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Non-Tesla owner here with some questions: - are there ever times when there aren’t enough charging stations free due to other Teslas tying them up? - do you f

Non-Tesla owner here with some questions: - are there ever times when there aren’t enough charging stations free due to other Teslas tying them up? - do you find yourself chatting with fellow Tesla owners while charging? - are the superchargers free to use?

kurthr 8y ago
Answers: Yes, but you can see how many chargers there are available (and max charge rate) before you go. Usually, you charge at home/work. Yes, sometimes it's just car talk, but sometimes it's more interesting... you've got 10-15min or so to relax. Depends on whether you're grandfathered in (or paid for it upfront), but for most people still yes. However, if you stay plugged in after charging you will get billed (~$1/min if it's full!).
gibolt 8y ago
Charging throughput was recently bumped to 150 kW for Model 3 and a bit less for other models. It essentially halves the total time any car stays there, doubling daily capacity. A full station was already rare, this change helps keep pace as demand grows. I've chatted with a few others, helped a few people who were there for the first time go through the process. Everyone is pleasant and generally excited, unlike any one during a petrol station visit. S and X get free charging. Some 3s have 1000 miles free if using a referral code
- vsl 8y ago
  > S and X get free charging. Only old ones.
hcal 8y ago
- are there ever times when there aren’t enough charging stations free due to other Teslas tying them up? It happens. I use them maybe once a month for the last year and I've only had to wait once. It cost me 10 minutes or so. If you're unlucky you might live near a particularly crowded supercharge and have longer waits. I think the vast majority of owners charge at home 90+% of the time. - do you find yourself chatting with fellow Tesla owners while charging? Some people hang around their cars while they charge but I tend to grab a coffee or do some shopping. The chargers are usually near at least a coffee shop if not an entire mall. With the exception of the occasional long trip, I'm usually not staying long. -are the superchargers free to use For some people. My model 3 didn't come with free supercharging but a lot of the chargers are sponsored by the local mall (I've seen a few tourist centers with free charging too). The only time I've paid it cost about $6 for a roughly 75% charge (200 to 240 miles).
- colejohnson66 8y ago
  > The chargers are usually near at least a coffee shop if not an entire mall. With the exception of the occasional long trip, I'm usually not staying long. What happens when the car is fully charged and the owner doesn’t come out for hours?
  - philmcc 8y ago
    Not sure if it's still true, but recently I was in a rented Model X, and the encouraged you not to do this by -charging- owners for over-charging, even if they have unlimited charging.
  - vsl 8y ago
    You get a push notification saying that you are charged an ready to go. The app shows estimated time remaining as well. If the Supercharger is more than 50% occupied, you get charged a per-minute fee after 5 minutes.

kurthr 8y ago

Answers: Yes, but you can see how many chargers there are available (and max charge rate) before you go. Usually, you charge at home/work. Yes, sometimes it's just car talk, but sometimes it's more interesting... you've got 10-15min or so to relax. Depends on whether you're grandfathered in (or paid for it upfront), but for most people still yes. However, if you stay plugged in after charging you will get billed (~$1/min if it's full!).

gibolt 8y ago

Charging throughput was recently bumped to 150 kW for Model 3 and a bit less for other models. It essentially halves the total time any car stays there, doubling daily capacity. A full station was already rare, this change helps keep pace as demand grows. I've chatted with a few others, helped a few people who were there for the first time go through the process. Everyone is pleasant and generally excited, unlike any one during a petrol station visit. S and X get free charging. Some 3s have 1000 miles free if using a referral code

vsl 8y ago
> S and X get free charging. Only old ones.

hcal 8y ago

- are there ever times when there aren’t enough charging stations free due to other Teslas tying them up? It happens. I use them maybe once a month for the last year and I've only had to wait once. It cost me 10 minutes or so. If you're unlucky you might live near a particularly crowded supercharge and have longer waits. I think the vast majority of owners charge at home 90+% of the time. - do you find yourself chatting with fellow Tesla owners while charging? Some people hang around their cars while they charge but I tend to grab a coffee or do some shopping. The chargers are usually near at least a coffee shop if not an entire mall. With the exception of the occasional long trip, I'm usually not staying long. -are the superchargers free to use For some people. My model 3 didn't come with free supercharging but a lot of the chargers are sponsored by the local mall (I've seen a few tourist centers with free charging too). The only time I've paid it cost about $6 for a roughly 75% charge (200 to 240 miles).

colejohnson66 8y ago
> The chargers are usually near at least a coffee shop if not an entire mall. With the exception of the occasional long trip, I'm usually not staying long. What happens when the car is fully charged and the owner doesn’t come out for hours?
- philmcc 8y ago
  Not sure if it's still true, but recently I was in a rented Model X, and the encouraged you not to do this by -charging- owners for over-charging, even if they have unlimited charging.
- vsl 8y ago
  You get a push notification saying that you are charged an ready to go. The app shows estimated time remaining as well. If the Supercharger is more than 50% occupied, you get charged a per-minute fee after 5 minutes.