2 ms·
user toomuchtodo mentioned this already, but the short version is the US doesn't suffer from the balkanization of charging providers as much. I also own a Tesla
by tenacious_tuna 6y ago
user toomuchtodo mentioned this already, but the short version is the US doesn't suffer from the balkanization of charging providers as much. I also own a Tesla, so that balkanization is further reduced.
The longer version is that free level 2 charging is reasonably common, at least in my experience in the midwest, and Tesla superchargers are phenomenally easy to use and quite prevalent. Level 2's that aren't free are generally either (a) owned by a parking garage and factored into the cost of parking, or (b) payable via chargepoint. Every level2 I've seen in the states has had its own cable and a j1772 connector. I know ChAdEMO chargers exist, but I have yet to see a level2 one personally. (Level3 ChAdEMOs require an adapter for use with Teslas.)
Additionally, all those are things I made a point of learning before I bought a vehicle that has non-standard (compared to gas) fueling methods. I have aboslutely run into non-ideal conditions: during a trip to Michigan's upper peninsula I had to leave my car in a lot for ~9 hours to charge off a free level 2 charger, since there was no Tesla supercharger in the region. (One is slated to be installed this year, though I wouldn't be surprised if that got delayed.) The chargers I have to pay for are 'in the city', so to speak, and as such are in range of high-speed mobile data even on my crap network.
Overall, I partially blame the author for not researching ahead of time what difficulties they may run into, and partially blame EV charging infra manufacturers for balkanizing charging standards so much.