Local Press release:
Tesla owners get charged in Madras
Tesla owners get charged in Madras
New charging station means Teslas stop in Madras rather than just pass-through
PMG PHOTO: PAT KRUIS - Tesla owner Ashish Magar might ordinarily pass through Madras on his way from Seattle to his home in California. This time he stopped to charge his car at the new charging station and purchased a meal while he waited.
Heading from Seattle to his home in California, Ashish Magar ordinarily would have passed right through Madras without much notice. This July, his car, a Tesla, told him to stop in Madras to charge his battery.
"I'm originally from India and my friends got confused when I told them I was stopping in Madras," said Magar, about the Indian city, Madras, now known as Chennai.
While charging his car, Magar and his passenger got something to eat at a nearby restaurant.
Alan Smith, from Tigard and vice president of Oregon's Telsa Owners Club, says when he and his wife travel they typically spend money while they charge their car.
"We go for a walk around the area to stretch our legs. We find a coffee shop nearby and get a coffee."
Managers at Bi-Mart and Dominos Pizza haven't noticed any change since Tesla installed a charging station in their mall parking lot.
Burger King Manager Ron Davies hasn't noticed. "Of course they're going to get hungry sitting there, so maybe."
Manager Felix Durfee has definitely seen people shop at Grocery Outlet while waiting for their Teslas to charge. "I've seen it as a bonus so far, no negatives."
As Telsa builds out its charging network, owners see each new station as a reason to party.
"Right after that charger opened," said Smith, "we had a group meeting there of folks from Central Oregon to celebrate a new charger location."
Tesla did not respond to inquiries from the Pioneer, but put us in touch with the Tesla Owners Club for them to tell their story.
Smith says his car tells him the location of the next charging station. A screen in the car tells him how much he's paying to charge at each station.
"Price per kilowatt hour, just like price per gallon for gasoline," said Smith. "Except it's a lot less."
The price fluctuates by where drivers are in the United States, and at particularly busy stations the price may fluctuate by time of day. Electricity costs less in communities that use wind energy. Tesla charges based on what it's paying for power. At especially busy charging stations Tesla charges more at peak times to encourage customers to change their habits to charging at lower usage times.
As soon as Smith plugs his car in to the charger, Tesla starts charging his account. The charger knows his car. No credit card needed.
It takes a half an hour or a little longer, depending on how much charge a driver needs to get to the next location.
Smith and his wife plan a cross country trip soon taking a stepping stone route from one charging station to the next. He says the trips don't take that much longer than in a conventional, gas-powered car.
The charging network is still being built.
"Initiatives from the federal government and the state are working on filling in the gaps along well traveled routes," said Smith. "One of Tesla's challenges is finding property owners willing to have charging stations installed."
Currently, like most Tesla charging stations, the Madras Tesla charging station serves only Tesla vehicles. Smith says Tesla is considering adapting its stations to serve other electric vehicles too.
Owners of electric vehicles that are not Teslas have apps on their phone to help them find nearby charging stations. A quick check of that app showed five charging stations in Jefferson County including one in Warm Springs.
