Photo: Twitter video screenshot
The fact they can travel long distances has always been of the most important differentiators for Tesla models compared to other electric vehicles, and it couldn't have been done without the Supercharger network.
But the company has to strike a balance between supply and demand, and to do that, is uses numbers such as the abundance of Tesla owners in a certain area or how much traffic that zone sees on average. Up until now, the relatively small Tesla fleet in the U.S. hasn't had any issues with finding an open stall to charge, but it looks like the Supercharger network is having trouble keeping up with the ever-increasing number of owners.
You're probably well aware of the fact that most Tesla vehicles in the U.S. are concentrated in California, probably the most EV-friendly state in the nation. That means the possibility of clogged Superchargers is always greater over there, but the abundance of stations around major cities and the fact they're interconnected means users can always be directed toward a free stall.
However, things can get a bit messy during the holidays when a lot of people travel in the same direction at relatively the same time. This Christmas, it happened in Barstow, an important stop for those going from Los Angeles to Las Vegas or the other way around.
On December 26, users reported lines as long as 20 or even 30 cars, which is something unheard of for those using fossil fuel powered vehicles. The situation was made even worse by the fact that several chargers were either broken, or working very poorly.
Tesla knows its Supercharger network will come under even heavier abuse once the Model 3 hits the shelves, so it plans to almost double the number of stations worldwide from the roughly 4,800 it now has. Besides that, it has also removed the lifetime free charging for those purchasing their EVs after December 31, and plans to introduce an idle fee to discourage the use of the stalls as parking spots.
Whatever the case, make sure you make a habit out of leaving one day early on every major holiday if you want to avoid spending most of the day waiting in line for your turn to plug in the car.
You're probably well aware of the fact that most Tesla vehicles in the U.S. are concentrated in California, probably the most EV-friendly state in the nation. That means the possibility of clogged Superchargers is always greater over there, but the abundance of stations around major cities and the fact they're interconnected means users can always be directed toward a free stall.
However, things can get a bit messy during the holidays when a lot of people travel in the same direction at relatively the same time. This Christmas, it happened in Barstow, an important stop for those going from Los Angeles to Las Vegas or the other way around.
On December 26, users reported lines as long as 20 or even 30 cars, which is something unheard of for those using fossil fuel powered vehicles. The situation was made even worse by the fact that several chargers were either broken, or working very poorly.
Tesla knows its Supercharger network will come under even heavier abuse once the Model 3 hits the shelves, so it plans to almost double the number of stations worldwide from the roughly 4,800 it now has. Besides that, it has also removed the lifetime free charging for those purchasing their EVs after December 31, and plans to introduce an idle fee to discourage the use of the stalls as parking spots.
Whatever the case, make sure you make a habit out of leaving one day early on every major holiday if you want to avoid spending most of the day waiting in line for your turn to plug in the car.
#dayafterchristmas Barstow supercharge station many tesla cars are in line waiting to their turn to be charged pic.twitter.com/Lw5kAlAtCU
— passionotes (@laurenqu) December 26, 2016
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