SuperCharger buzz

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bwilson4web

bwilson4web

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A great mountain is being spewed about the ‘open’ SuperChargers, 10 of them in the Netherlands. Regardless of either bull or bear, it doesn’t impress me. Yet some analysts are treating it as ‘the second coming.’

The big losers are EA and 3d party, fast DC chargers. The threat of an open SuperCharger network just dried up any capital investment. Worse, the other EV makers have to fit in a Tesla sized charge lane. Their legacy EVs are SOL or needing a kit-recall.

As for Tesla SuperCharger support … what a headache. Non-Tesla EVs were treated as unloved, brats by EA and now those EV makers will try to throw their tantrums at Tesla. This is not good news except to document the waste of CCS-1/CCS-2 standards. Larger than needed plug/socket whose integration remains often hobbled by violation than conformance.

It is all risk with no reward.

Bob Wilson
 
bwilson4web said:
The big losers are EA and 3d party, fast DC chargers. The threat of an open SuperCharger network just dried up any capital investment. Worse, the other EV makers have to fit in a Tesla sized charge lane. Their legacy EVs are SOL or needing a kit-recall.
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I think you understate the effect of the federal and state governments, plus there is the investment by a few manufactures.

I believe the federal government grants are 15 million a pop. You might want to double check that figure.

If government gives Tesla money to convert some of their chargers, I think Tesla will make it happen. Can you tell me what besides a longer charging cord is necessary to allow non-Teslas to charge in the Tesla sized lanes?

I also think you overstate the effect of open Tesla superchargers. Most folks are going to charge at home or work.
 
marshall said:
I think you understate the effect of the federal and state governments, plus there is the investment by a few manufactures. ...
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You mentioned, "the federal government grants are 15 million a pop" that seems high until we look at the California fuel cell stations. I suspect the actual number is closer to $2 million for a fast DC charger.

Also, "If government gives Tesla money to convert some of their chargers, I think Tesla will make it happen. Can you tell me what besides a longer charging cord is necessary to allow non-Teslas to charge in the Tesla sized lanes?" The primary limitation is cable length as this can lead to more than one charging lane being blocked. Converting to 'drive through' charging lanes helps but is impractical for the existing SuperCharger network. However, it would make having a trailer hitch for EVs more practical.

We agree, "Most folks are going to charge at home or work" this is where Federal, State, and City governments can help the most. There won't be a single solution but one I like is having 1-4, L1/L2 outlets at the base of every parking lot, light pole. I also like L1/L2 outlets located far away from the entrances so ICE cars are unlikely to block. There also needs to be some incentive to keep the outlets or EVSE operational.

Bob Wilson
 
Where I live, BC, Tesla superchargers are not everywhere. In fact, it is the Tesla car owners (like my son) that need to buy Chademo adapters to be able to charge off the main trip routes. And the superchargers are not free unlike many other fast chargers. So I certainly see no benefit in using a Tesla supercharger here. Will be interesting to see if Tesla extends non-Tesla car charging to their superchargers here. It may happen, as I believe our govts here will also be subsidizing more charging stations expansions.
 
marshall said:
It looks to me that they have added a bunch of new locations, with more on the way.

I count 21 new locations since May of this year either completed or in the permit stage.

https://supercharge.info/changes
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Yeah, but there are also a lot more non-Tesla chargers being added, too. I usually use the Petro-Canada fast charger (free) near me, and often see a Tesla there on the slow Chademo side.

Tesla supercharging technology may be better (I don't know). But if everyone else is going CCS, I think it is just a matter of time that Tesla does that, too. Isn't Tesla going CCS in EU right now? Reminds me of the old Beta vs VHS, where Beta was considered better, but VHS won out, simply because of other manufacturers support. I think Chedamo will be phased out, too. I see some new fast chargers now are already omitting the Chademo side, and just have CCS. And I have yet to see a new (or old) CCS fast charging station with a Tesla port.
 
R P said:
Isn't Tesla going CCS in EU right now?
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Yes, it's a government mandate. However, the CCS in Europe is different from the one in North America. Maybe Europe should mandate were the charge port is located so we don't have the charging cord dragging on the ground and tangled up.

R P said:
And I have yet to see a new (or old) CCS fast charging station with a Tesla port.
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I think it's coming. I think we are just waiting for Tesla to release a CCS to Tesla adapter.

R P said:
Reminds me of the old Beta vs VHS, where Beta was considered better, but VHS won out, simply because of other manufacturers support.
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There still the Chinese connector in China. So CCS isn't about to conquer the world yet.

R P said:
Tesla supercharging technology may be better (I don't know).
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I think it's more reliable. When you are on the road, reliability is extremely important.
 
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