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It's not so much that chargers are hard to find, whether Tesla or otherwise, it's that they're less common and may or may not be convenient to where you're stay
by rainsford 3y ago
It's not so much that chargers are hard to find, whether Tesla or otherwise, it's that they're less common and may or may not be convenient to where you're staying or where you're driving while you're on your trip. If I was going to travel somewhere and rent an EV, I'd at least look on Google maps first to see where the chargers were, something I've never felt the need to do when renting a gas car.
This isn't an insurmountable problem, but most people don't like any additional uncertainty when traveling and that extra little bit of friction is probably enough to make travelers want gas powered cars. But I can also see that changing over time as more chargers come on line and especially if hotels start becoming reliable charging destinations. If I could rent an EV and charge at my hotel, that's way more convenient than looking for a gas station.
- cogman10 3y agoWhen I road trip with my EV, I prioritize hotels with chargers. While it's getting better, there really is no guarantee a hotel has a charger or that it's functional.
- SoftTalker 3y agoI travel a fair amount to mid-sized and smaller towns in the midwest. I've never seen an EV charger at a hotel. And in larger cities, hotel parking is often by valet.
- cogman10 3y agoI'm in the West and it's surprisingly easy to find hotels with chargers. Granted, they tend to be hotels like the Hilton or Marriott. Some states are generally just better about it as well. Nevada, in particular, has pretty excellent charge infrastructure in remote locations.
- gambiting 3y agoOr that even if it has a charger and it is functional that it won't be already in use or blocked by a regular car. I've had all of those happen before and it really is a crappy idea to rely on chargers in hotels. The only one this has worked at really well was a very posh hotel in Yorkshire that had a valet, I asked if they can charge my car and they did, the car was fully charged the following morning when they brought it out - but that's a place where the entire charging situation is managed by the hotel, so they knew how to do this and I didn't have to worry about it. I guess once you throw enough money at a problem it's "easy".