Tesla Supercharger Membership Pricing Announced For Non-Tesla EV Owners ($0.99/month)

[emoore]

Gas stations made money by selling services in the earlier days and snacks and whatnot later. I came from a family of service station owners.

Selling electricity in a parking lot is not like a gas station. It is no more than selling generic water in a vending machine. There is no profit in it and there is no incentive to fix it when the machine breaks.

That's exactly why we need charging stations near restaurants, convience stores, etc.

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[jjswan33]

Careful as mis-information can go both ways.
Saying it is hot garbage may be accurate for one user and saying it has never failed you may be accurate for you.

However both of these are mis-information when presented as being true for anything more than yourself.

For the heck of it I drove my 7 hour trip to family through OH/WV/MD/VA with my Leaf. I planned every stop and every backup with Plugshare. That didn't change the fact it ended up taking over 13 hours what was originally supposed to only take an additional hour over my normal time. So for me, yes, that experience was "hot garbage" and I am thrilled to hear that is not always the case for others!

I love to see the expansion of the infrastructure whether with EA or superchargers, it doesn't matter and will benefit everyone!

Fair points. If I were using Chademo I might have the same opinion as you. I don’t think I have ever seen more than one of those connectors at a station and they are often out of order.

100% agree with your last point as well. I hope an open Tesla super charger network works as well as it does today, time will tell what they actually do and if the cost isn’t crazy then great.

In fact I never said that EA was perfect or even good, just that it has been reliable for me. Even if I had to wait a couple times.

 

[SlaterGS]

If I were using Chademo I might have the same opinion as you. I don’t think I have ever seen more than one of those connectors at a station and they are often out of order.

Hmm that is a great point and maybe a key to my issues with my experiences. Hopefully with more infrastructure development and the better system as well as range with the R1S I will be all set!

 

[Tahoe Man]

That's exactly why we need charging stations near restaurants, convience stores, etc.

But there isn't any connection between the retailer and the charging network operators. Even the Chargepoint model of having retailers own the equipment and set prices doesn't work.

The way for this to work is for the car makers to have their own proprietary charging network. This way the consumer experience is based on how the car makers see fit.

Tesla wouldn't be where they are today in sales and brand image if it wasn't for their charging network.

 

[emoore]

But there isn't any connection between the retailer and the charging network operators. Even the Chargepoint model of having retailers own the equipment and set prices doesn't work.

The way for this to work is for the car makers to have their own proprietary charging network. This way the consumer experience is based on how the car makers see fit.

Tesla wouldn't be where they are today in sales and brand image if it wasn't for their charging network.

Don't think having proprietary charging networks will work. Need to have the charger companies (EA, Chargepoint, etc) own the convenience stores. Similar to the gas station model.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Will be interesting to see how much the usage at non-Tesla charging stations may decline. Once Tesla’s superchargers are open to non-Tesla vehicles

I wouldn't be surprised if usage doesn't really decline. More options means people will use what's more convenient. So far it seems EA and EVGo have more convenient locations for most of the routes I've taken. There is one exception, where Tesla does have the only convenient option... The Outer Banks. I hope Rivian opens up a RAN location out that way.

 

[EVTrucking]

No question that current EV charging network is in its infancy and needs to expand and improve. The question I ponder is wether its propagation will keep pace with the number of EVs on the road. We could find ourselves waiting in long lines to get a charge.

 

[CO-rayman]

Well 15k miles on my R1T and beside charging at home almost exclusively use EA, never been stranded. Hard to call that ‘garbage‘ IMO but you do you. My guess is user error but I’ll admit I have never used the card reader. Almost always use my IPhone wallet, tap and charge.

More than happy if you all use Tesla more EA stalls at a lower price for me.

I have used EA exclusively for my wife's Volvo XC40 Recharge (sorry no Rivian yet) and it's been great, charging at max every time, and no need to switch or reconnect.

I see a lot of people complain about EA though and I am wondering if it's a location thing. The 3 units I have used were brand new at various Walmart locations in Colorado only (including Lonetree, Frisco, and Loveland for those familar with the area).

 

[mkg3]

I can't wait for the first post here from a Rivian owner saying they couldn't get a charge on any of the superchargers and ended up stranded when Tesla support couldn't help them. You know it's going to happen to someone.

Why???

Do you always look for bad things to happen?

Maybe its living in the region of the country where the sky is gray 90% of the time compared to sunny region.

The thought never crossed my mind. Not saying its impossible to happen. It just that there are so much more positive thing that will come of this than negative...

 

[kylealden]

Gas stations made money by selling services in the earlier days and snacks and whatnot later. I came from a family of service station owners.

Selling electricity in a parking lot is not like a gas station. It is no more than selling generic water in a vending machine. There is no profit in it and there is no incentive to fix it when the machine breaks.

So what you're saying is like gasoline, electricity is a low-margin undifferentiated commodity.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Why???

Do you always look for bad things to happen?

Maybe its living in the region of the country where the sky is gray 90% of the time compared to sunny region.

The thought never crossed my mind. Not saying its impossible to happen. It just that there are so much more positive thing that will come of this than negative...

Because so many of the posters here like praising the Tesla network and poo-poo the CCS networks. It's pretty exhausting.

 

[mkg3]

Because so many of the posters here like praising the Tesla network and poo-poo the CCS networks. It's pretty exhausting.

Tesla network is great. I am a user of it and NEVER had to wait or could not charge. It is excellent. Just plug in and when done, simply disconnect and go.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

Tesla network is great. I am a user of it and NEVER had to wait or could not charge. It is excellent. Just plug in and when done, simply disconnect and go.

It's reasonable to believe that the Rivian Adventure Network will be similar. It's a lot easier when you only support one vehicle make with limited models.

 

[SANZC02]

Tesla network is great. I am a user of it and NEVER had to wait or could not charge. It is excellent. Just plug in and when done, simply disconnect and go.

I find it hard to believe you have never had to wait for a super charger in Southern California. I have had to wait at super chargers in Riverside county, LA county, Orange County, San Diego county and San Bernardino county.

 

[Tahoe Man]

So what you're saying is like gasoline, electricity is a low-margin undifferentiated commodity.

Unless it's connected to something that will provide a value or enhancement.

Selling it in a parking lot via third party is asking for bad experiences. Rivian can counter this with their own closed network, I hope they fulfill that.

Then you have these people, influencers, etc showcasing by driving around towing a trailer with their kids but getting stranded or taking two hours or longer to charge. That is not good for the Rivian brand.

Rivian needs their own set of chargers so these same people can showcase pleasantly getting their truck charged.

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