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Is Tesla planning to update Supercharger stations to accommodate non-Tesla vehicles. Charge plug notwithstanding, the placement of Supercharger stands is usual

Is Tesla planning to update Supercharger stations to accommodate non-Tesla vehicles. Charge plug notwithstanding, the placement of Supercharger stands is usually for the left-rear charge port on all current Teslas. The stand location and cable length is a problem for vehicles with different designs. Demonstrated here (particularly the F-150 Lightning)... https://youtu.be/W-oaVLRH-js?t=519 https://youtu.be/W-oaVLRH-js?t=519

bryanlarsen 3y ago
Yes. https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/19/23689247/tesla-v4-supercharger-ev-first-specs-rollout https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/19/23689247/tesla-v4-superch...
londons_explore 3y ago
I hope that part of the standard is that all vehicles shall have a charge plug on either front/right or back/left corners. Making the cable longer makes the experience worse for everyone - it makes the cable heavier (harder to use), more expensive (which will end up in power prices), easier to damage (as it is dragged across the floor or driven over), more electrical losses in the cable (again, higher prices). There are plenty of other things we have standardized for similar reasons - for example, imagine if different banks had credit cards that were different sizes so wouldn't fit in your wallet.
- alistairSH 3y ago
  I never understood why front-center didn't become the standard here. That would obviate more stand placement and cable length issues. The only people who stand to lose are those weirdos who reverse into parking places. ;) (Rear-center would work too)
  - londons_explore 3y ago
    One day, on street parking will want to have charging, and that is nearly all parallel parking, for which front/rear center would be suboptimal.
    - alistairSH 3y ago
      Less sub-optimal than Tesla's driver-side port.
  - bryanlarsen 3y ago
    Having the connector in a corner is definitely a lot nicer than central. However, it should be on a passenger side corner rather than driver side as Tesla uses to make curbside charging more convenient.
  - spike021 3y ago
    >The only people who stand to lose are those weirdos who reverse into parking places. ;) As a weirdo who reverses into parking spaces, I find that it's almost always safer doing that in a crowded parking lot than it is to park nose in. When you're driving up to the spot you're already (hopefully) fully attentive to any risks (children, animals, people crossing, whatever), and can wait or carefully drive around those obstacles. Then when you're ready to leave you're already facing the optimal angle to slowly inch out and look in all directions for hazards. If you're backing out of a car space you have to trust your ability to look at all three mirrors simultaneously + ideally also straining your neck to cover blind spots.
    - 93po 3y ago
      Many modern cars have very good backup cameras that also show incoming traffic from both sides and don't required 5 eyeballs
      - spike021 3y ago
        Maybe on HN the majority of people have those modern cars, but I assure you in the real world the odds are not that good.
        93po 3y ago
        In the context of cars that would be using these chargers, I would assume the vast majority would be "modern" and have good backup cameras
        post-it 3y ago
        Are there any electric cars without backup cameras?
        SomewhatLikely 3y ago
        As of 2018, all new cars in the U.S. have been required to have a backup camera.
        3y ago
  - _ea1k 3y ago
    Front center is more prone to debris and ultimately a little less helpful for vehicles that will tow frequently.
  - bearjaws 3y ago
    Probably a few reasons: 1. Number of rear end and front end collisions and how expensive it would be to repair charge ports. 2. It would be ugly, people complain about the radar placement on some cars, imagine every car having both a radar and charge port right in the middle.

bryanlarsen 3y ago

Yes. https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/19/23689247/tesla-v4-supercharger-ev-first-specs-rollout https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/19/23689247/tesla-v4-superch...

londons_explore 3y ago

I hope that part of the standard is that all vehicles shall have a charge plug on either front/right or back/left corners. Making the cable longer makes the experience worse for everyone - it makes the cable heavier (harder to use), more expensive (which will end up in power prices), easier to damage (as it is dragged across the floor or driven over), more electrical losses in the cable (again, higher prices). There are plenty of other things we have standardized for similar reasons - for example, imagine if different banks had credit cards that were different sizes so wouldn't fit in your wallet.

alistairSH 3y ago
I never understood why front-center didn't become the standard here. That would obviate more stand placement and cable length issues. The only people who stand to lose are those weirdos who reverse into parking places. ;) (Rear-center would work too)
- londons_explore 3y ago
  One day, on street parking will want to have charging, and that is nearly all parallel parking, for which front/rear center would be suboptimal.
  - alistairSH 3y ago
    Less sub-optimal than Tesla's driver-side port.
- bryanlarsen 3y ago
  Having the connector in a corner is definitely a lot nicer than central. However, it should be on a passenger side corner rather than driver side as Tesla uses to make curbside charging more convenient.
- spike021 3y ago
  >The only people who stand to lose are those weirdos who reverse into parking places. ;) As a weirdo who reverses into parking spaces, I find that it's almost always safer doing that in a crowded parking lot than it is to park nose in. When you're driving up to the spot you're already (hopefully) fully attentive to any risks (children, animals, people crossing, whatever), and can wait or carefully drive around those obstacles. Then when you're ready to leave you're already facing the optimal angle to slowly inch out and look in all directions for hazards. If you're backing out of a car space you have to trust your ability to look at all three mirrors simultaneously + ideally also straining your neck to cover blind spots.
  - 93po 3y ago
    Many modern cars have very good backup cameras that also show incoming traffic from both sides and don't required 5 eyeballs
    - spike021 3y ago
      Maybe on HN the majority of people have those modern cars, but I assure you in the real world the odds are not that good.
      - 93po 3y ago
        In the context of cars that would be using these chargers, I would assume the vast majority would be "modern" and have good backup cameras
      - post-it 3y ago
        Are there any electric cars without backup cameras?
      - SomewhatLikely 3y ago
        As of 2018, all new cars in the U.S. have been required to have a backup camera.
        3y ago
- _ea1k 3y ago
  Front center is more prone to debris and ultimately a little less helpful for vehicles that will tow frequently.
- bearjaws 3y ago
  Probably a few reasons: 1. Number of rear end and front end collisions and how expensive it would be to repair charge ports. 2. It would be ugly, people complain about the radar placement on some cars, imagine every car having both a radar and charge port right in the middle.