Tips and best practices for a first time EV owner?!

[Red Beard Ops]

In general on log trips are yall targeting an arrival percentage at the station of around 5-10%? Then charging up to ~50% to get you to the next station since this is a fast part of the charging curve?

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[tmeyer3]

Amen to conservative.

It's perfect for the range anxious people! Tesla Nav will take care of you, it will get you there.

But it is not the fastest or even most desirable way.

For example from Atlanta to Orlando about 500 miles, 6 years ago, there were 3 Supercharger locations. That was more than was needed. Today, there's over a dozen. You get to pick and choose.

And for those who may not realize it yet, touch the map, basically anywhere. At the bottom a legend will pop up and there's a button with a lightning bolt, hit it, that shows all of the Superchargers. You can adjust to see 250kW, 150kW or lower but hitting the area above the current navigation (I think that is where it is now)

You can always choose one and add to your route. The route will recalculate.

Very much this! I think everyone starts doing this on their own organically after driving a Tesla for a while. Especially when you get sent to a charger at 40% to charge 5 min, then again 50 miles later. Very annoying when it does that...

 

[tmeyer3]

In general on log trips are yall targeting an arrival percentage at the station of around 5-10%? Then charging up to ~50% to get you to the next station since this is a fast part of the charging curve?

I generally target <15% and charge to 60-70% on 250kW or 50% on 150kW.

Pro tip, if you set your charge limit to 75-80% while road tripping, the Tesla nav won't attempt to schedule you for a 90%+ slow charge. I'm my experience, 15-70% while on a road trip is the sweet spot for time in seat vs time charging. You'll get a 2 hour+ drive in, by which time it's nice to stretch a bit, use the bathroom, or get a snack, and the charge is only 15-25 min.

 

[Woodrick]

In general on log trips are yall targeting an arrival percentage at the station of around 5-10%? Then charging up to ~50% to get you to the next station since this is a fast part of the charging curve?

I'm definitely a 5%-50% type of person. That's the sweet spot for the battery and I can add 150 miles in only 15 minutes. I then search for the next Supercharger 150 miles out and do it again.

That's how I got 2 15 minute stops on a 500 mile trip.

I could have done it with a single 45+ minute stop.

This isn't something that newbies should do. You have to know your vehicle well. You have to know your driving habits well enough to know just how much to take on to reach the next Supercharger near empty. And you have to have a fallback plan and make sure that you are watching things.

Go look at battery charging curves.
I think that you will find that 0-50 takes about 15 minutes.
0-80% takes about 30 more minutes (45 total)
0-100% takes another hour. (1:45)

20-80% also takes close to 45 minutes. That doesn't make sense? That's because 0-20% only takes maybe 2 minutes.

 

[Woodrick]

Very much this! I think everyone starts doing this on their own organically after driving a Tesla for a while. Especially when you get sent to a charger at 40% to charge 5 min, then again 50 miles later. Very annoying when it does that...

While the nav is still very reliable, ever since they added the AI to the charging algorithm about a year ago, Supercharger choices sometimes get stupid. It's way too common to start at 80%, for for a few miles and have you stop again, First stop should always be at the end of first charge.

 

[Red Beard Ops]

As OP is a new EV owner and first EV being a CT with "eventually" getting FSD, I figured the recommendation was relevant. But I'm ? with you on that one ?

Getting that by July right?.... right?!

 

[HaulingAss]

While the nav is still very reliable, ever since they added the AI to the charging algorithm about a year ago, Supercharger choices sometimes get stupid. It's way too common to start at 80%, for for a few miles and have you stop again, First stop should always be at the end of first charge.

There is no "always", only it depends. Because the Nav charging algorithm takes a lot of factors into account. I'm not saying it's always the best, I generally adjust it to something different, but those who travel in areas that sometimes have congested charging will notice that the algorithm tries to route you to Superchargers that don't have congestion, if that is a potential issue on your route. It knows how many EVs are heading towards each station, and what their ETA is, at any given point in time. This is generally only a problem on big holidays and peak charging hours. Getting an early morning start tends to avoid most congestion.

That said, in six years of Supercharging, I've never had to wait for another EV to leave before I could plug in. I have arrived a couple of times right when the only available stall was opening up. I do know what you are referring to, and I'm not sure why it does that so often. I've noticed it mostly on shorter trips that only require one charge stop. It's probably just planning ahead and trying to avoid any potential congestion issues that might turn up later in the day. It could also be encouraging you to consume electricity when there is a surplus of grid energy earlier in the day.

 

[HaulingAss]

Getting that by July right?.... right?!

That's the estimated availability. I think it's likely, or about 50/50. But there is always the possibility that the development job takes more time than anticipated. Elon and Tesla never promise a particular date by which development will be ready for release, they only make estimates. Then, as soon as it's mature enough, they release it.

I do get a kick out of people who get all bent out of shape when the original estimate turns out to be overly optimistic. Like the release of the Cybertruck. Some people seem to think an estimate is an iron-clad promise, LOL! It's almost like they have never had to develop something so complex in their entire lives and are under the illusion that development timelines are not a work in progress.

 

[Darthamerica]

In general on log trips are yall targeting an arrival percentage at the station of around 5-10%? Then charging up to ~50% to get you to the next station since this is a fast part of the charging curve?

No. It really doesn’t save much time. Unless you’re running late or on a strict time crunch, then in my opinion, I don’t think an extra 15-20 minutes at the SC is too much of an inconvenience. Especially on a long road trip like the one I took from LA to New Orleans and back! After 200 to 250 miles of driving, I appreciate a break.

 

[Woodrick]

No. It really doesn’t save much time. Unless you’re running late or on a strict time crunch, then in my opinion, I don’t think an extra 15-20 minutes at the SC is too much of an inconvenience. Especially on a long road trip like the one I took from LA to New Orleans and back! After 200 to 250 miles of driving, I appreciate a break.

Think of it this way.

Going from 0 to 50% takes about 15 minutes.
Going from 50% to 80% takes another 30 minutes.
Going from 80 to 100% takes another hour.

Going from 0 to 80% will give you about 250 miles.

Going from 0 to 50, three times (same amount of time as going to 80%) will give you 450 miles.

 

[RayzorBEV]

I'm SC in a Deming NM and noticed this new warning popped up on my screen.
"High-usage Suoercharger station, Charging limit set to 80%, adjust limit if needed"
Guess it's a good thing setting limits on these busy areas but still allow you to adjust the limit if you are in a bind.

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