Tesla Supercharger Network

[palmermd]

I'm sort of jumping the gun here since the presentation of the supercharger and the network is going to be released on June 22nd along with the first (non-employee) customer deliveries. I was watching the shareholder meeting from Wednesday ( http://www.teslamotors.com/2012shareholdermeeting" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; ) and it got me really excited about Tesla, Model S, and this supercharger network. See Elon's comments at 23:00 - 24:00 regarding the network, 53:00-55:35 about his connector on the car.

All this discussion about ChaDeMo vs SAE may be for naught. Tesla may roll out something that we will all have to find a way to adapt to if we want to quick charge our cars. I'm already wanting a supercharger to ChaDeMo converter for my Leaf.

edit5: as of today, 9 June 2015, Tesla announced that they are starting to implement liquid cooled cables on the Superchargers so that they can use a thinner cable that is easier to handle. The first units are already installed at the recently opened Supercharger station in Mountain View.

edit4: http://supercharge.info


edit3: current list as of 24Oct2013
http://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


edit2: The Supercharger network officially goes live October 19th. Here is an email from Tesla.

OCTOBER 19TH IS SUPERCHARGING DAY
We've been actively working on our game-changing Supercharger network. Since the unveiling last month, the installation and testing process has been in full swing. We now have some very good news to share.

As of Friday, October 19th, the first six locations will be open and ready to Supercharge your Model S.

There will be a software update sent to your Model S touchscreen just prior to October 19th. You will receive an email in advance explaining the installation procedure. It is necessary that you install this update prior to Supercharging.

We've placed Superchargers in convenient locations near fast food, other restaurants, attractions and shopping to make your Model S charge time convenient and enjoyable.


Folsom, CA
13000 Folsom Blvd, Folsom, CA 95630
Folsom Premium Outlets

Harris Ranch
24505 W Dorris Ave Coalinga, CA 93210
Near Harris Ranch Inn and Restaurant

Gilroy, CA
681 Leavesley Road, Gilroy, CA 95020
Gilroy Premium Outlet, near Sony

Barstow, CA
2812 Lenwood Rd., Barstow, CA 92311
Near Country Inn and Suites

Tejon Ranch
5602 Dennis McCarthy Dr., Lebec, CA 93243
Near Yogurtland

Los Angeles, CA
3203 Jack Northrop Ave., Hawthorne, CA 90250
Near Hawthorne Municipal Airport


We are very excited to have our first six Supercharger locations up and running. October 19th is just the beginning. We will continue to expand the Supercharger network to give you more and more freedom to take your favorite road trip.

For those of you outside California, we are actively working on Supercharger locations in other parts of North America. We'll keep you up-to-date as we continue to expand the network. If you have any questions about Supercharging, our Model S Ownership team is here for you. Call us at 877-778-3752 or email [email protected].
Let the Supercharging begin!

edit: Here is the detailed information after the unveiling.

Here is a link to an FAQ written by an event attendee. http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/entry.php/11-Supercharger-unveiling-event

1. The superchargers will produce more energy than can be used by charging the car. They are connected to the grid, thus will contribute energy to the grid. Solar City is providing the installation of the PV panels.

2. The large monolith IS functional and contains the hardware and components used by the supercharging system. In some locations, due to local ordinances, they cannot build the monolith, so it will be placed in non-descript boxes near the charging station. It may not be the final design, and looked significantly different 3 days ago. Apparently Elon's space alien idea got shot down in favor of the "rocket ship". 

3. Batteries are used to store energy (same or similar to Model S) and are also located near the charging stations. They are NOT located in the roof of the station due to weight.

4. There will be 2+ stalls per station. They will calculate based upon population density of Model S/X/Gen III units sold in that area, increase the number in areas with greater population.

5. The superchargers do not affect battery life according to one of the supercharger engineers. They will charge in standard mode, ramping the charge down as the battery exceeds 50% charge so that the battery is protected.

6. The supercharging stations have a single on/off button on them, which, when pressed, reveals the charging cable (same Tesla connector). Pressing the charger handle button opens the charge door on the car exactly like the standard charging cable. Once you dock the cable after charging, there is a pause, and then the door closes, hiding the charging cable. I have video and pictures of this in action.

7. 100-150 miles is a reasonable separation distance. This is how they plan to distribute the supercharging stations.

8. It is a DC supercharger.

9. Roadster owners will not be able to use the superchargers. Some owners were very upset to learn this and requested that 70 A charging stations be installed at the supercharging stations. They suggested placing inverters with the charging stations so that the DC current can be converted for the roadsters. George stated that they will consider this, but made no promises. 

10. The superchargers will remain absolutely free to any Tesla vehicle with the appropriate charging hardware. This means that 60 kWh equipped with supercharger hardware, and 85 kWh vehicles will be able to freely charge anywhere within the network of superchargers. The superchargers will not work for vehicles not equipped with the supercharger hardware. I'm sorry I didn't ask if any previously built vehicle can be outfitted later with supercharger hardware for a fee.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgk5-eB9oTY[/youtube]

Here is a link to show the currently operative locations. http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showwiki.php?title=Tesla+Supercharger+locations

And here are some maps for Future locations:

 

[coolfilmaker]

Based on stated charge times these should be about 100 kw. That would make Tony really **** his pants over demand charges.

 

[palmermd]

Based on stated charge times these should be about 100 kw. That would make Tony really **** his pants over demand charges.

Tony will not have to worry as I believe (pure speculation) that they will be owned and operated by Tesla. I don't believe they are building chargers to be sold on the open market (again speculating). I'm definitely looking forward to the public announcement of their plan on the 22nd.

Also, if you watched the video, he hinted at their being some connection between solar power and the superchargers, so if they are using solar to capture energy into a battery bank and then charging from a bank of batteries to the car, then you avoid the demand fees altogether. It makes it a little easier when you also own the largest solar panel installation company in the country. Again....looking forward to the announcement and their plan.

 

[TonyWilliams]

That's correct on Tesla owning and operating their DC chargers. I have been in direct contact with them. At some point in the future, they may / probably will open it up for 3rd parties like me.

Any DC charger can pump out the electrons slower than rated, so 90kW may be the design (maybe 100kW total), but certainly it can be used at 48kW, like our LEAF. Or 20kW to match the Tesla AC charger and diminish demand charges.

They have another goofy plan that I can't disclose, but when you hear it, you'll know.

 

[pii100]

I am going to guess banks of capacitors possibly in combination with on-site generation.

 

[grommet]

Having a Tesla Supercharger at Harris Ranch will make a road trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles effortless with a 265 mile sticker rated pack. Hypermileing not needed. ;-) I can't see why someone would do that regularly, but hey... this makes it possible for the "well to do."

Curious on costing, of course...

 

[adric22]

They have another goofy plan that I can't disclose, but when you hear it, you'll know.

I guess that means whatever it is, you aren't too fond of it.

Still, I watched the video and I was excited by it. I can't afford a Tesla right now. (besides I'm locked into leases on a Leaf and a Volt already) But I could see maybe buying the 3rd gen version in a few years if they stay in business that long.

 

[palmermd]

I am going to guess banks of capacitors possibly in combination with on-site generation.

On-site generation, Yes. But with solar and not a pollution belching, fuel burning generator. Elon is a strong believer in renewable energy and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (Tesla, SolarCity). Solar fits since it is a core competency for his solar company SolarCity. As far as storage for the power generated, I think battery storage is a much more likely scenario. Battery storage is a core competency for Tesla, not capacitors. Combining these two helps show off those competencies in a very public way.

 

[evmike]

I could image these charging stations being a home for retired Tesla car battery packs.

They could charge from either the solar panels or the night rate electricity.

This could even out the demand to the grid since I don't know if you would want to have 90 kW of solar panels to cover the demand directly.

I think Nissan is doing something like this in Japan at their factory.

 

[coolfilmaker]

I think the crazy plan has to do with battery swapping at the supercharger stations. That would explain why the smaller capacity cars are not eligible to use them.

 

[palmermd]

I think the crazy plan has to do with battery swapping at the supercharger stations.

I agree.

 

[pii100]

Solar is my guess also but who knows, I had forgotten SolarCity was an Elon enterprise. His comments at the shareholders meeting certainly seem to indicate solar, crystals lighting up? Great Idea on the retired packs for storage, I had not thought of that.. Not going to be a huge supply of those at first though.

 

[coolfilmaker]

Solar is my guess also but who knows, I had forgotten SolarCity was an Elon enterprise. His comments at the shareholders meeting certainly seem to indicate solar, crystals lighting up? Great Idea on the retired packs for storage, I had not thought of that.. Not going to be a huge supply of those at first though.

I highly doubt Tesla will use a storage system for supercharging. It's just inefficient and unnecessary. It's the same reason they don't put solar panels in their cars.

 

[pii100]

If not then they aren't going to be making any friends at the utilities!

Edit: I'm sure whatever it is will involve a wheel of cheese or a unladen African Swallow.

 

[adric22]

I highly doubt Tesla will use a storage system for supercharging. It's just inefficient and unnecessary. It's the same reason they don't put solar panels in their cars.

I don't know about that. I've been thinking about it for a few hours and it sort of makes sense. By using solar you could bypass all of the regulations and red-tape involved in getting high voltage from the electric company. (I think I heard somewhere that this was slowing down Chademo adoption) and even if the station is out in the middle of nowhere on a long highway you wouldn't have to worry about having a high voltage connection to the grid.

With a combination of solar, maybe generators, and/or a regular 240V link to the grid you could keep a set of batteries fully charged waiting for the next customer to drive by.

 

[pii100]

Had not thought about it also giving them more choices in siting. Maybe they will go with another silicone valley "Greener" tech to supplement solar, the bloom box. I haven't heard anything out of them in months.
http://www.bloomenergy.com

 

[DaveEV]

Tesla / Solar City have already teamed up to put Tesla sourced battery packs into homes of certain Solar City customers.

It's a logical extension that they would plan to do the same thing to minimize demand charges for Supercharging.

http://www.solarcity.com/residential/energy-storage.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[palmermd]

I was disappointed to not hear any announcement of the supercharger network on Friday. But I suppose it is better to slowly make big announcements to not have too much at once. News since Friday has some conflicting information. A earlier comment from Elon Musk indicates they will make some sort of announcement in July and another more recent comment from JB Straubel says within a year. I suppose July is within a year.

 

[adric22]

I was disappointed to not hear any announcement of the supercharger network on Friday. But I suppose it is better to slowly make big announcements to not have too much at once. News since Friday has some conflicting information. A earlier comment from Elon Musk indicates they will make some sort of announcement in July and another more recent comment from JB Straubel says within a year. I suppose July is within a year.

Good so it isn't just me. I was scouring the internet and tesla's website trying to find the big announcement that they said would be coming on June 22. But I couldn't find anything.

 

[TEG]

Note, they had supercharger prototypes in use during the event. They weren't 'made pretty' so weren't showed off specifically, but it was quite clear that they have the hardware working and are using it to charge the cars.

I think we all basically assumed that by now, but it was good to see them using it routinely.

And yes, the Supercharger cable is about as 'fat' as the connector going into the car. No CHAdeMO or SAE monster plug on the end.