GRA said:
palmermd said:
I bought my Tesla because of the Tesla Supercharger network. It is the only EV you can buy that has the ability to be your only vehicle, and it is because of this network. So you are not correct that this network does not influence buying decisions. It is a huge influence. And as other manufacturers build long distance cars and those owners struggle to find working charge stations, it will drive more decisions to switch to Tesla.
The SC network undoubtedly has influenced many people to buy Teslas, but with EA having as of today opened 164 150/350kW QC stations in just over a year (first one opened May 2nd of last year), with it now being possible to drive from Florida or New York to Denver with only a couple of sites still needed to cross the Rockies and join the coasts, and Ionity building their network in Europe, the SC advantage is rapidly dwindling. Teslas still charge faster than most of their competitors, but that will also change in the near future.
Like
palmermd, my reason for going to a Tesla was the Supercharger network — it allowed me to use an EV as my only car; I waited until my most-traveled long distance route was covered before (used) Tesla shopping.
It remains to be seen whether or not the EA network in North America will prove easy-to-use and reliable. (It appears that the DCFC alternatives to the Supercharger network in Europe will suffice to allow road trips, although the population density is much higher, distances much shorter and alternatives — such as rail — much better than in NA.)
With regard to the EA network: Is the payment system seamless and simple — just pull up and plug-in? Will the chargers be well-maintained and fixed quickly if they break? Will the car's navigation system know where all the chargers are and automatically plan routes to them? Will the car's navigation be able to tell the driver if the charge station is open and how many stalls are available? Will the charge stations in populous regions have dozens of stalls, rather than just a few? Are
all the charge stations open 24/7?
Dots on a map are one thing, it takes more than that to make a practical, useful DCFC network. I am hopeful that the answers to my questions will soon be "yes" for the EA network, and any other networks developed, since I would like to see more EVs on the road. It would be nice for a Bolt driver in Denver to be able to just get in the car and drive to Los Angeles or Seattle or Boston, without a concern, as is the case for Tesla drivers now.