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I don’t want an exceptional experience recharging a car. I want a mundane experience. Just like a gas station is.

brnt 3y ago
Whenever EV drivers describe their 'charging experiences', all I hear is ordeals, whether they think it was positive or negative. It could be so simple: side payment card and done, with the only worry being the power output. (Still a worry that gasoline doesn't have, but OK, I understand that that's a fact of this infrastructure.) I'm not going to be interested until I am not required to install random proprietary apps on my phone to charge, but I can just use my payment card.
- JohnFen 3y ago
  So much this. Requiring an app (be it on a phone or on the car) to use a charger instead of just accepting a credit/debit card is a huge problem.
- rpmisms 3y ago
  And that's Tesla. I don't even have to use a payment card, I just pull up and plug in. No drama, no fuss.
- NewJazz 3y ago
  Electrify America chargers work like this.
- mjamesaustin 3y ago
  Weird to make this complaint in an article about Teslas, when their charging stations work exactly as you hope. You just pull up, plug in, and leave when you're done. Nothing to install or log in or add payment details.
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- recursive 3y ago
  With my Ford, I don't need an app or a card. There are also chargers that exclusively use cards.
- linsomniac 3y ago
  Ok, let's compare experiences: Gas: I'm driving West across the state of Colorado, I'm on I-70 in the mountains, with 2 other vehicles, they get dramatically longer range than I do. I can see 1-2 miles most of the time. My car tells me it's range, but I have no idea where the upcoming petro stations are, I just know that they're going to be "pretty frequent". So at 50 miles I start looking for a station. I pull off, I might have to wait, but usually no more than a few minutes, usually not. I have to mess around with the credit card reader. It's the better part of $100. Tesla: I tell the car my destination and it tells me where I'm going to stop to charge and for how long. I pull up, I might have to wait but usually not. I plug in. It's free. Which one is the ordeal?
  - brnt 3y ago
    Nav systems have been able to get you to gas stations for ages?
    - linsomniac 3y ago
      If you say so, seems plausible but I haven't seen one. But, back to the point, where's the ordeal in the Tesla experience?
      - brnt 3y ago
        I've been driving across Europe for decades now, and I have not even once worried about not finding a fuel station on time. Even without nav each most highway stations have a sign stating the distance to the next one, so if you like the excitement of nearly running out you can, but otherwise you just fill up pretty much whenever. The term 'range anxiety' hasn't come into our vocabulary until electric cars for a reason I think: it just wasn't there. In a very distant past the only worry might've been if I had enough cash currency of the country I was currently in.
        linsomniac 3y ago
        It's a bit different in the US, there are areas where they have signs up saying "X miles to next services" because of 50+ mile stretches without stations. I distinctly remember years ago trying to figure out how fast I could go across a section of Montana without running out of fuel between stations, so it's not entirely unheard of hear to have "range anxiety".
MetaWhirledPeas 3y ago
> I don’t want an exceptional experience recharging a car. I want a mundane experience. Just like a gas station is. I understand that but you won't get there by expecting it day one. These things take time. It's amazing to me the Tesla was able to roll out the best and most ubiquitous charging network in the US despite being a newcomer in a field that had absolutely no guarantee of catching on any time soon.

brnt 3y ago

Whenever EV drivers describe their 'charging experiences', all I hear is ordeals, whether they think it was positive or negative. It could be so simple: side payment card and done, with the only worry being the power output. (Still a worry that gasoline doesn't have, but OK, I understand that that's a fact of this infrastructure.) I'm not going to be interested until I am not required to install random proprietary apps on my phone to charge, but I can just use my payment card.

JohnFen 3y ago
So much this. Requiring an app (be it on a phone or on the car) to use a charger instead of just accepting a credit/debit card is a huge problem.
rpmisms 3y ago
And that's Tesla. I don't even have to use a payment card, I just pull up and plug in. No drama, no fuss.
NewJazz 3y ago
Electrify America chargers work like this.
mjamesaustin 3y ago
Weird to make this complaint in an article about Teslas, when their charging stations work exactly as you hope. You just pull up, plug in, and leave when you're done. Nothing to install or log in or add payment details.
- deleted 3y ago
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- deleted 3y ago
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recursive 3y ago
With my Ford, I don't need an app or a card. There are also chargers that exclusively use cards.
linsomniac 3y ago
Ok, let's compare experiences: Gas: I'm driving West across the state of Colorado, I'm on I-70 in the mountains, with 2 other vehicles, they get dramatically longer range than I do. I can see 1-2 miles most of the time. My car tells me it's range, but I have no idea where the upcoming petro stations are, I just know that they're going to be "pretty frequent". So at 50 miles I start looking for a station. I pull off, I might have to wait, but usually no more than a few minutes, usually not. I have to mess around with the credit card reader. It's the better part of $100. Tesla: I tell the car my destination and it tells me where I'm going to stop to charge and for how long. I pull up, I might have to wait but usually not. I plug in. It's free. Which one is the ordeal?
- brnt 3y ago
  Nav systems have been able to get you to gas stations for ages?
  - linsomniac 3y ago
    If you say so, seems plausible but I haven't seen one. But, back to the point, where's the ordeal in the Tesla experience?
    - brnt 3y ago
      I've been driving across Europe for decades now, and I have not even once worried about not finding a fuel station on time. Even without nav each most highway stations have a sign stating the distance to the next one, so if you like the excitement of nearly running out you can, but otherwise you just fill up pretty much whenever. The term 'range anxiety' hasn't come into our vocabulary until electric cars for a reason I think: it just wasn't there. In a very distant past the only worry might've been if I had enough cash currency of the country I was currently in.
      - linsomniac 3y ago
        It's a bit different in the US, there are areas where they have signs up saying "X miles to next services" because of 50+ mile stretches without stations. I distinctly remember years ago trying to figure out how fast I could go across a section of Montana without running out of fuel between stations, so it's not entirely unheard of hear to have "range anxiety".

MetaWhirledPeas 3y ago

> I don’t want an exceptional experience recharging a car. I want a mundane experience. Just like a gas station is. I understand that but you won't get there by expecting it day one. These things take time. It's amazing to me the Tesla was able to roll out the best and most ubiquitous charging network in the US despite being a newcomer in a field that had absolutely no guarantee of catching on any time soon.