When I noticed they are now calling them "Tesla Supercharger Stations", it got me to thinking what a TSS of the future might be like?
Here's my prediction:
Thanks for reading this far,
Russ
Here's my prediction:
- Tesla "Supercharger Station" is intentionally the old gas station nomenclature, as the masses are used to going to "stations", and TSS are and will replace more and more gas stations over time, especially with relatively affordable Model 3 and derivatives like Model Y selling 500K ==> 1M+ units/year over time, increasing market share.
- The number of gas stations in the USA has been in decline over a long period of time as average CAFE increased.
- Gas station owners make most of their profits from the junk they sell inside their stores.
- Gas station owners will welcome Tesla's normal and urban superchargers on their land since it will attract us - a very desirable demographic - to hopefully buy some of the junk they sell and mitigate the loss of business from obsolete junked ICE cars.
- Tesla already has some SuCs co-located at "gas" stations.
- We may even see Tesla takeover closed "gas" stations and re-open them as dedicated Tesla Supercharger Stations with special customer facilities. My vision:
- The Model III app or Models S/X key or app would be used to open the outside, then the inside doors, like at a secure Bank 24/7 ATM lobby to gain access. They would only open if at least one vehicle is already plugged-in.
- Inside, besides the normally-expected restrooms, water, free coffee and tea, and comfortable lounge furniture found today, one might see a large display that shows the color-coded, percentage and time remaining charging status of all vehicles so you can glance at it and don't have to check your app, just like a departing flight status display at an airport, except for cars, not planes.
- There might be a large touch panel display screen(s) one can use to explore the entire suite of Tesla consumer product offerings.
- There might be a demo Tesla Solarcity panel (that collects solar energy from a special skylight that uses a mirror on gimbals to keep it illuminated) and a Powerwall 2 installed on the wall that show how they work together.
- There might be a station one can use to request a free solar estimate, for example, or configure and order a new vehicle, etc. Totally unattended. Press a button to contact a human in a call center if you have any questions or would like hand-holding during the ordering process.
- Even better would be to have the option to:
"Alexa, ask Tesla ...", and "Alexa, tell Tesla I want a quote for solar panels", etc. For Tesla, the wake word would be "Tesla" and not "Alexa" for obvious branding reasons.
(I immediately thought of using Alexa or one of its competitors because I'm developing something in stealth mode for the real estate industry. Their tech is very powerful and it's very easy to build, test and deploy Alexa skills integrated with Amazon Web Services.)
- A robotic AI gourmet custom organic pizza making machine (yes, it exists!) could make pizza on demand, which can be ordered on the app before you even get to the TSS. Of course, this is just one example. Many other quality solid foods and liquid refreshments (smoothies, etc.) could be made available for purchase that do not require human preparation since the TSS would be open 24/7/365.25.
- VR could be made available in the TSS to keep children occupied.
- A fully-autonomous PXXXD 7-passenger Model X could be available to owners and their guests. It will take them anywhere within a 10-minute range of the TSS and pick them up later, or their vehicle will pick them up later when it's ready (better), so they don't have to hang around nor will they be limited to walking distance while their vehicle is being charged. The Tesla app will be used to take advantage of this free service. It's free because the customer gets to experience the latest Model X (or S or 3) and might decide to upgrade their vehicle or acquire another.
- There are many other amenities that could be included in the TSS, these are my examples. The goal is to provide a customer experience at the TSS that is the best in the industry, bar none. It will help Tesla to continue to be perceived as "best in class" as the rest of the industry tries to play "catch up" in the EV mobility space.
- Like Apple did (they leased a warehouse and built a prototype Apple store inside it), I think the first futuristic TSS should be built and tested near Tesla HQ for easy access to the design, engineering and management teams.
- The Model III app or Models S/X key or app would be used to open the outside, then the inside doors, like at a secure Bank 24/7 ATM lobby to gain access. They would only open if at least one vehicle is already plugged-in.
Thanks for reading this far,
Russ
Last edited: