Why the extremely large Supecharger sites?

[phxazcraig]

Here's a thread for speculation with little or no evidence!

Why is Tesla putting in extremely large supercharger sites like Quartzite, Arizona? This is a very rural area with a major interstate freeway. There were 36 v2 & v3 SC's here already before Tesla put in a huge 84-stall SC site a few blocks away. I've been there twice and seen it in a lot of road trip videos. There are never more than 5-6 cars charging there.

Frankly, it would take a local total eclipse plus opening the SC's to all other brands to fill this SC site. So why? Why here, and why now?

Someone somewhere mentioned that it could be to per-emptively freeze out competitors. Basically the 'Walmart in small towns' theory. Put in something so big that it dominates and prevents other competition from coming in.

For example: Why would Electrify America come in and put in 4-8 stalls now? What's the chance for a competitor to put in 16-24 stalls and have anyone show up there?

 

[rwjr44]

Conversion NACS plus long term planning combined with government grants. $$$$

 

[phxazcraig]

Conversion NACS plus long term planning combined with government grants. $$$$

Yes, eventually a lot of non-Teslas will be there, but that seems a very long time.

And no grants that I know of on this site. If there were grants, there would be V4 stalls there.

The more I think about it, the more I think Tesla has locked in 100% of the traffic in the area. It can't be competitive to put in another charging network.

 

[rwjr44]

Interesting article: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/27/tesla-biden-electric-car-charging-00143431

 

[Dear_OP]

Real estate business. Mark my words.

 

[RTPEV]

Yes, eventually a lot of non-Teslas will be there, but that seems a very long time.

And no grants that I know of on this site. If there were grants, there would be V4 stalls there.

The more I think about it, the more I think Tesla has locked in 100% of the traffic in the area. It can't be competitive to put in another charging network.

I just don't see that there's huge money in charging, so I'm not sure what "locking out the competition" will achieve. Sure, they will break even and maybe earn 10% profit margin. Plus, EA already DOES have a 4 stall site in Quartzite!

You would know the area better than I, but it looks like there is basically a 100 mile stretch on either side of Quartzite that has nothing in the way of charging, so this does have a potential to become a pinch point on I-10 between Phoenix and LA. If anything, I would be asking why are they not opening sites in those gaps on I-10? Are they on Indian land (although hard to believe they wouldn't welcome the traffic)? Other natural reserves or parks with no electrical infrastructure?

 

[SVMike]

Real estate business. Mark my words.

Maybe "grid connections" are the new real estate?

 

[Earl]

Also, remember that Quartzite, AZ has plenty of electricity during peak summer tourist season because the grid is sized for the thousands of snow-birds living in RVs during the winter. I'm sure it was a very cheap to put in a lot - so they did.
Its also a good location for charging on I-10.

ps. this has to be the first thread I've ever seen that (sort of) complained about too many Superchargers at a location

 

[phxazcraig]

Also, remember that Quartzite, AZ has plenty of electricity during peak summer tourist season because the grid is sized for the thousands of snow-birds living in RVs during the winter. I'm sure it was a very cheap to put in a lot - so they did.
Its also a good location for charging on I-10.

ps. this has to be the first thread I've ever seen that (sort of) complained about too many Superchargers at a location

I'm not complaining. I've charged there twice and loved the extra space.

But ... there are 120 stalls!! Yes, 8 of them are 150kW, but that leaves 112 V3 stalls. WHY would they make this location the third largest in the world?

Oh, this stop has all covered stalls (the new, 84 stall part) that are solar and backed up with a Megapack. It seems very future-proofed. There are quite a few urban locations (San Diego) that would love a site this size.

I know there are four Electrify America CCS chargers on the other side of the freeway, but I can't see many people wanting to stop there once they have Supercharger access.

 

[bradtem]

I'm pretty sure Tesla builds a mathematical model of expected traffic. They have precise data on how many Teslas drive every road and what SoC they are at when they drive it. They have forecasts for their future sales. They also have less precise data on total traffic of non-Tesla vehicles and forecasts on growth of that. In remote areas like this, I expect they listen to these models. (In some areas they must factor real estate issues, and power access issues.) They are very good at scaling up the install of stations. They are simplifying their stations. They take a bank of 4 and make them pre-formed into concrete and put it on a flatbed, and just drop it and wire it to the cabinet. They do it much, much cheaper than CCS stations, probably 1/4 the price or less.

 

[fholbert]

Here's a thread for speculation with little or no evidence!

Why is Tesla putting in extremely large supercharger sites like Quartzite, Arizona? This is a very rural area with a major interstate freeway. There were 36 v2 & v3 SC's here already before Tesla put in a huge 84-stall SC site a few blocks away. I've been there twice and seen it in a lot of road trip videos. There are never more than 5-6 cars charging there.

Frankly, it would take a local total eclipse plus opening the SC's to all other brands to fill this SC site. So why? Why here, and why now?

Someone somewhere mentioned that it could be to per-emptively freeze out competitors. Basically the 'Walmart in small towns' theory. Put in something so big that it dominates and prevents other competition from coming in.

For example: Why would Electrify America come in and put in 4-8 stalls now? What's the chance for a competitor to put in 16-24 stalls and have anyone show up there?

Just a guess.

 

[Earl]

I'm not complaining.

Yup, I was just joshing.
Another thing about Quartzite is that it is at the intersection of NV95 and I-10. NV95 is the main south route out of Lake Havasu and Parker recreation areas down to I-10 to the urban areas to the east and west. Folks can top off their Cybertrucks and Lightnings towing their floating toys at Quartzite before jumping up to 70+ mph rushing back home.

 

[phxazcraig]

I agree it's ideally positioned as a charge stop. But it's of a size that looks like it would support 100% of the I-10 traffic being EV's.

It's very uncrowded at present, partially because everyone automatically goes to the old (36 stall) site at Carl's Junior. The nav tends to take you to the old one, and the new one (next to Terribles) is kind of hard to see and to find, visually.

 

[Videomatic3]

Not sure if someone mentioned this but tesla is strategically maxing out the power company so it's extremely not cost efficient for a competitor to put chargers in nearby

 

[Earl]

Not sure if someone mentioned this but tesla is strategically maxing out the power company so it's extremely not cost efficient for a competitor to put chargers in nearby

This is kind of irrelevant anti-Tesla grousing. As soon as Tesla stations can be used by all, nobody will go waste their time at anything else anyway unless:
- the price is much cheaper
- its near some amenity they need or want more than what's near the Tesla one.
Besides, Tesla usually has to pay (often a lot) to bring more power out to these huge stations. Why would Tesla (or anyone) pay the power company to bring out more power than they need?
There are plenty of real issues to complain about, why make up something as silly as this one?

 

[gt2690b]

theres another head scratcher in dateland AZ i took a pic of it because it was so ridiculous (i was in a rental ICE car at the time).. the only car there is an ICE some lady was sick up there and just parking.. literally not one person charging.. they are probably still making money on the solar though lol:

btw if anyone does go to charge there spot 1 there is out of service the handle is broken... i went back later with a rental model 3 and used this location

 

[beatle]

I'm not complaining. I've charged there twice and loved the extra space.

But ... there are 120 stalls!! Yes, 8 of them are 150kW, but that leaves 112 V3 stalls. WHY would they make this location the third largest in the world?

Oh, this stop has all covered stalls (the new, 84 stall part) that are solar and backed up with a Megapack. It seems very future-proofed. There are quite a few urban locations (San Diego) that would love a site this size.

I know there are four Electrify America CCS chargers on the other side of the freeway, but I can't see many people wanting to stop there once they have Supercharger access.

Perhaps there is some level of experimental deployment here (covered, solar, megapack) and having a lot of redundancy allows them to try things without impacting dozens of people charging. If they threw a site like this in a more populated area and something went awry, there would be a lot more chickens clucking.

 

[Videomatic3]

There are plenty of real issues to complain about, why make up something as silly as this one?

Definitely not making this up, go be a troll somewhere else. I've spoken to property owners who told me this.

 

[gt2690b]

Definitely not making this up, go be a troll somewhere else. I've spoken to property owners who told me this.

i dunno at the dateland place here in the picture above there are like 4 EA 350KW DCFC as well (also empty).. so if that was their strategy it didnt work

 

[Earl]

property owners

Wow, a commercial real estate magnate! There's a reliable source that can't have any biases. /sarcasm
It hardly counters my counter statement:

Besides, Tesla usually has to pay (often a lot) to bring more power out to these huge stations. Why would Tesla (or anyone) pay the power company to bring out more power than they need?

does it.