Conflict at the Supercharger

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

No people just need to learn to read, the sign says Tesla, the name of the network, then a line feed, and then vehicle charging only. It does not say Tesla Vehicle Charging Only.

And people just need not be too lazy to look things up on Google? Instead of making a fool of themselves, all they had to do is search: "Can Rivian [or Ford] charge at Supercharger". This day and age when almost everyone carry the whole internet in their pockets... there's just no excuse to be that stupid/lazy.

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[Duckman]

Well, I can see we have wandered a bit. First, I don't hate Elon or Teslas. I have owned 3 Teslas since 2014. Beleive me, owning a Model S in 2014 was an adventure. Kept that for 4 years and traded for a Model 3 in 2018. Another great car. Then a couple of months ago during Elon's March Madness sale, i traded the 6 year old 3 in for a new long range dual motor Y. It is a huge improvement over the 2018 3. So I am a long time EV and Tesla fan. My experience with Tesla encouraged me to go all in on this new thing called a Rivian and I love it too. So now I have my wife's Y and my R1T. All electric household. I don't hate Tesla owners either being one myself.

My original point was that Tesla has not prepared their customer base for the coming tsunami of Fords and Rivians at the Superchargers. And one of the friction points is going to be that these vehicles will invariably need two stations to charge. There is going to be a lot of conflict over this issue and the lack of preparation by Tesla. Personally, I only use commercial chargers on a couple of long trips a year. Commercial chargers pretty much cancel out the fuel economy value equation vs gas. Some of these highway chargers, especially at 50-60 cents a kWh are gas equivalent pricing. And as far as commercial chargers go, during my 10 years and many miles of EV ownership, I know that EA and CP and EvGo are not a good first choice. Although, once the tsunami hits and there are Fords and Rivians and everything else lined up at the Superchargers, they may not be a good choice either.

Thankfully I only do a couple of road trips a year. Thanks for all the input and discussion but let's not get too heated up. I am not sure if I should be complimented or what to be a 77 year old bully. I tried to be polite and this guy was having none of it. End of story.

 

[COdogman]

It's attitudes like these that help create the problems. Look, I know you hate Elon and Tesla, but wanting to go out of your way to inconvenience other EV drivers? That's just sad.

I'm glad most people don't have that much hate.

So showing up at a SC because Elon allowed it and parking as instructed by Tesla “creates a problem? That’s really weird.

I know you love Elon and there isn’t a single thing he could do to cause you to criticize him, but as has been pointed out earlier in this thread, if you and Mr Muscles have a problem with that it isn’t me that you should complain to or about. It’s your buddy Elon. And i am totally not surprised that is completely lost on you.

 

[jjswan33]

Just so you know there are Rivians owners who have this very exact conflict on their bucket list.

I'm certainly one of them.

Let the entitlement wars begin. Haha

 

[RivianRunner]

So showing up at a SC because Elon allowed it and parking as instructed by Tesla “creates a problem? That’s really weird.

Nope. I have zero problem with you charging at Superchargers, I never indicated otherwise.

What I found distasteful was your verbalized desire to start charging at Superchargers exclusively, simply to piss off other EV owners by taking up two spots. That is in very poor taste.

 

[RivianRunner]

Well, I can see we have wandered a bit. First, I don't hate Elon or Teslas.

I know you don't hate Elon or Tesla, and my comment was not directed towards you at all.

Thank you for sharing your story.

 

[ads75]

Does anyone know if a notice went out to Telsa Owners from Tesla, maybe through their app to their owners, to expect to start seeing Fords and Rivians at authorized stations. ”They are now allowed”.

This seems like very poor communication from Tesla to their Owners. They could easily inform Owners through an email, etc.

Tesla doesn't want to tell its customers other brands can now use Tesla chargers. It would let their customers (and potential customers) know they can buy other brands and still use (some) of the chargers. I wouldn't really expect a company (like Tesla) to send an email to its customers saying "can't we all get along" when referring to other brands. And to be fair to Tesla, they are assuming their customers will figure out the network is open when they see other brands using them.

 

[pricedm]

If I'm at a non-Tesla DC charger and a 120 kW or under EV is parked in a 350 kW charger, I will do my best to explain why they should move to a different charger.

If I'm at at Tesla station, I will hope Teslas stick to inner stalls and non-Teslas with non-optimized Supercharger ports will stick to the outer-most stalls.

Wishful thinking, I know...

@Duckman I take some encouragement that 2 of 3 drivers were understanding and courteous, as you were.

 

[COdogman]

Nope. I have zero problem with you charging at Superchargers, I never indicated otherwise.

What I found distasteful was your verbalized desire to start charging at Superchargers exclusively, simply to piss off other EV owners by taking up two spots. That is in very poor taste.

Why can’t I charge at Superchargers exclusively if I am willing to pay for it and follow Tesla’s parking instructions? If I do that and Mr. Muscles or yourself want to start whining about it, it will most certainly provide me with endless entertainment.

It’s really telling that you had no commentary on the REASON there was conflict at the charging station. Your buddy Elon opened up parts of the network but has made no effort to educate or communicate to existing Tesla owners on that decision and how it all works. No signage, no nothing.

And god forbid Tesla owners like the one OP encountered attempt to educate themselves… that isn’t going to happen. No comment from you about his part of it either….

You just keep exposing yourself

 

[ads75]

That's true. But here's the thing. The OP could have waited in Davis for one of the 3 EA stations to open up. He could have also used one of the 3 EVGo stations in Woodland, not the ones he mentioned in Davis. Instead he decided to make people wait for him by blocking 2 stalls at the Tesla station.

All I'm saying is that I wouldn't have taken that path. I think EV charging etiquette has a long way to go and I personally won't block someone from charging.

I also think the Tesla owner is a jerk, but I would be slightly irritated as well if I had to wait because someone was blocking 2 stalls. I think we all would be. Try putting the shoe on the other foot.

Or think of it this way - if the charging stall was blocked by an ice vehicle would that have been okay? I'm sure it would be on Reddit and Twitter if someone iced a spot. I don't feel that blocking a spot, regardless of the reason is appropriate when you're making someone else wait. I avoid Tesla Superchargers unless absolutely necessary for this reason. In California there's not really a need to use them since there's normally a ton of options.

You want people to wait in line so they don't potentially make others wait in line? That's exactly what your first paragraph says. Sometimes, its first come, first serve. I once had someone suggest I drive 15 minutes in the opposite direction I was traveling to a different charger because I had the range to get there. Glad that guy was willing to suggest I add 30 minutes to my trip to a charger that also potentially had a line, so he could wait in line less where we were.

Most of us aren't going to drive all over towns to find an open charger. We find a charger, get in line, and then charge. Apparently thats how EVs work, similar to gas stations, if the gas cap is on the passenger or drivers side, we make do.

 

[ads75]

I agree that it sucks you had to deal with that guy but I must ask, why didn't you go to the closer EA station? Only 3 of 4 working means 3 are working and you can charge there just fine.

Why couldn't the Tesla's that arrived AFTER the OP drive to the EA or EVGO stations? Do Tesla's have to charge at Tesla charging stations?

 

[ThumprMN]

I’ve been harassed by Tesla owners at EA stations while on a road trip. One in particular kept knocking off my charging session by plugging the redundant cabinet cable into their Tesla even after I explained that it wouldn’t work. I kept calm and explained that only 1 cable will work per session and they needed to wait. Incidentally, she also jumped the line to squeeze in on my session… multiple cabinets were down causing a line. Also… a Chevy bolt was occupying there only other wiring cabinet.

she finally backed down and let me finish my session and I coordinated to let the next person in line get my spot. She was not happy… but many of us pointed out that she had TSC stations available to her within a few miles.

 

[COdogman]

Let’s not forget that Tesla owners still have stations that are still exclusive to them where they don’t have to worry about any other vehicles taking up space. One could justifiably ask why those owners who are upset about the situation don’t go to those stations instead….

 

[DevSecOps]

You want people to wait in line so they don't potentially make others wait in line?

Sure, it sounds like that if you ignore what the OP did. The OP drove 20 minutes to another town just to use a Tesla unit. Most of the time the wait at an EA is less than that when there's 3 units. The OP also said he had a L2 at the hotel and only had 10 minutes left on the Tesla DCFC. That likely means 60% SOC or greater and could easily get to 70% on L2 from the hotel. Given the totality of the circumstances I would have done things differently in consideration of others.

This forum would be up in arms if someone was blocking an EA station with an ICE vehicle, a Tesla was double parked at an EA station, or someone was idling for 30 minutes. But for some reason it's okay for us to block 2 stalls? Do we now own Rivian entitlement that we once accused Tesla owners of having? For some reason people here think it's okay because it's Tesla and omg "Elon". Tesla is addressing these concerns with V4, but until then I feel that we should all be respectful of each other. Elon isn't the one charging. I've owned 5 EVs, including a Tesla, and no vehicle makes me more entitled to charge. If all stalls are full and you're blocking one, while making others wait, then I think you should move. It's different if there's plenty of charging units open. If I needed to charge and saw people double parked preventing me from charging I would be a little pissed too.

Let's not forget that we will have our day as well. When RAN is open to the public I'm sure we're going to see "This Tesla blocked a RAN" or "This Ford double parked at a RAN". Tesla navigation is likely routing people to the location the OP was at because it thinks there's a stall open, because there actually is. It's frustrating for all of us to get to any location where we assumed we could charge just to find out that we can't.

 

[RivianRunner]

Why can’t I charge at Superchargers exclusively if I am willing to pay for it and follow Tesla’s parking instructions?

Again, the problem is not charging exclusively at Superchargers, that is your right. I took issue with your stated reason for doing so, to piss off other EV motorists. I find that very distasteful.

It’s really telling that you had no commentary on the REASON there was conflict at the charging station. Your buddy Elon opened up parts of the network but has made no effort to educate or communicate to existing Tesla owners on that decision and how it all works. No signage, no nothing.

All the signage in the world can't fix people like Mr. Muscleshirt from voicing his hateful opinion that people shouldn't take up two spots. I just think it's juvenile and in poor spirit to go out of your way because you like triggering such people.

But carry on...

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