Conflict at the Supercharger

[Autolycus]

I've never said that Rivian's shouldn't charge at SCs. Additionally, I've never said that he blocked 3 chargers. 3 cars doesn't = 3 chargers. Not once did I say either of those things.

The OP prevented 3 Tesla vehicles from charging at the unit he was blocking, one of which was able to move. Those are his words, not mine. You continue to use whataboutism that doesn't apply at all to the OPs account of the events. Your example is the equivalent of saying that it's okay to illegally park in a handicap spot so long as there's no one that's handicapped that needs it. It's okay grandma, it'll only be 10 minutes...

You keep using the word "whataboutism". I'm not sure you know what that means.

Your handicap space comparison is grossly wrong. The correct comparison would be someone who is handicapped and, because of a poor parking lot design, has to park in a way that renders the handicapped space next to the one they're using unusable by some, but not all, handicapped vehicles. You think common courtesy requires this person to get back in their car, leave the handicap spot and wait for the other person to do their business and then re-park. That's absurd.

The OP's account is that there was 1 charger that went unused because of how he had to park. You are the one who keeps emphasizing that he prevented 3 people from charging -- except that's not true either. One person pulled into the stall Tesla's couldn't use but was able to move to the other open parking spot and charge. 2 people had to wait, just like they would have if all stalls were in use.

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[COdogman]

It directs you to a station that has open chargers. In this case there was a open charger, which the OP was blocking and therefore Tesla would route vehicles to it.

The OP didn't state that he said he had no right to be there, he said "that I have no right to do this". "This" in my opinion, is the act of blocking an additional stall.

Blaming the whole thing on Tesla is not the approach I would go for. The reason is because this happens at non-Telsa units all the time. Etiquette is lacking across the board. If this was a Tesla specific problem then, yes, I would say that Tesla has to do something about it, but people being inconsiderate at charging stations in not unique to Tesla.

I’m not blaming the whole thing on Tesla. I said they contributed to the conflict by opening all these chargers and providing little guidance to everyone who will use them. If you can’t acknowledge there are multiple ways they could have helped make this transition easier, then I don’t know what to say….

This is from post #1

I apologize and explain the situation to the young man in the muscle shirt with his girl friend beside him. He immediately goes into a testosterone fueled rant about me having no right to be there, it's for Teslas, it's worng for me to take two chargers. I say I am sorry, can't be helped and I will be done in 10 minutes. He tells me it can be helped by getting my non Tesla POS out of there. He continues to rant at me and my non Tesla and that I have no right to do this.

That guy made multiple comments about OP not having any right to be there in his non-Tesla. Not even for 10 more minutes…

 

[DevSecOps]

I’m not blaming the whole thing on Tesla. I said they contributed to the conflict by opening all these chargers and providing little guidance to everyone who will use them. If you can’t acknowledge there are multiple ways they could have helped make this transition easier, then I don’t know what to say….

I agree that Tesla could have said something to their base that this was happening. I'm sure people are getting caught by surprise and I'm sure there's going to be idiots who react negatively towards it.

That guy made multiple comments about OP not having any right to be there in his non-Tesla. Not even for 10 more minutes…

Again, we have one side of the story. Sure it could be like that, but I would assume that the guy wouldn't have said anything at all if he would have been able to charge in the blocked stall. Just a guess.

But this is where you seem to not be able to see past your bias.

There's no bias. I've never instructed the OP, or anyone else, to do anything. Every post I've made has been examples of how I might have handled the situation differently. I'm sorry that people have issue with my respect for other EV drivers, including Tesla owners.

 

[ksurfier]

Can and should make a different thread, but curious if there is a typical strategy for Rivians attempting to work into rotation at a busy/packed supercharger?

My thoughts:
- Get to busy SC and do 1 of 3 options:
-Leave, not worth the stress if there’s another option.
-Park and wait to find the right entry point/spot
-Get in line and wait, then go to first open spot and ask the Tesla that’s still charging how much longer they have.
-If there is a free spot on the right side of an occupied charger then wait for person to leave (maybe ask the person charging how much longer they will have). When that Tesla leaves could be an issue with next in line Tesla.

my default is to prob. Get in line then take the next spot as long as I’m not waiting on an older S/X (those can take 45 min or more to charge)…

 

[Ralph]

The driver blocking a space tells me "I'll be gone in 10 minutes".

With that info I'll consider myself considerate and wait patiently. I'll also consider the driver considerate for letting me know when they expect to be done.

I won't feel any need to educate them or create tension. They don't owe me an explanation, although in my experience folks are usually happy to volunteer info in these circumstances.

How is my 10 minutes more important than theirs?
---
As an aside, I've only charge at a SC once; to test the A2Z adapter. As I pulled up the charger on the end was available. Perfect! There were two other stalls immediately adjacent. But why take one of those in the middle when in a Rivian, right?

Except as I swung wide to pull in, the beautiful Model S behind me pulled up to my right and backed in to the end spot. Glad I was paying attention. To be fair, this provided him a slightly quicker route to the fast food joint he left for, so I suppose it was reasonable .

I pulled in to the two middle stalls, leaving as much room as possible for a Tesla to try to squeeze in (very close fit) and proceeded to complet my 5-10 minute test.

The two Teslas that drove up while I was charging probably think I was a jerk, moron, should have either not been there at all, and/or certainly should not block an extra spot. Somewhat predictably, neither of those drivers seemed upset. But the original Model S was by now eating his burger and fries, glaring in between bites.

Some people just look for trouble. I'm quite certain sure similar and much worse things have happened in every line that ever existed. Stand in line for tickets, or an exclusive club, or restaurant. Or just a red traffic light.

Humans insist on acting like they animals the are.

 

[LivingInKaos]

Wow, I think if I ever have to teach a class on ethics, I could make this thread required reading and spend an entire term breaking it down.....

I will just make a couple comments -

Blocking, not blocking, who cares. You do what you feel like you need to do because that's what everyone else is going to do- whatever their own morals tell them to do. Sure, some will judge, but in the end, what does that even matter. Chances are slim you're ever going to see this person again unless you are both charging at local station.

Charging is not infinite. There is a finite amount of time involved. You won't find dead people because they had to wait for a charger soooo long and someone was creating a dead spot. If you can't handle the wait for another to leave, perhaps you need to re-evaluate owning an EV in today's charging structure, or at the very least, head to another station. With this- I will also side comment, Rivian's charging plans thru the nav are very different than what most Tesla owners are used to. They don't charge to high SoC's - they tend to do more stops with lower charge times. Rivian nav tends to try to make as few of stops as possible in its current state. SO, waiting for a Tesla to move out is normally not a long wait anyway.

Also, If you come across an individual that wants to be in your face - deal with that however your heart desires. Most will try to calm the situation, or ignore it, because who wants all the gear guard and sentry videos of you in a brawl at a TSC out there for everyone to see? BUT, if that's your prerogative to stand your ground, by all means, go for it. You are the one that's going to have to live with the consequences.... just let us know in advance so we can start filming.....

 

[mkhuffman]

Too much text and no solutions so I pretty much stopped reading the thread. But in a nutshell there is too much hate at the SCs, and just a few thousand NACS adapters are in the wild, what happens when the hordes show up? Sharing plugs isn’t working so a better solution is required.

Well I have a solution that may be too late and overly simplistic and that is to stop the sharing of ALL the plugs at an SC location. If Tesla only took a few units at each SC location and made them exclusively for non-Teslas there would be no blocking and everyone could then get along with zero interaction. Rivian could do the same at the RANs, owners get preferential treatment at the Rivian plugs and non-Rivians are also accommodated.

Tesla likely doubled the number of DCFC plugs in the Syracuse, NY metro area with just one NACS adapter enabled SC location. Seems nice but if they set aside 2 of the 12 plugs at the SC for non-Teslas I doubt Tesla owners would notice and the non-Teslas like me would still be appreciative.

Just thinking out of the box, NEVI and other realities be damned.

Oh, yes, there are solutions.

I am going to use the extension cord from A2Z or Tesla. Both will be selling one.

Meanwhile, I won't use a SC unless the station is not busy and I can do it in a way that does not prevent others from charging. Easy solution.

We purchased our non-Tesla EVs without expecting to be able to use a SC, so don't use one unless you can do it in a considerate way. At least that is my approach. $300 for a cable is a drop in the bucket, and worth it to me.

 

[moosetags]

I would also like to see some sort of extension cable and simply avoid any drama. Life is too short to get into a confrontation over charging an EV.

I would like to see EV charging locations as a friendly places where EVers can share their automotive interests.

Brian

 

[Jiji]

We purchased our non-Tesla EVs without expecting to be able to use a SC, so don't use one unless you can do it in a considerate way. At least that is my approach. $300 for a cable is a drop in the bucket, and worth it to me.

This is a great plan but fails to address the wider problem of the many others that aren’t enlightened like you or just don’t care. My fear is that charging at an SC will become a race to the bottom and where everyone is left unhappy whenever there is even modest utilization.

 

[RivianRunner]

Are you, or other Tesla owners actively pushing Tesla to allow Teslas to charge at EVGO or EA? I fail to understand why Tesla's can't or won't carry an additional adapter to allow more charging options. Just seems lazy or cheap.

Most Tesla owners are served well enough by the Superchargers that they don't want to deal with third-party DC fast charging networks, which are generally more expensive and less conveniently located anyway. But it's not up to Tesla whether Tesla drivers can charge at other networks so it makes no sense to suggest they should apply pressure on Tesla. Adapters are available (from Tesla and third parties), they just don't make sense for most Tesla owners.

Most of us carry a J1772 adapter just in case the destination charging at our chosen accomodation is not compatible. On a multi-day trip, it's nice to start the day at 100%, that really minimizes the amount of charging required during the day.

In my case, the lack of fast DC charging adapters is not lazy or cheap at all, they just don't make sense when I can use any Supercharger I want.

 

[White Shadow]

It's not ridiculous. What is ridiculous is that the Tesla owners feel entitled or privileged at a SC station and feels the need to make a scene. It would be the equivalent of a ID4 owner throwing a hissy fit at an EA station because they have to wait 10 minutes.

I won't speak for others but I am not going to take pleasure in anything other than witnessing a grown adult acting like a toddler, I mean most of us learned to share in kindergarten.

It is ridiculous. The attitude of some people here is just as bad as the Tesla owner in question. Actually, it's quite sad and does nothing to make people want to switch from ICE to EV.

 

[emoore]

It is ridiculous. The attitude of some people here is just as bad as the Tesla owner in question. Actually, it's quite sad and does nothing to make people want to switch from ICE to EV.

No one here has acted even close to the Tesla owner in question. And most are being sarcastic about blocking chargers on purpose.

 

[Dark-Fx]

No one here has acted even close to the Tesla owner in question. And most are being sarcastic about blocking chargers on purpose.

I can't believe people wouldn't take this all very seriously.

 

[RivianRunner]

According to some here you would need to check with others at the station before charging to ensure the reason you are charging there passes some morality test.

No one said that, no one implied that. You are being unnecessarily divisive.

For the transition to electric transport to be as painless as possible, people need to work together. It's not helpful to create an "us vs. them" mentality.

 

[COdogman]

No one said that, no one implied that. You are being unnecessarily divisive.

For the transition to electric transport to be as painless as possible, people need to work together. It's not helpful to create an "us vs. them" mentality.

I actually didn't "create" that, did I? So now who is being "unnecessarily divisive"?

You should be communicating with your fellow Musk fans to educate them on what is now allowed at the 15,000 superchargers opened to Ford/ Rivian. They obviously aren't paying attention.

And yes, it was implied that a Rivian owner's reason for being at the charger was not good enough to park there as instructed by Tesla. Keep trying though...

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