connector has a similar option allowing several of them to share a single circuit. Should be great for destination charging locations.

 

[Jeff N]

You do realize that super chargers already do this, but without the AC/DC gymnastics? Adjacent stalls at a supercharger share a circuit. If another car pulls in, it halves how much current you can pull. But if your getting close to a full charge, you're not giving much up.

So basically you're saying to expand this concept.

Right. It's an idea that I haven't seen being mentioned before and it seems plausible in some Supercharger station scenarios.

 

[jerry33]

I'd rather not be bothered by it either, although I don't see how a few long-distance trips per year on average would constitute a bother? Pay up front would have more value if it somehow provided a means to ensure a charger would be available as needed so as not to ruin travel plans.

In three years and 30K miles of vacation travel, I've yet to have an SC not be available.

As far as a bother, let's say you're on a trip and the payment time falls in the middle of it. Now you're late in paying. Or you could just keep a balance in the account. A one time payment when purchasing the car eliminates this problem. (I keep balances in the other monthly type accounts to avoid this problem.)

 

[ohmman]

In three years and 30K miles of vacation travel, I've yet to have an SC not be available.

As far as a bother, let's say you're on a trip and the payment time falls in the middle of it. Now you're late in paying. Or you could just keep a balance in the account. A one time payment when purchasing the car eliminates this problem. (I keep balances in the other monthly type accounts to avoid this problem.)

In two years and maybe 15k miles of vacation travel, I've run into a few situations where chargers aren't available. I've also had the "there's another Tesla on the highway" anxiety as I approach Superchargers. Got to beat them there.. you know, just in case.

I don't see why having a billing account work like iTunes or any other up to date billing system would be a problem. Credit card on file. That said, I'm also supportive of a flat fee so long as it doesn't exclude buyers in a certain financial position from being able to take the occasional road trip.

 

[callmesam]

You still don't get it.

Tesla's message has been pretty consistent. Please get charging at home or work, if possible. Some large portion of the $100,000 automobile owners have one or both. But, if you don't have a garage or even access to a parking space especially, please use the Supercharger. I know many living in Santa Monica where a 2 Bedroom apartment is $3000 and renters have the means to purchase an S or X without the ability to charge at home.

Tesla said they would try this through the first ~1M cars.

Initially they charged $2000 for Supercharger activation with the 60, eventually phasing the car and activation charge out, making all vehicles "Free for Life".

Tesla has proposed additional charging solutions including the Destination Charging Network and those chargers are generally free for customers.

Recently, they announced that M3 would come with Supercharging Free For Life with the purchase of "packages."

Please use plain english to explain what i'm not getting.

 

[zenmaster]

Please use plain english to explain what i'm not getting.

That one group of owners is entitled to use the SC and another is not - with zero difference in contribution to the network, but 15X difference in usage of network.

 

[roblab]

I prefer pay per use. The closest Supercharger is 18 miles away from my house. So really no point for me to pay a package for a lifetime free supercharging.

Ha ha. Really? You'll drive round trip 40 miles and sit a half hour to save a few dollars' worth of electricity? I'm retired, and I value my time more than that.

Use some of your earnings to put in a solar panel or two. Add a couple more when you think you can. Pretty soon, they pay for themselves, and you can charge for "free" at home. Pretend you're at a supercharger!

And it's silly to charge only 18 miles from home. My nearest charger will be 25 miles, but I will never use it, because I will have more than 200 miles on board as I go by. Superchargers are for traveling. I used two or three a day when I went on vacation last month.

 

[ohmman]

Saw this on reddit... here's "the real problem."

 

[roblab]

I know many living in Santa Monica where a 2 Bedroom apartment is $3000 and renters have the means to purchase an S or X without the ability to charge at home.

I hear Obama is going to pay 22000 per month for his new house down the street from where he lives now. I wonder if he has a 14-50 outlet, or any solar. You would think that, for anywhere near that kind of money, someone could put in an outlet that is *required* in every new home built in my area.

 

[roblab]

I was going to call you out for building a very detailed straw man, but that cleared it up. Sorry to hear it, I'm sure that's a struggle. My kids are young and my worries are different, but there will be a day I'm going to be thinking about similar things.

As much as I respect you, fella, I'm afraid that calling me out won't cure me. But we can still hassle each other.

 

[melindav]

Ha ha. Really? You'll drive round trip 40 miles and sit a half hour to save a few dollars' worth of electricity? I'm retired, and I value my time more than that.

Use some of your earnings to put in a solar panel or two. Add a couple more when you think you can. Pretty soon, they pay for themselves, and you can charge for "free" at home. Pretend you're at a supercharger!

And it's silly to charge only 18 miles from home. My nearest charger will be 25 miles, but I will never use it, because I will have more than 200 miles on board as I go by. Superchargers are for traveling. I used two or three a day when I went on vacation last month.

I think your point is what @chuhouse2003 was saying. His (her) SC 18 miles away will not be used and the occasional trip would not add up enough SC stops to make it worthwhile to have the free-for-life prepaid package.
FWIW, the only one, in a direction I occasionally travel, is 85 miles away

 

[SMSMD]

Saw this on reddit... here's "the real problem."
[]

Very Bad manners....Two cars blocked off...The excuse would be the bike rack

 

[ohmman]

As much as I respect you, fella, I'm afraid that calling me out won't cure me. But we can still hassle each other.

And respecting me won't get you far, either. I've met myself.

So I got to thinking about my suggestion for credits, and then re-read my post above about the occasional road trip. I think I'm starting to like this idea: free supercharging for all cars. For life. Just not unlimited. So let's call it in the range of 5-10 charges per year come with each Model 3 if you don't choose the unlimited package. No collecting, use them or lose them. It's enough that the car can take the occasional road trip, probably as much as the normal person takes, but if you decide to do more, then you get the full package. No billing arrangements, no collections, etc... maybe?

 

[stopcrazypp]

Ha ha. Really? You'll drive round trip 40 miles and sit a half hour to save a few dollars' worth of electricity? I'm retired, and I value my time more than that.

I think he is saying he will not do that, which is why it is not worthwhile for him to spend money on a life-time package vs a pay-per-use.

 

[stopcrazypp]

And respecting me won't get you far, either. I've met myself.

So I got to thinking about my suggestion for credits, and then re-read my post above about the occasional road trip. I think I'm starting to like this idea: free supercharging for all cars. For life. Just not unlimited. So let's call it in the range of 5-10 charges per year come with each Model 3 if you don't choose the unlimited package. No collecting, use them or lose them. It's enough that the car can take the occasional road trip, probably as much as the normal person takes, but if you decide to do more, then you get the full package. No billing arrangements, no collections, etc... maybe?

I've brought up a similar point before when there were arguments over Tesla's promises of free and limitations on usage. Free does not equal unlimited. T-mobile has a "Free data for life" plan, but it is limited to 200MB per month. Tesla can certainly do something similar.