NY Times. EV charging future isn’t so bleak

[Budman]

Not much new. But “experts” say the Tesla pull back isn’t as harmful as it might seem. NEVI funded sites will start to come online at an increasing rate. One per day by end of year?

Sponsored

 

[Ralph]

NOT meant as a counter argument, but it remains to be seen how Tesla will deal with the sites that they were awarded under NEVI.

I've seen reports that nationally Tesla was awarder 13-14% of all NEVI awarded funds.

 

[BigSkies]

I can't get the full article, but I agree with the sentiment.

Public sentiment seemed to be that Tesla Superchargers were a silver bullet that would fix everything. At least until last week. That was always an over-optimistic take. Between inaccessible V1/V2 stations and cord length issues, it was never going to be a single solution. Adding Supercharger access is a huge deal, but charging is an issue that will be solved station by station and highway by highway over multiple years.

Reputations for reliability are won over many years and can be lost in an instant. EA's reputation is trash and it needs to be built. EA's quality seems to have improved greatly (anecdotally), but it will take a long time for their reputation to catch up. EA's growth plans and hardware replacement plans make me optimistic that they'll get there. Making Plug & Charge a standard feature will make a big difference too.

I also expect many of the future supercharger stations that were in the process of negotiation and permitting will be picked up by other networks. Maybe even RAN. These should be able to be deployed much faster than something negotiated from scratch.

It won't take much of a nudge for Tesla owners to start using alternative networks if the Supercharger network gets over-crowded. This would be a big financial win for the non-Tesla networks. This seems pretty likely in markets like Chicago and New York where a lot of rideshare drivers own Tesla's and exclusively rely on the Supercharger network.

Meanwhile, the next few years are when the NEVI funds are moving from paper to real chargers. The last gaps in the major freeways will be filled in, although rural highways will take longer.

 

[BigSkies]

NOT meant as a counter argument, but it remains to be seen how Tesla will deal with the sites that they were awarded under NEVI.

I've seen reports that nationally Tesla was awarder 13-14% of all NEVI awarded funds.

It was roughly a third of awards here in Colorado.

I'm hopeful that some other network will jump in and take these sites. It will certainly add some delay to the process, but hopefully a delay measured in a few months and not years.

Many (but not all) of Tesla's awards were in larger metro areas that already have chargers, and just need more. I'm less concerned about those not happening than I am with the chargers in remote locations with limited access.

 

[emoore]

It was roughly a third of awards here in Colorado.

I'm hopeful that some other network will jump in and take these sites. It will certainly add some delay to the process, but hopefully a delay measured in a few months and not years.

Many (but not all) of Tesla's awards were in larger metro areas that already have chargers, and just need more. I'm less concerned about those not happening than I am with the chargers in remote locations with limited access.

The ones on I-70 and especially I-76 are the most important ones for road tripping. Those would be nice to be filled in first but I have a feeling it's going to be years before anything happens.

 

[BigSkies]

The ones on I-70 and especially I-76 are the most important ones for road tripping. Those would be nice to be filled in first but I have a feeling it's going to be years before anything happens.

I've had good luck with I-70 with existing infrastructure going both to Kansas City and Los Angeles. While more is better, it's one of the routes I'm less worried about.

When I look at Tesla's Colorado awards, I wouldn't be too upset if Arvada, Aurora, Denver, Frisco, Glenwood Springs, Lakewood, Longmont, Parker or Wheat Ridge got delayed a bit. Those are areas that have decent charger access, and I've personally used a number of them.

I'm more concerned about places like Gunnison and La Junta that maybe only have a 50kW charger at best.

Even more important is Wyoming getting off their ass and building more options everywhere. The state is barely traversable by EV. Their NEVI plans only included I-80 and I-25, when most of the routes to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons involve state highways. I'm deliberately choosing alternative camping plans this summer just because WY is such a wasteland for charging.

 

[s0ysauce]

Non-paywall link.

 

[emoore]

I've had good luck with I-70 with existing infrastructure going both to Kansas City and Los Angeles. While more is better, it's one of the routes I'm less worried about.

When I look at Tesla's Colorado awards, I wouldn't be too upset if Arvada, Aurora, Denver, Frisco, Glenwood Springs, Lakewood, Longmont, Parker or Wheat Ridge got delayed a bit. Those are areas that have decent charger access, and I've personally used a number of them.

I'm more concerned about places like Gunnison and La Junta that maybe only have a 50kW charger at best.

Even more important is Wyoming getting off their ass and building more options everywhere. The state is barely traversable by EV. Their NEVI plans only included I-80 and I-25, when most of the routes to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons involve state highways. I'm deliberately choosing alternative camping plans this summer just because WY is such a wasteland for charging.

Agree with 1-70 going east and now with more supercharger stations open going west on i-70 should be easier. Could also use more in the San Juan mountains. And totally agree about WY, their charging network is pathetic. They are going to be the last holdouts of the EV switch. If cars could run on coal directly they would make it a law.

 

[BigSkies]

Agree with 1-70 going east and now with more supercharger stations open going west on i-70 should be easier. Could also use more in the San Juan mountains. And totally agree about WY, their charging network is pathetic. They are going to be the last holdouts of the EV switch. If cars could run on coal directly they would make it a law.

Wyoming keeps being a thorn in my side.

My mom wants to do a "Dude Ranch" experience for her 75th birthday, and get a bunch of the extended family together. It's not something I'd choose for myself, but it's my mom, it sounds like fun, and it would good to see some of the extended family again. I'm helping to plan.

I got a personal recommendation for one near Sheridan. It's 870 miles round trip from Denver and involves 4.5 hours of charging. In contrast, one in Durango is 703 miles round trip, but only involves 1.5 hours of charging. 1.5 hours is bathroom breaks and lunch stops. 4.5 hours is nearly half-a-days worth of driving. I don't have time for that.

I hate being that person, but I emailed the Wyoming Office of Tourism to politely ask when they'll have chargers on the I-25 corridor. That seems like an organization that might care.

Maybe a reminder that all charging done in Wyoming is actually coal powered would have made more of a difference.

 

[240vPlug]

I am not phased. They are spending 500m on supercharger network according to Elon the Technoking.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/...euters) - Tesla,who were running the business.

Sponsored