41–50 of 339 posts
At the moment, ONLY Tesla has decent supercharging (i.e., fast-charging) infrastructure in the US: https://www.tesla.com/findus I regularly go on ~300-mile drives that need only a single charging stop, lasting 15-20 minutes, on my Tesla EV. By the time I've gone to the bathroom and gotten a drink, the supercharger has added 100-150+ miles of range and the EV is ready to go. All the stalls always work. No other EV bra…
Specifically, the author's worried there aren't enough charging stations to travel all around the state of California. I know there's efforts to build more charging stations, so that may improve somewhat. But my question is how do you charge an electric car if you live in a small apartment building? If we're all going to drive electric cars in the future, we're going to need viable ways for everybody to charge them.
Moreover, in the Lucid, I only have to charge once (maybe twice, if it’s convenient) to make the trip.
Specifically, the author's worried there aren't enough charging stations to travel all around the state of California. I know there's efforts to build more charging stations, so that may improve somewhat. But my question is how do you charge an electric car if you live in a small apartment building? If we're all going to drive electric cars in the future, we're going to need viable ways for everybody to charge them.
My apartment building has charging parking spots but they cost an additional $50 per month, which is more than the money I would save on gas.
This to me is still the weak link. It’s not just chargers, it’s 30+ minute charge time. As great as electric is, an extra hour in the car on a road-trip with 3 kids is a tough sell. More chargers would help but it’s really battery tech and charge times that need a few more innovations before I’d consider for a car I might take a road trip in.
30+ mins at a supercharger doesn't need to be a thing. You get the fastest charging 0-50%, which takes about 15 mins, so that is like 180 miles range, or about 2.5 hours in the car.
So you can get about 700 miles with 2 15 minute stops, assuming you do 300 miles on the first charge if you start at 100%. With a gas car you'd be stopping once for maybe 10-15 mins to refuel and use the bathroom(or twice if you're driving with my partner), so it's really only 15 mins lost over 10 hours in the car.
I'll say that's not my natural way to do a road trip, I would previously go on longer legs with less time stopped, but I actually like taking more little breaks and would probably start doing that if I went on a road trip with an ICE.
This to me is still the weak link. It’s not just chargers, it’s 30+ minute charge time. As great as electric is, an extra hour in the car on a road-trip with 3 kids is a tough sell. More chargers would help but it’s really battery tech and charge times that need a few more innovations before I’d consider for a car I might take a road trip in.
I recently went on a trip where the power was out at our destination for over 24 hours due to a storm. The nearest town was ~20 minutes away and likely did not have any fast charging infrastructure. Even if it did, it's a pretty bad spot to be in, especially if you have young kids. I have been considering getting an electric car but that trip made me realize I'd have to reserve the EV for urban travel only. Otherwise…
Carrying a generator seems very practical to me if you are putting yourself in situations where it could be not just useful but the difference between you being stranded vs self-sufficient.
Nobody said that owning an electric vehicle requires a head-in-the-sand refusal to acknowledge the benefit of liquid fuel. Plus, a generator has all kinds of other benefits in the situation you describe.
I wonder if the cars could help here: if you plug in and are unable to charge the car could report that à la waze. Though there is a possible false positive if your credit card is declined.
This to me is still the weak link. It’s not just chargers, it’s 30+ minute charge time. As great as electric is, an extra hour in the car on a road-trip with 3 kids is a tough sell. More chargers would help but it’s really battery tech and charge times that need a few more innovations before I’d consider for a car I might take a road trip in.
You point out a problem with the IRA law, which subsidizes charger build out at service stations, precisely the wrong place for them. They should be building out in shopping areas, various roadside and destination attractions etc.
Specifically, the author's worried there aren't enough charging stations to travel all around the state of California. I know there's efforts to build more charging stations, so that may improve somewhat. But my question is how do you charge an electric car if you live in a small apartment building? If we're all going to drive electric cars in the future, we're going to need viable ways for everybody to charge them.
This to me is still the weak link. It’s not just chargers, it’s 30+ minute charge time. As great as electric is, an extra hour in the car on a road-trip with 3 kids is a tough sell. More chargers would help but it’s really battery tech and charge times that need a few more innovations before I’d consider for a car I might take a road trip in.
I dissent! Just did a 2-day (each way) road trip with young children and those charging breaks are pretty great and well-spaced for letting them run around and blow off steam. It’s not such a bad idea for the adults either…
Specifically the author is talking about a non-Tesla EV, one that had the known defect of lack of a proper charging infrastructure at point of purchase. Nothing to see here. [Talking about Teslas and “EVs” as if they are the same category is like talking about Computer Science and “STEM” in a single category. Often disingenuous and draws the wrong conclusion.]
Nonsense. Superchargers are packed; while they work, you’re waiting in line for a charge. Meanwhile, while some folks have had issues with EA, I haven’t, and even if I did, I’d just use a Chargepoint, EVGo, Shell Recharge, or any number of other chargers as needed. Not to mention that I can buy a Tesla charger adapter for like $60 that lets me use destination chargers at hotels, and that Tesla is opening up to CCS ch…
The expansion of superchargers to non-Teslas may indeed cause problems. So far I have seen perhaps one total non-Tesla vehicle. If anything, that should be a new point in favor of EVs compared to the time the author purchased their vehicle, which makes the article even further disingenuous.
I don’t know why you brought FSD into a very specific argument about EV ownership experience. I don’t disagree. Sounds like a canned message from a Tesla hater though.