Weird situation at Brentwood SC

[AB4EJ]

While traveling last week, I noticed a weird situation at the Brentwood (TN, near Nashville) supercharger - I wonder if anyone else noticed this, and/or if it is going on at other locations also.

The Brentwood SC is in front of a Tesla showroom; there is a bank of 6 charging stations. It appears to me that the Tesla people are keeping inventory cars parked in 4 of the 6 stations, and blocking one of the remaining open ones with a cone, thus leaving a single charging point. (I think they are inventory cars because they have dealer plates or no plates). There is also a sign saying Tesla maximum charging time 40 minutes.

I have a couple of issues with this (assuming my impressions are correct)... first, if you are traveling north on I-65, the next SC is in Louisville. My Model S tells me it needs an hour and 10 minutes to put on enough charge to get to the next SC on the route (it is very cold and cabin heater is needed). What am I supposed to do?

Second, is Tesla creating an artificial charger shortage by parking inventory vehicles in most of the SC slots? Are they trying to generate charging revenue? I noticed (when I charged for more than 40 minutes because I had to), that it took a long time for the charging cable to release from my car when I tried to remove it; I gather that it is sending data to the home office so that they can charge me $1 per minute over the 40 min. limit.

Now, to be fair, there are a couple of factors - number one, the Tesla showroom lot is overflowing with Tesla cars - maybe they really do need the parking; but leaving a car in a charging slot when it doesn't need charge violates the first principle of EV etiquette. Second, there is an EVgo CHAdeMO charger a couple of miles away, which works (assuming you have the CHAdeMO adapter) - but it is slower than an SC and kinda pricey (I think $4.95 to connect plus 20 cents per minute - but these fees might have changed) - still more expensive than overages at the SC.

Either way, the situation seems weird. I expect to have to pay some charging fees at my next service.

Has anyone else noticed this going on? Or am I completely off base here?

 

[kerch2007]

During thanksgiving travel week - West Palm Beach SC had majority of stalls occupied by Tesla dealer / service cars - however, after employees noticed we were waiting for like 5 minutres, they cleared 2 spots. I'm pretty sure, it's a normal day and they didnt plan to make money by idle fees.

 

[ewoodrick]

While traveling last week, I noticed a weird situation at the Brentwood (TN, near Nashville) supercharger - I wonder if anyone else noticed this, and/or if it is going on at other locations also.

The Brentwood SC is in front of a Tesla showroom; there is a bank of 6 charging stations. It appears to me that the Tesla people are keeping inventory cars parked in 4 of the 6 stations, and blocking one of the remaining open ones with a cone, thus leaving a single charging point. (I think they are inventory cars because they have dealer plates or no plates). There is also a sign saying Tesla maximum charging time 40 minutes.

I have a couple of issues with this (assuming my impressions are correct)... first, if you are traveling north on I-65, the next SC is in Louisville. My Model S tells me it needs an hour and 10 minutes to put on enough charge to get to the next SC on the route (it is very cold and cabin heater is needed). What am I supposed to do?

Second, is Tesla creating an artificial charger shortage by parking inventory vehicles in most of the SC slots? Are they trying to generate charging revenue? I noticed (when I charged for more than 40 minutes because I had to), that it took a long time for the charging cable to release from my car when I tried to remove it; I gather that it is sending data to the home office so that they can charge me $1 per minute over the 40 min. limit.

Now, to be fair, there are a couple of factors - number one, the Tesla showroom lot is overflowing with Tesla cars - maybe they really do need the parking; but leaving a car in a charging slot when it doesn't need charge violates the first principle of EV etiquette. Second, there is an EVgo CHAdeMO charger a couple of miles away, which works (assuming you have the CHAdeMO adapter) - but it is slower than an SC and kinda pricey (I think $4.95 to connect plus 20 cents per minute - but these fees might have changed) - still more expensive than overages at the SC.

Either way, the situation seems weird. I expect to have to pay some charging fees at my next service.

Has anyone else noticed this going on? Or am I completely off base here?

You're being paranoid. Take a look at the Supercharger map with just Superchargers and then Superchargers located at Stores or Service Centers. Very few Superchargers are located at store. And specifically, there are a number of Supercharges at stores or Service Centers that are being made private for this very reason.
A Store is doing demo drives. They have to keep the cars charged for customers. Sure, they aren't really being very sharing of the resource, but they have to park their cars somewhere.
Delivery centers have the same issue, but often worse, because of the number of cars being delivered. They don't come completely charged and they basically have to keep the chargers full to charge for customers picking up.

It Atlanta, there's a showroom in Lennox Mall, they have charges outside and spaces marked explicitly Tesla. Some folks think that that means that any Teslas can park there, but in reality, that's where the store parks their demo vehicles.
But, there's now a Supercharger site on the other side of the mall with a bunch of chargers.
At the Decatur delivery/Service Center, it's always about full, a few external cars, mostly new cars.
At the Alpharetta Service Center, the charger is private, not advertised.

 

[AB4EJ]

That must be it, I expect that the Brentwood SC is actually at a service/delivery center, there were Teslas everywhere. The difficulty here is that this is also a key stop on Interstate 65. Maybe next time I will try the CHAdeMO at the Mapco Mart on Moores Lane; that way I can eat a hot dog instead of having delicious catfish and barbecue at the Sportsmen's Grille across the street from the Tesla dealer. Oh well, first world problems. I know I'm a spoiled brat, always have been.

 

[phaphaphooey]

I drove to Nashville and back today on 40 and ended up supercharging in Dickson. I will say that I noticed on the map almost consistently when I looked that the Brentwood superchargers had no slots open most of the day today.

Also, as an aside, I have driven on local interstates multiple times over the last week and have seen several different car carriers loaded with Teslas (mostly M3s) each day. It looks like they finally have some of their logistical delays with delivery figured out, at least in the Southeast.

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

While traveling last week, I noticed a weird situation at the Brentwood (TN, near Nashville) supercharger - I wonder if anyone else noticed this, and/or if it is going on at other locations also.

The Brentwood SC is in front of a Tesla showroom; there is a bank of 6 charging stations. It appears to me that the Tesla people are keeping inventory cars parked in 4 of the 6 stations, and blocking one of the remaining open ones with a cone, thus leaving a single charging point. (I think they are inventory cars because they have dealer plates or no plates). There is also a sign saying Tesla maximum charging time 40 minutes.

I have a couple of issues with this (assuming my impressions are correct)... first, if you are traveling north on I-65, the next SC is in Louisville. My Model S tells me it needs an hour and 10 minutes to put on enough charge to get to the next SC on the route (it is very cold and cabin heater is needed). What am I supposed to do?

Second, is Tesla creating an artificial charger shortage by parking inventory vehicles in most of the SC slots? Are they trying to generate charging revenue? I noticed (when I charged for more than 40 minutes because I had to), that it took a long time for the charging cable to release from my car when I tried to remove it; I gather that it is sending data to the home office so that they can charge me $1 per minute over the 40 min. limit.

Now, to be fair, there are a couple of factors - number one, the Tesla showroom lot is overflowing with Tesla cars - maybe they really do need the parking; but leaving a car in a charging slot when it doesn't need charge violates the first principle of EV etiquette. Second, there is an EVgo CHAdeMO charger a couple of miles away, which works (assuming you have the CHAdeMO adapter) - but it is slower than an SC and kinda pricey (I think $4.95 to connect plus 20 cents per minute - but these fees might have changed) - still more expensive than overages at the SC.

Either way, the situation seems weird. I expect to have to pay some charging fees at my next service.

Has anyone else noticed this going on? Or am I completely off base here?

My understanding is they don't charge idle fees if a supercharger is less than 50% full. The cars blocking the superchargers would prevent it from thinking it was full.

As to the cones it could either mean they're trying to prevent ICE'ing by saving it for charging or there is something wrong with the charger. In my experience with Cones in front of Superchargers it generally means it's saving it for supercharging. Let's just say I'm an experienced Cone mover.

As to the charging cable not releasing that's a bit weird. I've had some issues occasionally, but noting that took more than a few seconds to resolve. Usually by locking, and unlocking the car and pushing the button again. Or clicking the disconnect charging button on the UI.

 

[Rocky_H]

that way I can eat a hot dog [...] I know I'm a spoiled brat,

I recommend sticking to the hot dog instead of the spoiled brat.

 

[Videofrank]

While traveling last week, I noticed a weird situation at the Brentwood (TN, near Nashville) supercharger - I wonder if anyone else noticed this, and/or if it is going on at other locations also.

The Brentwood SC is in front of a Tesla showroom; there is a bank of 6 charging stations. It appears to me that the Tesla people are keeping inventory cars parked in 4 of the 6 stations, and blocking one of the remaining open ones with a cone, thus leaving a single charging point. (I think they are inventory cars because they have dealer plates or no plates). There is also a sign saying Tesla maximum charging time 40 minutes.

I have a couple of issues with this (assuming my impressions are correct)... first, if you are traveling north on I-65, the next SC is in Louisville. My Model S tells me it needs an hour and 10 minutes to put on enough charge to get to the next SC on the route (it is very cold and cabin heater is needed). What am I supposed to do?

Second, is Tesla creating an artificial charger shortage by parking inventory vehicles in most of the SC slots? Are they trying to generate charging revenue? I noticed (when I charged for more than 40 minutes because I had to), that it took a long time for the charging cable to release from my car when I tried to remove it; I gather that it is sending data to the home office so that they can charge me $1 per minute over the 40 min. limit.

Now, to be fair, there are a couple of factors - number one, the Tesla showroom lot is overflowing with Tesla cars - maybe they really do need the parking; but leaving a car in a charging slot when it doesn't need charge violates the first principle of EV etiquette. Second, there is an EVgo CHAdeMO charger a couple of miles away, which works (assuming you have the CHAdeMO adapter) - but it is slower than an SC and kinda pricey (I think $4.95 to connect plus 20 cents per minute - but these fees might have changed) - still more expensive than overages at the SC.

Either way, the situation seems weird. I expect to have to pay some charging fees at my next service.

Has anyone else noticed this going on? Or am I completely off base here?

I live near the Tesla Dealer in Paramus, NJ. There are about 8 stalls there. The other day I was driving by and decided to stop and charge for about half hour. I was a little low and was dropping off the car the next day to power coat the wheels and since it was cold, didn't want crazy vampire drain when I picked it up. Every stall except for 2 were filled with cars from the dealer. They also had the sign up that says "40 minute charging limit"

I couldn't believe the dealer had all those stalls filled. Especially since there aren't any other superchargers in the Northern NJ area yet.

Not cool at all.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

I recommend sticking to the hot dog instead of the spoiled brat.

As long as it's not badly spoiled I'd probably still take the brat.

Service Centers use the Superchargers to charge their cars.

Some have taken their small number of SCs off the map. I think Tesla will ultimately eliminate all of them from the public map.

I don't think it's in any way intentional blocking.

 

[tls]

Paramus in particular should not be doing this - they just tore up the whole parking lot and side of the SC building to add several 80A HPWCs for their cars.

There are definitely directions you could be headed via Paramus where the next Supercharger is a long haul.

 

[theflyer]

I live near the Tesla Dealer in Paramus, NJ. There are about 8 stalls there. The other day I was driving by and decided to stop and charge for about half hour. I was a little low and was dropping off the car the next day to power coat the wheels and since it was cold, didn't want crazy vampire drain when I picked it up. Every stall except for 2 were filled with cars from the dealer. They also had the sign up that says "40 minute charging limit"

I couldn't believe the dealer had all those stalls filled. Especially since there aren't any other superchargers in the Northern NJ area yet.

Not cool at all.

Was at Paramus today about 11 on my way from Manhattan to Eastern PA and had to wait about 15 minutes to access a supercharger. It was the heart of the business day and the place was jumping. No biggy. My biggest frustration this weekend was at JFK airport, where there are only four stalls and it felt like all of the owners seemed to all be charging to 100%. Don't do that if you're ever at a super-busy supercharger location. Now that Valley Stream is available just a few miles up the road with 16 stalls, I don't understand why anyone would use JFK for a full charge.