Tesla Supercharger network

[qwk]

How's Folsom generally? I'll be hitting it on a Saturday morning.

When I was there, it was a ghost town.

 

[RandyS]

Folsom gets considerable traffic that seems to correspond to the mall hours. We were just there twice on a trip coming and going to Lake Tahoe and it was full in the daytime and only 1 other car in the evening. Since Gilroy and Folsom currently only have 4 charging bays, they can get full easily.

At Gilroy, arriving at noon, we were #3 and then car #4 pulled in a few minutes after us at noon. Car #1 was there in the same spot when we returned a few days later, so it looked like he is a regular user...When we returned at 11am, it was just Car #1 and us...

Buellton and Atascadero (with 8 spots) seem much less prone to filling up, at least any of the times we stopped. Max # of cars at those sites was 3...

Hard to complain when the resource is free...My biggest concern over the long run is local usage vs. trip usage...Some of these smaller installations can get filled up easily...If the sites are continually congested, it will make road trips much less fun...After driving for hours, waiting a long time to charge is not something I'd want to do very often. In addition, I think it would make a lot of sense for drivers to leave their cell number on the dash so others can communicate when your car is done charging and people are waiting...

 

[shady]

I did a trip from the Bay Area to Reno this weekend.
I rolled into Folsom at around 10am on Saturday, and I was the only car there for quite a while. While charging, 2 other Tesla's pulled in, both were local and just topping up while shopping at the outlets.

When I returned about midday on Sunday, I took the last spot and shortly afterwards another Tesla arrived and had to wait.

 

[PhilBa]

You will drive yourself crazy trying to split hairs on the timing of Tesla SCs. Think of the SC map as more like an intent, not a schedule. Right now they are completing the Summer 2013 ones and starting on the "Fall 2013" batch. Since each SC site has unique issues to deal with, timing will depend on a lot of unrelated issues. For example, each site needs to have a negotiation with the owners or rights holders. If a deal can't be worked out, Tesla has to look elsewhere, causing delays. Permitting is sometimes easy, sometimes complex with a potential delays. Every site requires some amount of earthwork. I know from experience, nothing is certain when you dig.

So, the best thing to do is just relax.

 

[gregincal]

I noticed on Tesla's roll-out map that there is a dot curiously close to the Gilroy location, due by the end of the year. Hmmm. Not exactly "soon". The problem is that Gilroy suffers from both a high concentration of Tesla S owners and is both the first station for owners headed to the southland and the last one for those coming home to the bay area. Atascadero may ease the volume a bit, but arriving with 14 miles left in the battery would be a nail-biter for me.

The dot nearby is Salinas, but that's separate from the expansion of Gilroy that is promised by the end of the summer (just click on the Gilroy dot on the map).

 

[brianstorms]

So I was in Barstow, CA this morning and pulled into the McDonalds off of I-15 to get breakfast and this TESLA logo instantly caught my eye:

I thought, hmm! Are there Superchargers in Barstow? I can't remember... so I had to check it out. I drove all around the complex (this is a weird McDonalds, not a normal building but a cluster of old passenger rail cars permanently merged together and turned into a fast food restaurant... completely unique).

Anyways, I found no Superchargers, but then I noticed what appears to be a single generic charger right underneath the TESLA logo in the picture. There is a marked-off parking spot right there, sort of, that is. When I was there, the drive-thru line was long, right to the street, going right by this space. So if a Model S had been in that space, it would have been blocked for a bit.

Anyone ever charged at this spot?

 

[markb1]

Anyways, I found no Superchargers, but then I noticed what appears to be a single generic charger right underneath the TESLA logo in the picture. There is a marked-off parking spot right there, sort of, that is. When I was there, the drive-thru line was long, right to the street, going right by this space. So if a Model S had been in that space, it would have been blocked for a bit.

It's not exactly generic, but rather a Roadster HPC with Model S adapter. The superchargers are in a Chili's parking lot about 5 miles away.

 

[ChadS]

Anyone ever charged at this spot?

Roadsters use it all the time to do the LA - Vegas trip. These days Model S users are few as the Superchargers are just a few miles away, but I used it in a Model S last January when I spent the night nearby and just wanted to top off in the morning (I was headed for Death Valley).

 

[Madartist]

Sent: Friday, July 26, 2013 4:45 PM
Subject: RE: Florida

Hi S,
Thank you for your email; we love hearing about the real world driving applications of our customers and comparing them against our planned routes. I want to share with you that we have plans to install an Orlando station late this year or early next and it is very likely that we’ll have another station in Ocala or Gainesville next year, too.

Building off of the openings in Port St. Lucie and Ft. Myers, we’re opening Port Orange next month which will bring yet another Supercharging station to Florida!

Keep checking our website for new site announcements; we appreciate your enthusiasm and support in Tesla and our Supercharger technology.

Thanks,
The Tesla Supercharger Team

We are very excited about the upcoming Orlando SC! Can't wait for the official announcement. The question is where?? We have a big family reunion in Orlando early December and we are thinking that we may not be able to take our MS given the lack of easily accessible/fast charging options available, especially for our week long stay at our reserved rental place. Hopefully, the Tesla team will have the Orlando SC up & running before the start of the holidays! :fingers crossed:

 

[Tyl]

I see photos of the Woodburn Oregon TSCS progress under the thread "Woodburn Superchargers found" but no other TSCS installation activity at the moment .........anywhere in the nation! Anyone have any new info/pictures of any other TSCS construction anywhere???



I see another in San Marcos TX that is almost done.

 

[dflye]

While at a car show today in Elizabethtown NC (somewhere a bit SE of I-95 in the Fayetteville area), one of the other attendees saw my Tesla and struck up a conversation, apparently she is meeting with Tesla next week to go over siting the SC in the Lumberton area (smallish town near where I-95 and I-74 intersect)

Can't wait until a few SC are enabled in NC, it is a challenge to get out of state to the ones in the NE and even more so to get to the ones in FL!

 

[sublimaze1]

As some already know, there is a flurry of activity on the Texas Supercharger thread. San Marcos has been located and Waco (supposedly) starts on Monday, Aug 11th.

I bring this information to the thread as I have noticed that - at least at the San Marcos location - Tesla is placing the stations a little farther away from the desired parking locations. That is: Instead of a 90 second walk to the front door of, say, a restaurant or a restroom, etc. - they have placed it on the back side of the outlets. It is still only a few hundred steps from the shoppes, but it is in somewhat of an undesired location of the parking lot : undesired in that if you are driving an ICE, you would not want to park in this spot as it is inconvenient and undesired. If you have a Tesla, you chose this slot on purpose, and have a lesser chance of getting ICE'd.

I wonder if this was intentional, accidental, or that was the only slots that the outlet management would give them?

Either way, it seems that this would be a good marketing strategy. Place the SC slots in a convenient area (stores, restaurants, bathrooms, etc.) but not too convenient as they would be fodder for ICE maneuvres.

 

[ChadS]

I am sure it is a combination of factors: where the site host is least worried about the parking spots and where the power is are likely both large factors. But I hope and assume Tesla is trying to put them in non-prime spots. Tesla has gotten advice from many, but when I met with them a year and a half ago on this topic (where/how to install Superchargers), the number one thing I tried to impress on them was that charging spots you can't use are worse than no charging spots at all. If they put in charging, it has to be usable when a driver gets there. And ICEing is one of the biggest problems...so putting the charging spots in non-prime areas is a key tactic to keeping them available.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

What Chad said is applicable to charging spots in general. Most businesses have been placing public charging stations front and center to advertise their eco-friendliness among other factors, I suppose. The EV spots are usually almost on equal footing with handicapped spots. In some cases (and I've heard the grumbling personally), this tends to piss some ICE drivers off who'd like to make a statement of sorts by ICE-ing the spot if they can get away with it. I wouldn't mind taking a few extra steps from the SC spots as long as they are in reasonably-well-lit, safe areas.

 

[Brian33]

I'm also concerned about P'Town charging. We go there a few times a year on business and would really like a place to plug in overnight. If you're out there, you might mention to the place you're staying that a charging station or two would be very welcome.
The email for the parking person in P'Town is [email protected] and he seems quite pleasant. Apparently they are in the process of researching charging stations but haven't done it yet.

In general, the Cape is a problem for charging, there are very few available even though it's a major tourist draw.

Thanks RDoc for the lead on who to contact in Ptown about charging. I'll post an update if he gives me any new information.

 

[Sparky]

I'm just giving a thumbs up to the Superchargers in CA.
Sunday, I returned home from my 5th trip up to NorCal in 3 mos. I've used every Calif SC except in Folsom.
I had no idea I would be doing this much long distance driving in an EV.
I'm so glad I opted for the 85. It makes these trips a dream. People I talk to just can't believe the Model S runs only on battery.
And when I describe the range and mention that the Superchargers are "free", they get all wistful and say "I've got to get one of these".

I hope they rapidly get deployed everywhere.

 

[Tyl]

credit: highedu

Fremont Supercharger Announcement

Just got an email inviting me to attend the Fremont event.

 

[Tyl]

Fremont CA..... San Marcos Tx... (Tuesday) Woodburn OR... (soon)

OK!! .....now where is another one that's under construction? It would be kinda fun to get online on day and see that ten had just popped up all of a sudden! From a distance, the pictures are great fun to view the buildout of the TSCSN.

 

[sublimaze1]

Columbus Texas and Waco Texas. Ground is broken. Corsicana Texas pending.

 

[gene]

I've heard some rumors that Oxnard, CA will be getting one near Whole Foods. Not that I need a charger since I live in the area, but I do eat lunch there and it would be fun to watch the parade of Model S drive by!