GaslessInSeattle said:
It feels like there is a huge push and there are a bunch of stations about to open. compared to the roll out of CHAdeMO around here, which I think you could say is actually shrinking due to how many are now non-functional, I'm very impressed! If Nissan or any other big car company were doing this, it would likely be much bigger news. Tesla is pulling off what no one else has even envisioned.
No argument about that, just saying that it's important to remember that Tesla's performance, while far better than all the other companies with BEVs, often falls well short of their hype.
On another note, since there was some discussion earlier about how much discomfort and inconvenience the average Tesla S owner was willing to put up with, I would like to mention David Noland. I'd previously referenced his GCR article about his recent 1,200 mile round trip in his S60, and the problems he had. Yesterday, he described his solution in another GCR article. For those who missed it, in the intro he wrote
"A recent 1,200-mile East Coast road trip in my 2013 Tesla Model S electric car proved to be something of a turning point in my view of the car.
"Fitted with the smaller 60-kilowatt-hour battery pack, my car's EPA range of 208 miles was not quite enough to make it between Superchargers--Tesla's proprietary ultra-fast DC charging stations--at normal Interstate speeds in cold weather.
"So I faced a Hobson's choice.
"I could extend the car's range by driving 60 mph in the slow lane, with the heat off, or loiter in the customer lounges of Nissan dealers along the way, while my car picked up the extra few miles it needed courtesy of their slower Level 2 charging stations.
"Neither alternative turned out to be much fun. And it was my first experience of buyer's remorse.
"Not for buying a Model S--not at all--but for not ponying up the extra $8,000 to specify the larger 85-kWh version of the Model S, withan EPA range of 265 miles, which could have covered the distances between Superchargers with ease.
"As I wrote at the time: "Damn. Coulda, woulda, shoulda got the 85."
Note that Noland could have done the trip in the Chevy Volt he also owns, with no trouble at all. But as he said in the original article, he chose not to, because "I'd get to arrive at my friend's house in the Model S rather than the more pedestrian Volt."
If you've just dropped that kind of money on a car, you want to use it and be seen in it, right? Did he decide to just take the Volt next time? Like hell, he did. Instead, he talked Tesla into swapping out his 60kWh battery pack for an 85kWh one, for an installed price of $18,386, which was apparently less inconvenience and discomfort than driving the Volt :lol:
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1089183_life-with-tesla-model-s-battery-upgrade-from-60-kwh-to-85-kwh" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I suspect he's closer to the norm among Tesla owners than I would be. OBTW, I see similar opinions on the irrationality of the SC location rollout being expressed on the TMC forum:
http://www.teslamotors.com/forum/forums/supercharger-location-choices" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;