this post was submitted on 19 Apr 2024
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Yup and when I drive it's either nowhere or nearly 120 miles each way with next to no charging infrastructure in-between both points or at either end.
I could of course install a charger at my own house, but that only solves 1 end. 500 would be a comfortable buffer as the batteries inevitably degrade and for below freezing weather conditions.
You need a charger at your home. Otherwise they’re just not practical. Superchargers eat the batteries. Slow charges take to long to use except overnight. There are a lot of rural charges but they’re low voltage. Can take hours if not days to charge your car
This is not an unreasonable statement. I’ve had a Tesla for 7 years and tell people that don’t have a way to charge at home that it will be the only drawback to owning one. Especially if it’s a commuter and you don’t travel.
When I had a charger at home, it saved me about 1800$ a year on gas alone compared to electricity increase. Plus, you don’t have to leave 15 minutes early for work to stop and fill up on your way in and the incidental breakfast taco or Red Bull purchase while you fill up stopped, as well.
I work remotely now and travel all over the country. There are plenty of superchargers on major roads and destination chargers at hotels, but I have had 2 instances where I had to plan specific routes to visit remote national parks or I wouldn’t have enough charge to get back. I was able to plan them and see the parks, but it took a bit of forethought to make sure.
If you have a way to charge at home, it’s a no-brainer. My gas savings alone would have covered the cost of the car in the life of the vehicle if I kept the same driving habits. If you drive a ton in super remote areas, you have to pay attention to where the 2100 superchargers are. The car does that for you, but on the occasional remote trip, there are pockets of road uncovered by charging stations.
As for superchargers eating batteries, I’ve lost around 5% of my total range in 8 years and can get around 317 miles on a full charge (335 from factory). I hardly ever drive more than 250 miles before I stop for a break, so it hasn’t affected me at all yet.