Tesla’s Supercharger advantage highlighted in CNBC’s long-distance EV road trip

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CNBC news anchor Brian Sullivan went on a long road trip in an all-electric Polestar 2 throughout California and realized the advantage of Tesla Supercharger stations in the process.

“Electric cars are awesome. They are fast, are fun to drive, they’re quiet, highly technical some cool features. But on a road trip longer than 200 miles, you are gonna have to stop. You may have to stop in an area where you don’t want to stop, where there’s not much to do, where some of the charges are not as fast as advertised,” Sullivan said.

At the latter part of their trip, Sullivan and his team started to understand some of the challenges of charging non-Tesla electric vehicles. Sullivan and his team stopped at a Shell station with charging stalls and stood outside while their car charged.

“We just stood there literally baking in the sun,” the news anchor noted. Across the Shell station was a Tesla Supercharger with solar panels that offered shade to the customers. The shade offered by the solar panels was a simple convenience, but in long trips, even the little things count.

Sullivan realized that Tesla Supercharger stations offered more than charging spots for EV owners. “It’s actually a bigger real estate play. Give people a place to stop, somewhere to shop, something to do. And on our trip we would have killed for air conditioning,” he said.

While Sullivan’s observations were valid, they only applied to the Polestar 2. Different EVs would probably yield different results. However, in terms of charging, Tesla cars may have an advantage as well.

As Sullivan pointed out, Tesla’s Supercharger Stations seemed a bit more comfortable. Elon Musk has talked about making Supercharger Stations more fun to hang around, including building a restaurant in one of them. As Tesla builds more Supercharger Stations, the company is also turning them into ideal destinations or stopovers, where EV owners can relax and have fun during long trips.

Tesla plans to open the Supercharger Network to non-Tesla owners later this year. Sullivan’s trip reveals the benefits non-Tesla owners would gain by having access to the Supercharger Network. There are about 25,000 Tesla Supercharger Stations around the world with many located in strategic places in the United States, China, and Europe. Tesla has also already partly conceptualized what an EV charging station would look like based on the needs of its customers over the years.

Of course, owning a Tesla vehicle has unique perks on its own when dropping by a Supercharger Station. For instance, Sullivan could have chilled inside a Tesla with the AC cranked up while he was charging. He also could have enjoyed watching movies or shows and even played games during the charging session. On top of that, the wait wouldn’t be as long because Tesla’s V3 Superchargers could charge much faster than most charging stalls.




https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-supercharging-network-advantages-cnbc/
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CNBC news anchor Brian Sullivan went on a long road trip in an all-electric Polestar 2 throughout California and realized the advantage of Tesla Supercharger stations in the process.

“Electric cars are awesome. They are fast, are fun to drive, they’re quiet, highly technical some cool features. But on a road trip longer than 200 miles, you are gonna have to stop. You may have to stop in an area where you don’t want to stop, where there’s not much to do, where some of the charges are not as fast as advertised,” Sullivan said.

At the latter part of their trip, Sullivan and his team started to understand some of the challenges of charging non-Tesla electric vehicles. Sullivan and his team stopped at a Shell station with charging stalls and stood outside while their car charged.

“We just stood there literally baking in the sun,” the news anchor noted. Across the Shell station was a Tesla Supercharger with solar panels that offered shade to the customers. The shade offered by the solar panels was a simple convenience, but in long trips, even the little things count.

Sullivan realized that Tesla Supercharger stations offered more than charging spots for EV owners. “It’s actually a bigger real estate play. Give people a place to stop, somewhere to shop, something to do. And on our trip we would have killed for air conditioning,” he said.

While Sullivan’s observations were valid, they only applied to the Polestar 2. Different EVs would probably yield different results. However, in terms of charging, Tesla cars may have an advantage as well.

As Sullivan pointed out, Tesla’s Supercharger Stations seemed a bit more comfortable. Elon Musk has talked about making Supercharger Stations more fun to hang around, including building a restaurant in one of them. As Tesla builds more Supercharger Stations, the company is also turning them into ideal destinations or stopovers, where EV owners can relax and have fun during long trips.

Tesla plans to open the Supercharger Network to non-Tesla owners later this year. Sullivan’s trip reveals the benefits non-Tesla owners would gain by having access to the Supercharger Network. There are about 25,000 Tesla Supercharger Stations around the world with many located in strategic places in the United States, China, and Europe. Tesla has also already partly conceptualized what an EV charging station would look like based on the needs of its customers over the years.

Of course, owning a Tesla vehicle has unique perks on its own when dropping by a Supercharger Station. For instance, Sullivan could have chilled inside a Tesla with the AC cranked up while he was charging. He also could have enjoyed watching movies or shows and even played games during the charging session. On top of that, the wait wouldn’t be as long because Tesla’s V3 Superchargers could charge much faster than most charging stalls.




https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-supercharging-network-advantages-cnbc/
Am I to believe from reading this article that some non-Tesla EV's do not allow you to run the air conditioner while waiting for the car to charge?

Please tell me it ain't so!

That's inconceivable! You could die. Is the heater the same story?
 
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TruckElectric

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Am I to believe from reading this article that some non-Tesla EV's do not allow you to run the air conditioner while waiting for the car to charge?

Please tell me it ain't so!

That's inconceivable! You could die. Is the heater the same story?
In the comment section for this article at Teslarati they mention this as well.
 

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Am I to believe from reading this article that some non-Tesla EV's do not allow you to run the air conditioner while waiting for the car to charge?

Please tell me it ain't so!

That's inconceivable! You could die. Is the heater the same story?
I thought that was an odd comment too. Usually when we’re sitting at a SC, we kick back and watch videos in the AC car if there is nothing else around to do.

Tesla has nailed so many little things about putting together an EV. Netflix/ videos/ internet seemed silly to me on a car console, but then once I owned it and had it, it all makes a lot more sense. Being able to have integrations with sites like A Better Route Planner which integrate with the car API and can be pulled up on your screen while you are driving is invaluable. The videos at SC stops is similarly super nice.

As far as the article goes, that advantage may vanish soon enough if Tesla opens up their charger stations. But it would still be pretty funny sitting in my car enjoying Monty Python in AC watching Polstar owners standing around in the hot sun.
 


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The AC thing sounds like polestar nonsense. The mach-e could run AC whole charging.

I was also just going to point out, who's going to bother going to electrify America when they could go to a supercharger? I think this is a blessing in disguise for VW. Once their Diesel gate settlement requirement is met, who's going to pay for electrify America? Especially once Tesla can charge everyone. This will turn in to a simple formula in the long term: allow Tesla charging or your vehicle will fail. Ford has already mentioned not taking up Tesla on supercharger network....

Insanity
 
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Can Polestar and other EV's not run their AC/Heater while charging?
The AC thing sounds like polestar nonsense. The mach-e could run AC whole charging.
It’s either a stupid Polestar non-feature or the author of the story are idiots!

I’m leaning towards the latter, but as a Tesla owner feel obliged to look down on any other make regardless ;)
 

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Volkswagen selling a stake in Electrify America, report says
The move comes as the company seeks additional funding to boost charging infrastructure.

https://www.thedetroitbureau.com/20...ing-a-stake-in-electrify-america-report-says/
This doesn't surprise me in the least. VW's forced connection to EA (electrify America) is only bad pr for them. Though it also makes sense to merge anywhere possible. Over time I think we'll have 3-4 very large charging companies taking up 95% of the market in the US. At the moment, it appears Tesla, Charge point, and EVgo are my bets as they are the only ones that actually CARE about making good charging possible.
Ford is taking on charge point and attempting a rebrand to FordPass, which is dumb imo, but I think the merger is a good idea.

As it stands now, electrify America is the only decent road trip chargers for non Teslas. Charge point and EVgo seem to be only in parking garages for hotels, theme parks, large businesses (I've changed at a LOT of hospitals at 25kW to continue driving the Ford, even in southern California....)

I'd take the Tesla for this reason alone, nevermind the performance, safety features, and good looks.

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