Tesla Supercharger Network

[Berlino]

and where r those hydrogen stations again? :lol:

There's actually a Hydrogen station in my province, so we have the dubious distinction of having as many of those as CHAdeMO (1) and Supercharger (0) stations combined.

 

[apvbguy]

...and my home state of South Dakota has not 1, not 2, but THREE Tesla stations! wow, and i thought charging stations were plentiful around here (OR). Looks like I-90 is covered until that long trip thru Montana (it is a BIG and long state of 500 plus miles.) And a trip south thru Lusk, WY is also doable. Why? not sure. that is truly in the middle of nowhere. it is pretty close to the middle between Rapid City, SD and Denver. I-25 is also running north south thru that area....hmmm. very interesting.

how teslas are registered in SD?

 

[GRA]

...and my home state of South Dakota has not 1, not 2, but THREE Tesla stations! wow, and i thought charging stations were plentiful around here (OR). Looks like I-90 is covered until that long trip thru Montana (it is a BIG and long state of 500 plus miles.) And a trip south thru Lusk, WY is also doable. Why? not sure. that is truly in the middle of nowhere. it is pretty close to the middle between Rapid City, SD and Denver. I-25 is also running north south thru that area....hmmm. very interesting.

how teslas are registered in SD?

Per the owner self-reporting map posted back on page 45 of this topic, the total is . . (drumroll) . . ZERO, ZILCH, NADA, NONE, GOOSE EGG etc. Even assuming there's some owners not reporting, the at most minuscule number of Teslas in the area can't possibly justify SCs there at the moment. I've got to wonder if somebody will bring this up at the next shareholder's meeting.

 

[Zythryn]

...and my home state of South Dakota has not 1, not 2, but THREE Tesla stations! wow, and i thought charging stations were plentiful around here (OR). Looks like I-90 is covered until that long trip thru Montana (it is a BIG and long state of 500 plus miles.) And a trip south thru Lusk, WY is also doable. Why? not sure. that is truly in the middle of nowhere. it is pretty close to the middle between Rapid City, SD and Denver. I-25 is also running north south thru that area....hmmm. very interesting.

how teslas are registered in SD?

Per the owner self-reporting map posted back on page 45 of this topic, the total is . . (drumroll) . . ZERO, ZILCH, NADA, NONE, GOOSE EGG etc. Even assuming there's some owners not reporting, the at most minuscule number of Teslas in the area can't possibly justify SCs there at the moment. I've got to wonder if somebody will bring this up at the next shareholder's meeting.

The self reported map is worthless. Sure, when it was first created it was great. Few people actually use it.
If you are going to enable coast to coast travel, one path or another is going to be first. Others will follow.
Personally, I would rather travel through SD and visit Mount Rushmore than through the wheat fields of Kansas or Nebraska.

Other routes will be completed as well over a pretty short period of time (considering the task they are undertaking).

 

[DaveEV]

I've got to wonder if somebody will bring this up at the next shareholder's meeting.

The SuperCharger network is a marketing expense. Enabling free cross-country road trips is a great marketing tool.

 

[apvbguy]

I've got to wonder if somebody will bring this up at the next shareholder's meeting.

The SuperCharger network is a marketing expense. Enabling free cross-country road trips is a great marketing tool.

how cost effective is the great marketing tool? how many people in teslas actually make trips like this one?
I agree with GRA the resources used for this part of the network would garner a bigger bang for the buck if used elsewhere

 

[Heynow999]

I've got to wonder if somebody will bring this up at the next shareholder's meeting.

The SuperCharger network is a marketing expense. Enabling free cross-country road trips is a great marketing tool.

how cost effective is the great marketing tool? how many people in teslas actually make trips like this one?
I agree with GRA the resources used for this part of the network would garner a bigger bang for the buck if used elsewhere

My low carbon dream is to own vacation property in Florida and be able to drive from chilly Toronto to Florida on electricity. I would make that trip often. I also dream of a Tesla truck that can tow a camper so I can see more of north America. Heck, give me an electric truck and I guarantee I will be the first guy to use it like a real truck pulling work trailers, campers and plowing snow

 

[Zythryn]

My low carbon dream is to own vacation property in Florida and be able to drive from chilly Toronto to Florida on electricity. I would make that trip often. I also dream of a Tesla truck that can tow a camper so I can see more of north America. Heck, give me an electric truck and I guarantee I will be the first guy to use it like a real truck pulling work trailers, campers and plowing snow

How about mowing the grass?
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151529203582801&set=a.398080447800.166146.18790602800&type=1&ref=nf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[DaveEV]

how cost effective is the great marketing tool? how many people in teslas actually make trips like this one?

Reading the Tesla forums many owners very frequently like to take road trips.

I agree with GRA the resources used for this part of the network would garner a bigger bang for the buck if used elsewhere

These stations would have been built regardless looking at their medium-term plan to cover the USA with SuperChargers.

Whether they build them now or later this year does not change the financials significantly, but it does let them quickly say that one can travel cross country for free well in advance of the Model X launch.

By the end of this year there will be multiple paths covering the country tying together all major metropolitan areas with 2015 being spent filling in the gaps and beefing up existing infrastructure (adding more plugs, solar PV, grid storage).

What they plan beyond that is yet to be declared, but Tesla will have a huge advantage over all other EV manufacturers by the time their main stream EV hits the market.

 

[dhanson865]

Edit: Both are now listed and on the map, 52 now.

Given that it will take about 500 (they might be targeting 1000) of these to blanket the country, they are about 10% of the way to a complete buildout. At the rate they are going now, it wont take them long. Seriously impressive infrastructure buildout.

There are only 242 dots on the 2015 map. At 125 new locations a year they would hit 500 locations around 2018.

Supercharging is only meant for long trips, they'll be doing a L2 charging network in addition to the supercharging network so they don't have to build out non stop on the supercharging network.

 

[smkettner]

I also dream of a Tesla truck that can tow a camper so I can see more of north America. Heck, give me an electric truck and I guarantee I will be the first guy to use it like a real truck pulling work trailers, campers and plowing snow

+1 for the truck. Unfortunately it will take a 400 EPA mile truck to tow a midsized RV trailer close to 200 miles on a single charge.
I would be delighted to plug that truck in while camped

 

[Berlino]

how cost effective is the great marketing tool? how many people in teslas actually make trips like this one?

There are people who rarely drive more than 70 miles in a day, but refuse to buy a LEAF because of the one time per year they visit relatives 150 miles away, so it's great marketing, even if the need is more perception than reality.

Also, for some strange reason, people tend to enjoy driving more after they acquire EVs and have more desire to go on road-trips.

 

[apvbguy]

how cost effective is the great marketing tool? how many people in teslas actually make trips like this one?

There are people who rarely drive more than 70 miles in a day, but refuse to buy a LEAF because of the one time per year they visit relatives 150 miles away, so it's great marketing, even if the need is more perception than reality.

I agree that having the SC network is great marketing but maybe you haven't noticed, compared to the I95/I75 corridors or even the I10 corridor east of Houston TX, there are no people or Teslas these far flung SC can be servicing. I'd love to see the 6 month usage stats for these remote locations

 

[GRA]

how teslas are registered in SD?

Per the owner self-reporting map posted back on page 45 of this topic, the total is . . (drumroll) . . ZERO, ZILCH, NADA, NONE, GOOSE EGG etc. Even assuming there's some owners not reporting, the at most minuscule number of Teslas in the area can't possibly justify SCs there at the moment. I've got to wonder if somebody will bring this up at the next shareholder's meeting.

The self reported map is worthless. Sure, when it was first created it was great. Few people actually use it.
If you are going to enable coast to coast travel, one path or another is going to be first. Others will follow.
Personally, I would rather travel through SD and visit Mount Rushmore than through the wheat fields of Kansas or Nebraska.

Other routes will be completed as well over a pretty short period of time (considering the task they are undertaking).

The self-reported map is all we have, since for some reason Tesla won't give us their owner data But the map corresponds to the population distribution of the country, which is least dense in the very area that Elon's route traverses, and which adds a couple of hundred miles (at least) to the route. And I'd love to see him try to do that route over the past week, given the weather.

Yes, one path or another is going to be first; the problem is that _this path_ should be the last not the first, as the usage will be miniscule. If you want an efficient transcontinental route to go NYC-CGO-LA, the 1st, 3rd and 2nd largest cities in the country, you sure as hell aren't going to detour to the northwest from Chicago - you'd either go due west on I-80 to Salt Lake (or detour via I-76 to Denver), or else head southwest (via I-55) to St. Louis before heading west on I-70. If you want to pass through the areas with the greatest population (and greatest self-reported Tesla ownership), then you go St. Louis - Kansas City - Denver - Grand Junction - I-15 - Las Vegas - SoCal.

 

[GRA]

how cost effective is the great marketing tool? how many people in teslas actually make trips like this one?

Reading the Tesla forums many owners very frequently like to take road trips.

I agree with GRA the resources used for this part of the network would garner a bigger bang for the buck if used elsewhere

These stations would have been built regardless looking at their medium-term plan to cover the USA with SuperChargers.

Whether they build them now or later this year does not change the financials significantly, but it does let them quickly say that one can travel cross country for free well in advance of the Model X launch.

As I pointed out in my previous article, I'd like to have seen them try that transcontinental trip over Elon's route in the past week. As to the financials, it makes far more sense to build on the existing infrastructure through an area where the climate will allow the SCs to be spaced further apart, as well as get more usage.

By the end of this year there will be multiple paths covering the country tying together all major metropolitan areas with 2015 being spent filling in the gaps and beefing up existing infrastructure (adding more plugs, solar PV, grid storage).

What they plan beyond that is yet to be declared, but Tesla will have a huge advantage over all other EV manufacturers by the time their main stream EV hits the market.

You're assuming that Tesla will maintain the schedule they set for themselves, and it has been pointed out repeatedly they are well behind that. By the end of 'Fall' they were 30 or 40 SCs short of what they had predicted, so why should we count on them to suddenly do a lot better, not only making up the time they've lost plus finishing all the ones that were never supposed to be done before the end of 2014? After all, Elon was originally supposed to take this trip over Christmas vacation, and there's still something like 10 or 15 SCs needed before he can do that, not to mention that the I-95 Boston-Miami corridor, which was originally scheduled to be completed by the end of summer IIRR, is still not finished. That one should be done shortly, at least for S-85s.

I've made no secret of the fact that I'm far more impressed with Tesla than I am with Nissan or any of the other BEV companies, but they're still subject to all the usual causes of delay that tend to bust schedules, and I won't be too surprised if at the end of 2014 there's still only one transcontinental route finished, and that almost the least efficient one imaginable. At least Tesla owners are lucky that Elon and his brother didn't travel from Chicago through New Orleans and then Fargo on their way to LA :roll:

 

[palmermd]

Could we please stop beating this dead horse. Elon chose the route and is installing the stations. A year from now there will be many optional routes. The time-frame of only having this one route will be very short. I can see you are upset that this decision was made to supercharge this route first, but its done, lets move on.

 

[GRA]

Could we please stop beating this dead horse. Elon chose the route and is installing the stations. A year from now there will be many optional routes. The time-frame of only having this one route will be very short. I can see you are upset that this decision was made to supercharge this route first, but its done, lets move on.

As I said, there's certainly a hope there will be many optional routes, or at least one. As to whupping that poor old horse, I reserve the right to reply to anyone who starts saying what a great route this is, or how it will serve so many (non-existent) owners.

BTW, insideevs.com has an article claiming that Grand Junction and Madison are both operational, but checking TMC I see no confirmation of that yet. They should be soon, given the state of construction. Cheyenne also appears to be progressing. Ohio and Pennsylvania are behind, not surprising given the recent weather.

 

[GaslessInSeattle]

Could we please stop beating this dead horse. Elon chose the route and is installing the stations. A year from now there will be many optional routes. The time-frame of only having this one route will be very short. I can see you are upset that this decision was made to supercharge this route first, but its done, lets move on.

As I said, there's certainly a hope there will be many optional routes, or at least one. As to whupping that poor old horse, I reserve the right to reply to anyone who starts saying what a great route this is, or how it will serve so many (non-existent) owners.

BTW, insideevs.com has an article claiming that Grand Junction and Madison are both operational, but checking TMC I see no confirmation of that yet. They should be soon, given the state of construction. Cheyenne also appears to be progressing. Ohio and Pennsylvania are behind, not surprising given the recent weather.

I understand your perspective and I think it's a sober one but hey, maybe being sober isn't as much fun :~) I on the other hand prefer to let myself get a little drunk on the growing momentum, erring a little on the optimistic side for now perhaps, knowing that however "on schedule" or not Tesla is, what they are doing is in fact, absolutely unprecedented in history and it looks a awful lot like they are going to succeed where everyone else has failed. No other manufacturer of any vehicle ever in history has offered up the vision of a global fueling network and, in such short time, actually achieved such remarkable progress toward that end. are they on schedule? who cares! the fact that it's happening at all is nothing short of a miracle.
For a little perspective, I think back a few years to the beginning of the roll out of the Leaf here.

In the Leaf community here in the northwest, we got giddy over one quick charging station being placed every couple of months, with only one quick charger per station and then just about the time it all started looking good it petered out. I guess it's that the only other thing the EV community has in comparison is a grotesquely wasteful example of a company, Ecotality, that sucked up massive amounts of public funding and added stations at a glacial pace, with hardware that often arrived broken and if not broken soon became so. It was a bit of a running joke, they would leave the "coming soon" sign up long after the station was in the ground, claiming that the station had not officially opened yet, when in reality, they were afraid to get people's hopes up that it would be reliable. we were told that we could "test it out" during this phase... the coming soon phase never really ended. often we had a hard time getting them to work at all. After a period of letting us charge in exchange for being guinea pigs, they tried to start charging us money per charge. there are stories of people getting stranded all night at these stations in the cold. we all dreamed of a thriving business model that would entice a company to make the investment and populate the country with chargers, that day has yet to come, instead the whole house of cards came crashing down and like clockwork, they filed for bankruptcy and a whole bunch of people got to wash their hands of the whole thing and walk away with their fat pay checks. In comparison, I think a little cheer-leading for Tesla is in order.

During the ecotality phase here, I was told that by far the most expensive thing was actually paying people to scout potential sites, that it took a very long time and took tremendous resources to finally land a contract. A lot of the reason was because finding an adequate electrical hook up was difficult, 3 phase is remarkably limiting in terms of options, then finding willing businesses within those limited zones was also difficult and that was just for a single charging station. Imagine what Tesla is up against! The number of potential locations is even more limited, the electrical hook up is insanely huge for 10 stalls. With my work with Sun Country, the number came up that it was 6 times the price of a given charger to land the contract and pay for all the work, including install, even if it was done through a business chain like a hotel or restaurant. whatever we think this is costing Tesla, add some multiplier, it surely is staggering in terms of work and money. Basically, from what I can tell, a charging network of significant proportions is essentially a gift to humanity, it's just unlikely enough to ever happen at all that it's really worth taking a little time to truly appreciate the magnitude of this, among many other ventures that Tesla is in fact succeeding in, against all odds, against the most powerful and profitable industry on the planet, big oil.

 

[JeremyW]

Hear hear Gasless, beautifully written. It's amazing to me how much people don't see. Perhaps it is because I work within the power industry and see the scale of such things. It is nothing short of amazing. But few people get it right now. One day they will.

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

Looks like only one SC planned for MA in future, off 91 near Northampton.

MA DPU is investigating a plan to add a fuel tax to EVSE use. If so, will Tesla pull out, as will no longer be free?