Trip Report: Los Angeles (Beverly Hills) to SF Bay Area (San Mateo)

fullmetalbaal

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My point was that if you have to wait 30 minutes to even start a charge, it isn't objectively better in that case.
I am saying that with the volume of CSS equipped cars hitting the road swamping EA stations with 4 chargers (with on average 1-2 down), that will make that 30 min look like a fond memory.

If what I fear happens, the EA network will be basically unusable on road trips during holidays.
If not, I'll be very happy to be wrong.

Aside from that: waiting 30 min in a Taycan with 2 kids in the back is an entirely different level of painful than with a Tesla + Netflix. That "can watch videos on the screen" is a gimmick, until it's a life saver (or at least, sanity saver).
 

Reg

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I am saying that with the volume of CSS equipped cars hitting the road swamping EA stations with 4 chargers (with on average 1-2 down), that will make that 30 min look like a fond memory.

If what I fear happens, the EA network will be basically unusable on road trips during holidays.
If not, I'll be very happy to be wrong.

Aside from that: waiting 30 min in a Taycan with 2 kids in the back is an entirely different level of painful than with a Tesla + Netflix. That "can watch videos on the screen" is a gimmick, until it's a life saver (or at least, sanity saver).
Meh. I would guess that EA has rolled out an equivalent number chargers than Tesla has in it's first years of operations, especially considering the relative volume of EVs that could take advantage of the fast charging. Let's not pretend that Tesla's first years of operations had huge number of charging stations per location.

Besides, if Tesla opens up the network as they claim they will, the fond memory of only waiting only 30 minutes will be a distant memory.

Of course watching videos on a screen is a gimmick. I mean it isn't as if you can't buy each of your kids an iPad $350 where they can not just watch their own show rather than sharing a show, but also game and post on taycanforum, and they can do all of that without having to be confined in a car while the car is waiting to charge. And probably even have a better quality screen and viewing angle which is better for their young eyes.

Anyway, I shouldn't have posted that there was a line at Tesla, because the discussion invariably gets derailed about how awesome Tesla is, so I am bowing out.
 

fullmetalbaal

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Meh. I would guess that EA has rolled out an equivalent number chargers than Tesla has in it's first years of operations, especially considering the relative volume of EVs that could take advantage of the fast charging. Let's not pretend that Tesla's first years of operations had huge number of charging stations per location.
The "they weren't any better when they started" is the most inane argument.
As a customer, I only care about what I get, not about how hard or easy it's been for the company to get there, or how much time they've had to get to that point. EA has been around for 4 years, financed by multiple BILLION dollars - this would be a different picture if they were still in the first few quarters of operation.

That's like excusing the panel gaps on a Tesla by saying, "well, Porsche wasn't any better either when they started over 100 years ago". Who cares? I am buying and driving a car in 2021. The only thing that matters is what I get TODAY and within the next 2-3 years of ownership. (Not to make this about Tesla, the same goes for Lucid and Rivian - I don't think they get a free pass in terms of quality just because it's their first car and first EV)

The fact is also, that when Tesla started their network in 2012, they were the only ones adding cars to the road for that network, at a clip of less than 25,000 vehicles per year. Even the Model S was sub 300 miles in range, and road trips presumably less common.

EA is the network for VW, Ford, Kia, Audi, Porsche, MB, BMW, GM, etc etc.
Each of those is going to be selling a multiple of those 25k per year that Tesla was selling in very short order. Many of those cars have a lower kw charge rate per kw battery than those initial teslas.

You don't even have to do the math. We will all witness the results.

As a Taycan owner I hope that Tesla opens their networks broadly and in a useful way. As a Tesla owner, I hope they don't.
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