Tesla Superchargers to open to all EVs in California

[Tâm]

Unless the Superchargers have longer cables on them than the ones I've used for our Tesla or the Lucid owner can straddle two spaces (not a good way to make friends), I don't think Tesla charging will be of much use. Maybe there are some Tesla SC's with the charging stands mounted alongside the cars, but every one I've been to had the charging stand at the end of the space. Tesla charging ports are in the rear taillight, and even then it can be a stretch for a cable to reach.

Tesla instructs us to occupy 2 Superchargers but not 3:

 

[HC_79]

Tesla instructs us to occupy 2 Superchargers but not 3:

Yeah, no thanks. Some guy already called 911 for a Rivian owner using a Supercharger. Not going to put myself in a situation where I’m taking up 2 charging spots and cop the wrath of a Tesla owner.

 

[hmp10]

They are actively replacing the short cables with longer ones.

It's not just a problem with Tesla Superchargers. The only time I tried Chargepoint, the cable wouldn't reach the Lucid charge port without straddling two spaces. And a few weeks ago, I encountered the problem for the first time at an Electrify America station on South University Drive in Davie, Florida (Miami suburb) where the charge stands were at the head of the parking spaces. Of course, it being Electrify America, there were enough stands out of service that I could straddle two spaces at one of the two working stands.

I assume Lucid's charge port is located where it is to shorten the cable run to the Wunderbox. But Lucid really should rethink the location of the charge port on the Gravity while (if?) there's still time unless they have good reason to believe that all charge suppliers will soon be lengthening their cables at head-in spaces.

For the first time consistently, I have seen CCS chargers with long waiting lines in the past few months. Having to wait for two adjacent spaces to open simultaneously will create a very testy situation all around.

 

[segbrk]

It's not just a problem with Tesla Superchargers. The only time I tried Chargepoint, the cable wouldn't reach the Lucid charge port without straddling two spaces. And a few weeks ago, I encountered the problem for the first time at an Electrify America station on South University Drive in Davie, Florida (Miami suburb) where the charge stands were at the head of the parking spaces. Of course, it being Electrify America, there were enough stands out of service that I could straddle two spaces at one of the two working stands.

I haven't had any trouble with the cable reaching at any CCS stations. I've used EA stations with the chargers at the heads of the parking spaces, but the cables were plenty long enough. I certainly think/hope that going forward they'll all be more versatile?

I assume Lucid's charge port is located where it is to shorten the cable run to the Wunderbox. But Lucid really should rethink the location of the charge port on the Gravity while (if?) there's still time unless they have good reason to believe that all charge suppliers will soon be lengthening their cables at head-in spaces.

At least part of the reason Lucid's charge port is where it is to minimize damage to it and the charger in the most common types of collision (all four corners, if I recall correctly). If you put it much closer to the front or back it's more likely to break and render the car unusable in minor accidents. I think this is likely the same reason most ICE cars put the fuel filler door where they have been putting it for years. This was discussed in an interview with Peter and/or Derek somewhere, but I don't remember which one.

 

[borski]

It's not just a problem with Tesla Superchargers. The only time I tried Chargepoint, the cable wouldn't reach the Lucid charge port without straddling two spaces. And a few weeks ago, I encountered the problem for the first time at an Electrify America station on South University Drive in Davie, Florida (Miami suburb) where the charge stands were at the head of the parking spaces. Of course, it being Electrify America, there were enough stands out of service that I could straddle two spaces at one of the two working stands.

I assume Lucid's charge port is located where it is to shorten the cable run to the Wunderbox. But Lucid really should rethink the location of the charge port on the Gravity while (if?) there's still time unless they have good reason to believe that all charge suppliers will soon be lengthening their cables at head-in spaces.

For the first time consistently, I have seen CCS chargers with long waiting lines in the past few months. Having to wait for two adjacent spaces to open simultaneously will create a very testy situation all around.

I've never run into that issue at an EA or Chargepoint or EVGo station. In fact, most of the new EA stations are on extendable cables, just like the EVGo stations.

 

[Tâm]

Yeah, no thanks. Some guy already called 911 for a Rivian owner using a Supercharger. Not going to put myself in a situation where I’m taking up 2 charging spots and cop the wrath of a Tesla owner.

True. Tesla is not a very good educator. Their own customers have not received an announcement of welcoming non-Tesla. It doesn't have a Public Relations. Its physical signs say "Tesla only." You can't blame Tesla owners for doing what the physical sign instructs them to do: "Tesla only."

 

[DeaneG]

Tesla layoffs hit Supercharger team just as it’s poised to take over EV charging

Laid-off employees were blindsided by the news.

www.theverge.com

 

[hmp10]

Tesla layoffs hit Supercharger team just as it’s poised to take over EV charging

Laid-off employees were blindsided by the news.

www.theverge.com

After owning two Teslas, I can tell you that you should never trust anything Tesla promises.

I've told the story here before about how the Enhanced Autopilot I paid $3,000 for in 2015 was constantly decontented, leaving us with little more than adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist that came standard in our Honda Odyssey.

Right now our Plaid is in the shop to have the yoke replaced due to its cover peeling off. (It's so common a problem that Tesla has had to redesign the part.) At the time we scheduled the service visit, we were told we would have the choice of replacing with a yoke or with a round wheel at no additional charge. The mobile tech came to replace the yoke with a wheel but was unable to break the column nut loose, even using a 3-foot torque lever. So the car had to go to a Service Center, where we were told the wheel would cost us $1100. They said the warranty only covered a replacement of the exact part that had failed. Fortunately, we still had the text on the Tesla app telling us we would have the choice of either under warranty. After conferring with the service manager, they finally agreed to honor the offer of a choice "as a courtesy". I then asked why it would cost $1100 when the Tesla online store was selling the wheels for $700 including installation. They said that included the wheel and the installation, but not the $400 for the mandatory air bag. There was no mention of that extra $400 on the store website, and a customer would not know about it until they had bought the wheel and showed up at a Service Center to have it installed. (At the time, you could not buy a wheel through the Service Center but were instructed to order it online and then bring it to the Service Center for installation.)

 

[hmp10]

There's an interesting tidbit in the comments section of the "Electrek" article on these Supercharger layoffs. It's purportedly from the spouse of someone who worked for Rebecca Tinucci, the head of the Supercharger team and the woman who spearheaded the whole NACS initiative, including negotiations with other EV manufacturers. According to the comment, Tinucci pushed back against the depth of cuts Musk ordained for the Supercharger team, and he went ballistic, firing her (and the 500+ people on her team) and threatening to do the same to anyone else who raised objections.

I thought Tesla was turning into Chevrolet. It seems it's going to turn into Twitter first.

 

[borski]

According to the comment, Tinucci pushed back against the depth of cuts Musk ordained for the Supercharger team, and he went ballistic, firing her (and the 500+ people on her team) and threatening to do the same to anyone else who raised objections.

I am so surprised

 

[hmp10]

A "New York Times" article adds a bit more color to the story:

Tesla Fires Many on Charger Team, Raising Doubts About Expansion

The carmaker dismissed 500 employees in a unit that was critical to its success and seen as important to the future of electric vehicle sales in the United States.

www.nytimes.com

Stopping expansion of the Tesla network at a time when other EV automakers are poised to transition to the NACS standard and, presumably, significantly increase traffic at already-crowded Tesla stations is a disaster in the making. Not only will it disappoint CCS owners, it will infuriate Tesla owners, many of whom bought their cars on the premise that the Tesla Supercharger network was the brand's biggest draw.

Remember when Kyle Conner upset some of us with his recommendation that Tesla was the only brand to consider right now, due not to its technology, but to its Supercharger network. Well, he's singing a different tune now:

 

[borski]

“Elon Musk is a pigeon CEO, ‘he comes, sh*ts all over us, and goes’, says former Tesla manager”

Might be the most prescient headline of the year.

 

[HC_79]

According to the comment, Tinucci pushed back against the depth of cuts Musk ordained for the Supercharger team, and he went ballistic, firing her (and the 500+ people on her team) and threatening to do the same to anyone else who raised objections.

Doesn’t surprise me one bit. The guys ego is out of control. Many years ago I interviewed at SpaceX and made it to the final “Elon” round. In their words “Elon, wants a letter explaining why you’re worthy of working at SpaceX”. I started laughing and said “you’re kidding right?”. They weren’t at which point I withdrew my application. They were completely shocked why I wouldn’t just do the letter as a “formality”.

At that point in time I knew what sort of person he is. He needs people to treat him like a god, boost his ego and if you don’t comply you’re out. You just need to see how he treated the employees during COVID to know he cares about no one but himself.

 

[Lucken]

Remember when Kyle Conner upset some of us with his recommendation that Tesla was the only brand to consider right now, due not to its technology, but to its Supercharger network. Well, he's singing a different tune now:

Proving once again why we need to get information from more than one source.

 

[Batteryman]

There's an interesting tidbit in the comments section of the "Electrek" article on these Supercharger layoffs. It's purportedly from the spouse of someone who worked for Rebecca Tinucci, the head of the Supercharger team and the woman who spearheaded the whole NACS initiative, including negotiations with other EV manufacturers. According to the comment, Tinucci pushed back against the depth of cuts Musk ordained for the Supercharger team, and he went ballistic, firing her (and the 500+ people on her team) and threatening to do the same to anyone else who raised objections.

I thought Tesla was turning into Chevrolet. It seems it's going to turn into Twitter first.

That’s why you shouldn’t work for Musk….not a nice way to treat employees

 

[xponents]

“Elon Musk is a pigeon CEO, ‘he comes, sh*ts all over us, and goes’, says former Tesla manager”

Might be the most prescient headline of the year.

I laughed way too much at that headline... especially considering those are the ACTUAL words that came out of his mouth! It's also very relatable, since there seems to be a flock of birds terrorizing all the cars on my street. EVERY SINGLE one (but oddly enough, the Teslas seem to have the most) has bird sh*t in the same place, right below the mirror!

 

[hmp10]

I've been keeping an eye on YouTube to see the response to firing almost the entire Supercharger team. There are very predictable reactions from some of the usual suspects and their followers, who are smearing as much lipstick on the pig as possible: Warren Redlich, The Electric Viking, et al. But some of usual Tesla acolytes are in more of a "stunned restraint" mode.

The primary defenses of Musk's action are that it is a logical response to a slew of factors (many of them fantasy, IMHO): the coming of 1,000-mile batteries reducing the need for roadside charging; robotaxis, which can't use Superchargers, displacing private vehicle ownership; Musk going into his inspired "demon mode" to stress test the company; Tesla is going to hire a new, smaller charging team and "contribute" it to joint charging initiatives with other manufacturers; Musk is such a genius that we mere mortals cannot see the future the way he does and the logic of his current actions; and on and on . . . .

This is all about the "why". But no one is talking about the "how". Reports are that ~500 people woke up to find they had been fired when their access to company systems was terminated. Contractors in the middle of installing stations in the field were suddenly having all their messages to Tesla bounce back with no explanation. Ford and GM were left scrambling to answer questions about how it affected their NACS planning, with both saying they had been given no notice or explanation but were not changing their plans for the time being.

It's one thing to restructure a company in response to changing conditions. It's another thing entirely to do it in this manner. This is not logic. It's not genius. It's madness. It's cruelty.

I used to get frustrated that Peter Rawlinson wasn't quicker on the uptake when talk about the NACS standard first rolled out. But I had forgotten how much better he knows Elon Musk than do his counterparts at other carmakers.

 

[idiot900]

Now that so many other car makers have committed to NACS, does Musk expect them to somehow fill the void that the dismissal of the Supercharger team has created?

 

[DeaneG]

Now that so many other car makers have committed to NACS, does Musk expect them to somehow fill the void that the dismissal of the Supercharger team has created?

I doubt he cares.

 

[borski]

I used to get frustrated that Peter Rawlinson wasn't quicker on the uptake when talk about the NACS standard first rolled out. But I had forgotten how much better he knows Elon Musk than do his counterparts at other carmakers.

I did try to tell you, lol

Otherwise, I agree with every single thing you just said.

Also, I do not believe Elon always makes rational decisions. I think he is often driven by emotion, which can make him passionate but lead to dumb decisions based on his temper rather than logic. Not super awesome for a CEO.