Is/n't Tesla literally/figuratively crashing?

[archibaldcrane]

And you'd spend an hour filling up a gas car that many times,...did I mention it's free?

[archibaldcrane]

Point is Gary, Indiana is an armpit. Makes more sense to put one outside the city than in little Detroit, Indiana

They haven't announced any additional exact locations, they still have to make contracts/buy land, the map is too zoomed out to tell exactly where they will be located. I doubt there will be one in the city of Gary, but very likely one between Chicago and Gary or just west of Gary.

[archibaldcrane]

Wonder what they consider is 'in range'

If they consider Gary 'in range' of Chicago this is gonna fail miserably

The superchargers aren't for metro users, they are for road trips of 150+ miles. You'd put one east of Gary for Chicago road trippers going East, or for people traveling to Chicago from the east.

Normal use of the car is just charging overnight at home, 200+ mile range is PLENTY for daily use.

[Tyche]

Either hotels will need to have regular charging stations or they'll have to build some in the larger cities for the people visiting these cities.

[Jaybar]

Either hotels will need to have regular charging stations or they'll have to build some in the larger cities for the people visiting these cities.

There are incentives to do so (mostly for new construction) but it's impossible to regulate (without fines) if it's integrated with regular parking spots. Going to have non-electric vehicles parked there all the time.

But I agree, they need to be there. That was my gripe with no metropolis superchargers because people going on vacation might want a quick charge so they can drive around town after a long haul without having to search for electric vehicle charging spots (or driving all the way out to Rockford or Gary to supercharge).

[Rhinox]

The superchargers aren't for metro users, they are for road trips of 150+ miles. You'd put one east of Gary for Chicago road trippers going East, or for people traveling to Chicago from the east.

Normal use of the car is just charging overnight at home, 200+ mile range is PLENTY for daily use.

Then whats the point really? why is this big news? It's great I guess for the college roadtrippers but people generally don't tend to drive over 150 miles often. Tickets to trains and airplanes are alot cheaper then buying cars for the rare roadtrip. Gas Is still cheaper if you already have a car. If they Made Tesla Semi's then I can understand the significance.

[Rhinox]

I guess my point is unless they start passing out the cars for free or make them significantly cheaper than Gas engines the electric cars won't ever surpass or come near fossil fuel cars.


I don't know anyone who wants to specifically buy a car because of the rare occasion of traveling 200+ miles.

[Jaybar]

While more expensive, the cost of all-electric cars doesn't outweigh the extremely lower carbon footprint you'd have vs. fossil fuel cars. But I suppose if a consumer is only considering price then that certainly would never cross their mind.

If we want to lower dependence on fossil fuels, we gotta pay a little more.

[Salodin]

My thinking is, why do I care about this?

If I'm doing a road trip I need a place to charge when I'm there. If my hotel doesn't have a station or my in laws don't have the necessary equipment to charge my vehicle then I'm sol any ways. The infrastructure just isn't there yet to drive a tesla cross country even with this big step forward.

[archibaldcrane]

Well, when you compare it to another full-size luxury car (like an S-Class, 7-series, or A8), the price is pretty comparable.

It's a big deal because "I can't take it on a long drive" is the first thing people comment on when confronted with an electric car's range (even if it's up to 300 miles). This expansion mostly alleviates that issue. Standard 240V chargers are rapidly being adopted at places like hotels and such (especially in California, where half of Tesla's cars are sold), and that will only continue as tens of thousands more plugin vehicles are sold every year (Tesla expects to sell 20k Model Ss in 2013, they sold 4750 in Q1).

[archibaldcrane]

My thinking is, why do I care about this?

If I'm doing a road trip I need a place to charge when I'm there. If my hotel doesn't have a station or my in laws don't have the necessary equipment to charge my vehicle then I'm sol any ways. The infrastructure just isn't there yet to drive a tesla cross country even with this big step forward.

The SCs are around 150 miles apart, while you have an EPA-rated 265 mile range in an 85kwh Model S. So if you're topping off, even if you are detouring or staying overnight somewhere, it just takes a little planning to stay afloat. And as far as "special equipment" goes, all you need is a plug. If you're spending 10 hours at your inlaws, even on a standard 110v outlet, you can pick up another 45 miles of range. Many places won't have 240v outlets for faster charging, sure, but if you're on a supercharger-equipped highway, it shouldn't be particularly necessary anyway.

tl;dr people will be making Supercharger-only cross-country trips by the end of the year, first as a novelty, but increasingly as just "the new way" to do things.

[Plow]

I guess my point is unless they start passing out the cars for free or make them significantly cheaper than Gas engines the electric cars won't ever surpass or come near fossil fuel cars.


I don't know anyone who wants to specifically buy a car because of the rare occasion of traveling 200+ miles.

I swear 90% of cars anywhere in Colorado during the summer are Suburbans from Kansas and Texas that people buy primarily because they're fucking amazing for road trips.

[Salodin]

expansion mostly alleviates that issue.

No it doesn't and you know it.

God forbid I want to drive around town a little bit or visit a few sites off the beaten path, I'm fucked. I like the idea of the car, but the sites are few and far between to give me the freedom I enjoy now. I want this type of car to succeed, don't get me wrong, but it's just not there yet unless you stay close to this network they created, and quite frankly I don't want to.

[archibaldcrane]

No it doesn't and you know it.

God forbid I want to drive around town a little bit or visit a few sites off the beaten path, I'm fucked. I like the idea of the car, but the sites are few and far between to give me the freedom I enjoy now. I want this type of car to succeed, don't get me wrong, but it's just not there yet unless you stay close to this network they created, and quite frankly I don't want to.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...psbc56c64c.png
Yes, you're totally right, if you go 130 miles in a direction away from these spots, and the place you're going doesn't have working electricity, you're screwed.


what backwards 3rd-world country are you spending a lot of time visiting in the middle of America?

[archibaldcrane]

Perhaps there's some confusion though.

YOU CAN CHARGE AT ANY OUTLET.

[Plow]

AND IT ONLY TAKES 130 HOURS

[Rhinox]

The SCs are around 150 miles apart, while you have an EPA-rated 265 mile range in an 85kwh Model S. So if you're topping off, even if you are detouring or staying overnight somewhere, it just takes a little planning to stay afloat. And as far as "special equipment" goes, all you need is a plug. If you're spending 10 hours at your inlaws, even on a standard 110v outlet, you can pick up another 45 miles of range. Many places won't have 240v outlets for faster charging, sure, but if you're on a supercharger-equipped highway, it shouldn't be particularly necessary anyway.

tl;dr people will be making Supercharger-only cross-country trips by the end of the year, first as a novelty, but increasingly as just "the new way" to do things.

That's awesome.

Tesla should change the company motto to


Tesla - we're somewhere between highspeed rail and horseback in practicality nice idea though right...?

Or

Tesla - for the cross country Colorado residents in plows story no one gives a shit about.

[archibaldcrane]

The only thing Americans want more than cheap gas is to bitch about extremely viable alternatives to gas.

[Salodin]

God forbid the in laws garage (if they have one) is full, can't plug my car in unless I'm bringing an extension cord with me. And hopefully I stay long enough to get a full charge, unless I'm near one of the handful of stations in my state (that I might have to drive out of my way to get to).

Also, hotels. Unless you guys know about outdoor outlets that I don't know about. This car is great for short trips, but this network is still nowhere near convenient enough to switch from gasoline. I'll jump on board when one or two gas station chains adds an electric charging station to all their locations (which won't happen).

[octopus]

I would be more excited if it doesn't cost 100k to buy a Tesla...