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Tesla Completes L.A.-to-New York Electric Model S Drive Chargers

bloomberg.com

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Re: Tesla Completes L.A.-to-New York Electric Model S Drive Chargers

#111

Post by notatoad »

offmango wrote: post #64

I find it fascinating how Tesla is approaching this from both ends, supplying both the vehicles and the power. If the electric vehicle trend goes their way, they'll have an enormous advantage in the market. But if Tesla goes belly-up for whatever reason and the charging stations had to close, Tesla owners could lose their primary fuel source.

If tesla goes belly-up, the supercharger network won't just disappear. Whoever they sell the charging infrastructure to probably won't offer it to Tesla drivers for free, but it's not just going to disappear.

Re: Tesla Completes L.A.-to-New York Electric Model S Drive Chargers

#112

Post by MartinCron »

agumonkey wrote: post #73
MartinCron wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Drivers aren't rational actors That's at the heart of most of these discussions. So many of the decisions people make about driving aren't rational decisions, they're rationalized decisions. Just to be clear, I'm guilty of this as well. I bought a large luxury station wagon (mostly) because it had rear-facing rumbleseats that I've used exactly once .

I can't stand sitting rear-facing without feeling nauseous, I'm surprised it's even a selling point.

When you're a kid, the novelty of sitting rear facing in "the way way back" is enough to stop the nausea, at least for short trips.

And if you're not a kid, there's no way in hell you're going to fit in the rear-facing seats, I'm pretty short and I still can't fit back there.

Re: Tesla Completes L.A.-to-New York Electric Model S Drive Chargers

#113

Post by justathrow2k »

fit2rule wrote: post #43
base698 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After moving to California 3 years ago I've seen stretches of Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, and of course California I'd never have seen without a car. Gotten to go to places impractical with any other transportation. I can't really imagine not having a car for my weekend trips. I get not wanting to stay in a car for 40 minutes each way on a weekly commute, but being trapped in a city like LA or San Francisco with no…

I'm not saying you shouldn't drive your car everywhere. I am saying, you shouldn't be doing it every day. That, right there, is one of the unhealthiest lifestyles, for everyone. The average American spends an hour a day in their car. This number changes over the years, of course, but generally Americans spend a large portion of their lives, consuming gas. Its just built into the nations life-lines at this point. Week…

One hour a day (on average) hardly seems like a LARGE portion of one's life. Surely, it adds up, but lets say you average being awake 15 hours a day, that's 1/15th of one's life. Not large in my opinion, and certainly no where close to being a majority.

An aside...personally, I spend...8 minutes (or less ) in a car each day.

Re: Tesla Completes L.A.-to-New York Electric Model S Drive Chargers

#114

Post by dangrossman »

offmango wrote: post #64

I find it fascinating how Tesla is approaching this from both ends, supplying both the vehicles and the power. If the electric vehicle trend goes their way, they'll have an enormous advantage in the market. But if Tesla goes belly-up for whatever reason and the charging stations had to close, Tesla owners could lose their primary fuel source.

Superchargers aren't anyone's primary fuel source. Most everyone lives 50+ miles from the nearest one -- they're located along interstates, between cities rather than within cities, which avoids people using all the bays to charge up as part of their daily commute. Supercharging too often also reduces the lifespan of the battery moreso than a regular charge-up.

Re: Tesla Completes L.A.-to-New York Electric Model S Drive Chargers

#115

Post by latj »

abalone wrote: post #100
atourgates wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just doing some quick numbers (not related to current specific locations of quick chargers and gas stations), stopping 30 minutes every 170 miles would add a bit over 6 and a half hours of stopping to a LY->NYC trip. LA -> NYC is about 2,800 miles. If you had to stop for 30 minutes every 170 miles, that'd be 16.5 stops, for a total of about 8.25 hours of charging stops. If you assume 25mpg in a car with a 12 gallon t…

There's one more factor: driving speed. To get more energy efficiency on long trips, it often makes sense to drive the model s around 50-55mph rather than 65+. So if you average 10mph slower over 2800 miles, that's an additional 8 hours of driving time on top of the charging time. See comments here for a recent cross-country trip. Where the driver notes his average speed it's around 50-55mph. http://www.teslamotors.c…

There's one more factor: Dont I have to do a mandatory roundtrip so that I can return the individual batteries to Tesla? Thats the way their battery swap program works at the moment.

Re: Tesla Completes L.A.-to-New York Electric Model S Drive Chargers

#116

Post by GarrettBeck »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #98
atourgates wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just doing some quick numbers (not related to current specific locations of quick chargers and gas stations), stopping 30 minutes every 170 miles would add a bit over 6 and a half hours of stopping to a LY->NYC trip. LA -> NYC is about 2,800 miles. If you had to stop for 30 minutes every 170 miles, that'd be 16.5 stops, for a total of about 8.25 hours of charging stops. If you assume 25mpg in a car with a 12 gallon t…

I just drove from Chicago to Tampa, stayed for two weeks in FL, and then drove back over the last two weeks. I did both sprints straight through in a 2008 Infiniti G37, which has a six-speed auto, V6 engine, and 20 gallon tank. At an average speed of 85 mph, the car averaged about 24mpg, giving me a range of around 420 miles per gallon (with ~60 mile reserve). This is an edge case of course. I'm 31, and drove the ent…

That's 1.44 metric tons of CO2 emission. A Tesla may not be as practical, but it extends the longevity of our planet for damn sure.

[EDIT] I used this website to calculate http://calculator.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx?tab=4

Re: Tesla Completes L.A.-to-New York Electric Model S Drive Chargers

#117

Post by nandhp »

dangrossman wrote: post #114
offmango wrote: post #64

I find it fascinating how Tesla is approaching this from both ends, supplying both the vehicles and the power. If the electric vehicle trend goes their way, they'll have an enormous advantage in the market. But if Tesla goes belly-up for whatever reason and the charging stations had to close, Tesla owners could lose their primary fuel source.

Superchargers aren't anyone's primary fuel source. Most everyone lives 50+ miles from the nearest one -- they're located along interstates, between cities rather than within cities, which avoids people using all the bays to charge up as part of their daily commute. Supercharging too often also reduces the lifespan of the battery moreso than a regular charge-up.

I believe you, but note that the Tesla website only says this:

> How often can I Supercharge, is it bad for my battery? > > Supercharging does not alter the new vehicle warranty. > Customers are free to use the network as much as they like.

http://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger

Re: Tesla Completes L.A.-to-New York Electric Model S Drive Chargers

#118

Post by baddox »

Does anyone have any idea what the current bandwidth of the LA-NY route is? In other words, given how many chargers exist along the route, how many Tesla cars can make the trip per unit time?

Obviously, if you assume the optimal arrangement—each car being separated from the next by exactly 30 minutes—each charge plug can support 48 cars per day.

That's also assuming that the chargers are arranged such that each leg between chargers is less than 170 miles. The article doesn't indicate whether this is the case.

Re: Tesla Completes L.A.-to-New York Electric Model S Drive Chargers

#119

Post by boucher »

latj wrote: post #115
abalone wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's one more factor: driving speed. To get more energy efficiency on long trips, it often makes sense to drive the model s around 50-55mph rather than 65+. So if you average 10mph slower over 2800 miles, that's an additional 8 hours of driving time on top of the charging time. See comments here for a recent cross-country trip. Where the driver notes his average speed it's around 50-55mph. http://www.teslamotors.c…

There's one more factor: Dont I have to do a mandatory roundtrip so that I can return the individual batteries to Tesla? Thats the way their battery swap program works at the moment.

The battery swap is not the 30 minute charge time, it's an actual charge of your own battery (the swap is a lot faster than 30 minutes). I don't think battery swap is currently available at these charge locations?

Re: Tesla Completes L.A.-to-New York Electric Model S Drive Chargers

#120

Post by ceph_ »

latj wrote: post #115
abalone wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's one more factor: driving speed. To get more energy efficiency on long trips, it often makes sense to drive the model s around 50-55mph rather than 65+. So if you average 10mph slower over 2800 miles, that's an additional 8 hours of driving time on top of the charging time. See comments here for a recent cross-country trip. Where the driver notes his average speed it's around 50-55mph. http://www.teslamotors.c…

There's one more factor: Dont I have to do a mandatory roundtrip so that I can return the individual batteries to Tesla? Thats the way their battery swap program works at the moment.

The article isn't about their battery swap program. Its about their fast charge network.
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