7 ms·

Yes, electric cars are not viable unless you can charge at home. Meaning, in your garage / driveway. This means they're not that useful for people who live in

by avalys 4y ago

Yes, electric cars are not viable unless you can charge at home. Meaning, in your garage / driveway. This means they're not that useful for people who live in apartments, and most people who live in a city like SF and park on the street(*). They're also not viable for road trips. Teslas can make it work but you still have to be willing for your trip to take 20 - 30% longer than it would with a gas car. For people who have a garage or driveway, and don't need to take a road trip that often (or can own a second car for that purpose), they're fantastic! A better experience in almost every way compared to a gas car.

akmarinov 4y ago
I charge about once a couple of weeks when using it around town on a Tesla supercharger while shopping in a mall. Having a garage is definitely the best way, but I wouldn’t say it’s necessary. Driving it like an ICE car where you go to the gas station to fill up every couple of weeks is perfectly acceptable. And on longer journeys, yeah it’s annoying to have to stop every 2ish hours, but I find that by the time I get back from the bathroom, I usually have enough to continue. Is it perfect? No. Is it an adequate substitution for ICE - definitely.
stryker7001 4y ago
we had a chevy bolt, lived in condo, parked in a parking garage in Cow Hollow in SF. Had no problems charging either at work, or at a charging station down by the marina. We drove it to Yosemite a couple times, drove to Paso, and Napa all for fun. Got rid of it because we didn't need a car while working from home. Long story short, it was useful and viable even though we didn't have charging.
- noogle 4y ago
  The question is not whether you can make it work, but how much effort do you have to put into using an EV. Vehicles are bought to make life more convenient. To introduce constraints and time waste you can just use public transportation.
  - frumper 4y ago
    You’re not using effortless public transportation to take day trips to Napa or Yosemite. Not having a car has constraints too.
kbos87 4y ago
I have a Tesla, no home charging, and I can't underscore how much of a non-issue it is. I charge once or twice a week at a shopping plaza I'd be visiting anyway. When I roadtrip (I regularly do 150-250 mile road trips around New England), I'm usually stopping at a supercharger within a mile of the highway at a location equivalent to one I would have stopped anyway. Most times I only need to charge for 20 minutes to finish my trip with plenty of range to spare. I would have stopped at some point anyway so it's adding 5-15 minutes max on a 3 hour trip. Obviously location and situation dependent, but for me it couldn't be any less of an issue.
- sp332 4y ago
  My question would be more about availability and waiting. If everyone at the grocery store is using their once-a-week trip to charge the car at the same time, you're going to need a lot more chargers.
dreamcompiler 4y ago
I do have a home charger, but I also take more road trips in the Tesla than I do in my ICE car because the Tesla is more comfortable. The Tesla is quieter, the seats are better, and with occasional use of autopilot I can stretch my arms and legs while driving. In addition, if I get sleepy I just pull over and take a nap in the back (Model Y here) in air-conditioned comfort. Can't do that in an ICE car without running the engine and generating CO. Trips do take a bit longer but only because refueling typically takes 20 minutes rather than 10. It's a non-issue. There's no "make it work": The Tesla is an easier road trip car for me than my Audi, full stop.
- barbazoo 4y ago
  I love that. I want to buy a Tesla now, you should get into advertising :)
  - dreamcompiler 4y ago
    Ha! Tesla wouldn't like what I have to say about FSD. It's an expensive scam that I strongly recommend you not buy. Other than that it's the best car I've ever owned.
    - Sohcahtoa82 4y ago
      IMO, "scam" is a strong word. I absolutely believe that Tesla will eventually figure out FSD. It's still 5+ years away, though. I would definitely agree with recommending people don't buy it, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it a scam.
Sohcahtoa82 4y ago
> They're also not viable for road trips. Teslas can make it work but you still have to be willing for your trip to take 20 - 30% longer than it would with a gas car. In my experience, 5-10% longer is more accurate. Very little of my charging time is spent waiting for the car to charge. While the car is charging, I'm using the bathroom or eating.
- sourcecodeplz 4y ago
  You go the the bathroom/eat every 2 hours?
  - Sohcahtoa82 4y ago
    Yes. On average, people urinate about 7 times a day. If you're awake for 16 hours, that's once every 2.28 hours. I'm diabetic so I go a little more often. I'll only eat about every 4-5 hours though, which means every other or every third charging stop.

by avalys 4y ago

akmarinov 4y ago

I charge about once a couple of weeks when using it around town on a Tesla supercharger while shopping in a mall. Having a garage is definitely the best way, but I wouldn’t say it’s necessary. Driving it like an ICE car where you go to the gas station to fill up every couple of weeks is perfectly acceptable. And on longer journeys, yeah it’s annoying to have to stop every 2ish hours, but I find that by the time I get back from the bathroom, I usually have enough to continue. Is it perfect? No. Is it an adequate substitution for ICE - definitely.

stryker7001 4y ago

we had a chevy bolt, lived in condo, parked in a parking garage in Cow Hollow in SF. Had no problems charging either at work, or at a charging station down by the marina. We drove it to Yosemite a couple times, drove to Paso, and Napa all for fun. Got rid of it because we didn't need a car while working from home. Long story short, it was useful and viable even though we didn't have charging.

noogle 4y ago
The question is not whether you can make it work, but how much effort do you have to put into using an EV. Vehicles are bought to make life more convenient. To introduce constraints and time waste you can just use public transportation.
- frumper 4y ago
  You’re not using effortless public transportation to take day trips to Napa or Yosemite. Not having a car has constraints too.

kbos87 4y ago

I have a Tesla, no home charging, and I can't underscore how much of a non-issue it is. I charge once or twice a week at a shopping plaza I'd be visiting anyway. When I roadtrip (I regularly do 150-250 mile road trips around New England), I'm usually stopping at a supercharger within a mile of the highway at a location equivalent to one I would have stopped anyway. Most times I only need to charge for 20 minutes to finish my trip with plenty of range to spare. I would have stopped at some point anyway so it's adding 5-15 minutes max on a 3 hour trip. Obviously location and situation dependent, but for me it couldn't be any less of an issue.

sp332 4y ago
My question would be more about availability and waiting. If everyone at the grocery store is using their once-a-week trip to charge the car at the same time, you're going to need a lot more chargers.

dreamcompiler 4y ago

I do have a home charger, but I also take more road trips in the Tesla than I do in my ICE car because the Tesla is more comfortable. The Tesla is quieter, the seats are better, and with occasional use of autopilot I can stretch my arms and legs while driving. In addition, if I get sleepy I just pull over and take a nap in the back (Model Y here) in air-conditioned comfort. Can't do that in an ICE car without running the engine and generating CO. Trips do take a bit longer but only because refueling typically takes 20 minutes rather than 10. It's a non-issue. There's no "make it work": The Tesla is an easier road trip car for me than my Audi, full stop.

barbazoo 4y ago
I love that. I want to buy a Tesla now, you should get into advertising :)
- dreamcompiler 4y ago
  Ha! Tesla wouldn't like what I have to say about FSD. It's an expensive scam that I strongly recommend you not buy. Other than that it's the best car I've ever owned.
  - Sohcahtoa82 4y ago
    IMO, "scam" is a strong word. I absolutely believe that Tesla will eventually figure out FSD. It's still 5+ years away, though. I would definitely agree with recommending people don't buy it, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it a scam.

Sohcahtoa82 4y ago

> They're also not viable for road trips. Teslas can make it work but you still have to be willing for your trip to take 20 - 30% longer than it would with a gas car. In my experience, 5-10% longer is more accurate. Very little of my charging time is spent waiting for the car to charge. While the car is charging, I'm using the bathroom or eating.

sourcecodeplz 4y ago
You go the the bathroom/eat every 2 hours?
- Sohcahtoa82 4y ago
  Yes. On average, people urinate about 7 times a day. If you're awake for 16 hours, that's once every 2.28 hours. I'm diabetic so I go a little more often. I'll only eat about every 4-5 hours though, which means every other or every third charging stop.