Mercedes vs Tesla Supercharging (which should I pick?)

[RPM R2]

There is a Buccee’s on my route I travel between Nashville and Atlanta and I like to stop there.

I am getting my R2 soon and will have the option of charging there with the Tesla Superchargers or the Mercedes Benz Superchargers as that location has both.

The Tesla one is $0.56/kwh and the Mercedes one is $0.49/kwh.

Is one better to use than the other? Which should I choose? MB seems cheaper and same charge speed so sounds like the obvious answer but not sure if I am missing something since I am new to the EV world.

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[Thebandit]

Probably doesn't matter. Check the Plugshare scores and reports.

 

[iamnid]

Is the Tesla price with or without the charging membership discount? If it were me, I'd go to whichever is cheapest first. You also might not have a choice if the Mercedes one doesn't have NACS connectors and/or you don't have an adapter OR if the Mercedes stalls are all taken. Either way, it's a good position to be in with such options.

 

[Thebandit]

Is the Tesla price with or without the charging membership discount? If it were me, I'd go to whichever is cheapest first. You also might not have a choice if the Mercedes one doesn't have NACS connectors and/or you don't have an adapter OR if the Mercedes stalls are all taken. Either way, it's a good position to be in with such options.

In a perfect world, every DCFC would have a Bucc-ee's.

 

[therealcmj]

Mercedes charging hardware is great. There's no reason to choose Tesla over that. Especially if it's cheaper than Tesla.

It's important on any road trip that you have the adapters to charge it at both level 2 and DC fast charging stations.

 

[RPM R2]

Is the Tesla price with or without the charging membership discount? If it were me, I'd go to whichever is cheapest first. You also might not have a choice if the Mercedes one doesn't have NACS connectors and/or you don't have an adapter OR if the Mercedes stalls are all taken. Either way, it's a good position to be in with such options.

Tesla price is without the discount, and the MB has both NACS and CCS which is nice.

 

[RedRaiderRivian]

Tesla price is without the discount, and the MB has both NACS and CCS which is nice.

If the Tesla Supercharger is the v4 there will be little difference. If Tesla station is V3 ( shorter cables and units) they are more prone to derating and the charge time will often be much longer than your R2 predicts. I have had great charging sessions on the MB chargers at Buc-ees in Texas

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Electrons are not branded. And there are no additives in electricity. Even if one network uses a dispenser capable of higher charge rate, the R1 is capped at 220-ish max kW to protect the pack. And speaking of protection, even if you see 220 it wouldn’t be sustained. It will start to derate soon after. Just how Rivian built the R1.

 

[lefkonj]

The Benz chargers are really cool engineering. Retractable arms, retractable cable guides, easy screens, NACS + CCS in 1 unit. Which is is cheaper, then open.

 

[justinkitswa]

For me charging is all about amenities and logistics.

I hate driving more than a few minutes off the freeway to charge. For some reason lots of DC fast chargers along I-5 are at least 5-10 minutes off the freeway. Any longer than that and I become annoyed. Unless food is involved and I can eat while I charge at a place close to the charging station.

The other time bound issue I consider is how long it takes to get the charger to work - Tesla and RAN plug and play is perfect. I don't want to spend twenty minutes downloading an app, pre-paying with a credit card, trying to get the charger to recognize the app-specific card in my apple wallet, on and on and on. It's the modern equivalent to spending a few cents more a gallon to fill up at the empty Chevron station across the street from an AMPM with a line of cars out onto the street.

 

[Rivianero]

I have used both at our local Buc-ee's.

Even though we have a Tesla subscription, I will often use the MB fast chargers. I will admit that part of that reasoning is a dislike for the Tesla CEO. Nonetheless, I can report that the MB chargers are reliable, require no adapter for my Gen 1 R1T and reliably charge at high speed (whereas it is sometimes mixed with Tesla). Easy to use without an app or subscription... Just need a credit card.

MB chargers are not plentiful enough that it would make sense for us to subscribe. We do subscribe to Tesla since we travel quite a nit. They are everywhere. They are the most reliable. Subscription provides better price than any other network. Still don't like where my money goes.

 

[iamnid]

For me charging is all about amenities and logistics.

The other time bound issue I consider is how long it takes to get the charger to work - Tesla and RAN plug and play is perfect. I don't want to spend twenty minutes downloading an app, pre-paying with a credit card, trying to get the charger to recognize the app-specific card in my apple wallet, on and on and on. It's the modern equivalent to spending a few cents more a gallon to fill up at the empty Chevron station across the street from an AMPM with a line of cars out onto the street.

I hear you -- plug and charge is very convenient and messing with an app is a pain. As far as amenities, the way I understood it, OP was asking about a location that included both Mercedes and Tesla chargers -- the amenities are the same.

 

[BanditTA]

Hopefully MB will build more of these chargers across the USA. It’d be nice to have another dependable option out there.

 

[mkg3]

There is a Buccee’s on my route I travel between Nashville and Atlanta and I like to stop there.

I am getting my R2 soon and will have the option of charging there with the Tesla Superchargers or the Mercedes Benz Superchargers as that location has both.

The Tesla one is $0.56/kwh and the Mercedes one is $0.49/kwh.

Is one better to use than the other? Which should I choose? MB seems cheaper and same charge speed so sounds like the obvious answer but not sure if I am missing something since I am new to the EV world.

The priority of this selection is super easy: Buccee's

Use whatever charger there is there.

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