Tesla QUADRUPLED Supercharger Prices Overnight

[Parasmoney]

There is a ceiling for electricity costs. If prices get too high private citizens and communities can just invest in their own energy production. It's not like we live in the 70's anymore. The only reason I don't invest in a solar system is because my power is $0.08 to $0.10 per kwh.

My energy company charges me $.06 per kwh. Didn't make sense financially for me to get solar panels. Even if it made sense to get solar panels, my HOA voted for no solar panels in the neighborhood. Hoping that the prices won't go up dramatically with the natural gas prices sky rocketing.

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[Zapata]

My energy company charges me $.06 per kwh. Didn't make sense financially for me to get solar panels. Even if it made sense to get solar panels, my HOA voted for no solar panels in the neighborhood. Hoping that the prices won't go up dramatically with the natural gas prices sky rocketing.

Sorry you live around those people. I figure if electrical prices jumped to $0.20 per kwh I would go fully off grid. My house could produce and store on average of 50kwh per day.

 

[theo1000]

yuk! this is going to have more TSLA folks clogging up the CCS DCFC chargers with their slow poke dongle. What happened to lifetime free charging etc. I'm sure the TSLA folks will spin it but if true is another wild lurch unannounced. About par for the TSLA course.

 

[RedStallion]

There is a ceiling for electricity costs. If prices get too high private citizens and communities can just invest in their own energy production. It's not like we live in the 70's anymore. The only reason I don't invest in a solar system is because my power is $0.08 to $0.10 per kwh.

The solar isn't cheap and initial investment is rather high, it may or may not pay off at the end. But, of course, it does add a competitive pressure to the utilities companies, but only for a few hour during the day. The utilities will likely raise prices for the other times of the day when the sun isn't shining. They can also increase fees, and surcharges so regardless of your solar you are going to pay more. You can't disconnect from the grid anyway.

 

[Zapata]

The solar isn't cheap and initial investment is rather high, it may or may not pay off at the end. But, of course, it does add a competitive pressure to the utilities companies, but only for a few hour during the day. The utilities will likely raise prices for the other times of the day when the sun isn't shining. They can also increase fees, and surcharges so regardless of your solar you are going to pay more. You can't disconnect from the grid anyway.

A Mach-e costs way more than a typical home solar install. If you can buy a Mach-e money isn't an object.

 

[littlD]

I have a road trip to Tennessee for Thanksgiving week.

I'll be able to compare costing between current rates in Illinois (37 cents per kWh) / Kentucky (29 cents per kWh) / Tennessee (14 cents below 60kW - $1.10 180 kWh and above) now compared to prior costing earlier this year in April.

I'll share the results sometime later this week.

Stay tuned (it'll also be covered in a future podcast episode).

 

[miata]

...our Escape might be cheaper to fuel than the MachE.

Maybe so if you're fueling the MachE at 42 cents/kWh. But most miles are spent commuting to work so as long as your round-trip is less than your range (and assuming you can fast-charge at home) you're fueling the MachE at home utility rates. And as more of the commuting traffic goes electric, the fewer gas stations there'll be and some of their economy-of-scale goes away.

Also, the cost of cars isn't just fuel...there's a lot of maintenance and depreciation costs that should improve with time for the electrics and worsen for the ICE'ed cars. If you do a lot of cross-country travel, the Plug-Ins seem to give you the best of both worlds, but maintaining them is more difficult as they age. As Scotty Kilmer says (you love him or hate him) hybrids are great if you can afford to buy new but a used one will cost you more in maintenance than it saves in fuel.

So at their worst (fueling in remote locales) e-cars hold their own. And things should only get better in the future.

 

[BadgerGreg]

yuk! this is going to have more TSLA folks clogging up the CCS DCFC chargers with their slow poke dongle. What happened to lifetime free charging etc. I'm sure the TSLA folks will spin it but if true is another wild lurch unannounced. About par for the TSLA course.

I'm pretty sure that the other companies (EA, EVGO, ChargePoint, etc.) will adjust their rates to compensate for that. When (IF) Tesla opens their supercharger network to non-Teslas, the prices across all providers will even out and find an equilibrium. Similar to the gas station model, where every station within a city/region charges about the same for a gallon of gas.

 

[Dmhccs]

I don’t think plug-in hybrids will be more popular than straight EVs. My wife has a BMW X5 xDrive45i- can go 30 miles of pure electric before the ICE kicks on. There are lots of downsides I’m sure apply to all plug ins:
1. During battery only driving, it is horribly inefficient. She gets about 1.5 miles per Kwhr on a good day. You’re taking an ICE for a ride and she’s heavy.
2. If driving on ICE alone, mpg is worse than a compatible X5 without an electric engine/battery.
3. If on electric only mode, the small electric engine is very slow at accelerating the car.
4. No DC fast charging, charging rate at home is slower.

I wish they made a pureEV version of this car.

I have the Volvo XC90 recharge hybrid. I have every issue you list here. I do love the car but the 21 miles of pure electric was not worth the substantial upgrade for the hybrid engine.

 

[miata]

perhaps idle curiosity, but does anyone know what kind of basic electrical capacity a charging station installation is being design around? When I see 3 chargers and 3 painted parking spots, surely there's capacity at that site to easily add a fourth, as more EVs are sold and demand for remote charging increases?

Basic NEC rules say you design with at least 25% margin (ie use only 80% max of the "panel's" rating) but I've got to believe the investment capitalists behind these are planning for considerably more growth than that. (Hopefully also for Build Back Better funding.) Like seeing a line at a gas station, I'll just drive by and look for another, so it's lost business if I don't provide enough individual charging stations. So does anyone know?

I suppose I could advertise having 150kW chargers but ramp them each down accordingly if I have a bunch of folks using them at once. In fact, maybe they do that already? Any anecdotal evidence of that, ie getting higher current when you're the only one at the "pump"?

 

[RickMachE]

Some commercial chargers have two hoses, and if two people plug in, then that cuts the output in 1/2.

Some locations are impacted by what else is using the electricity. I read about a restaurant that had a charger installed, and advertised the charger at X output. Then they realized that THEY needed some of that electricity, so the charger was cut back to provide enough for the restaurant.

IANAEE (I Am Not An Electrical Expert)

 

[RickMachE]

A Mach-e costs way more than a typical home solar install. If you can buy a Mach-e money isn't an object.

Ah, no.

First, if you buy a Mach-E, you can use Ford Options and cut your payment pretty dramatically.

Second, saying "money isn't an object" implies that people that are well off don't care about spending money wisely. I have a Mach-E, may get a Lightning, both the most expensive non-house purchases of my lifetime. I have analyzed solar every way I can, and the payoff isn't sufficient for me to move forward with it. If we relocate down south, in an area that gets more days of sun, I will again evaluate it and see if the payoff matches our expected ownership time.

Last, a car is part practical, part not practical. You need transportation, and for many it needs to be enjoyable to drive. Solar replaces electricity from a power company. While it may bring some pleasure due to the "greenness", it's not the same as buying a car.

My electric company has offered me ways to spend more money on my electricity to have "greener" electricity. Thanks, but not looking to raise my bill. Yes, we're environmentally focused, but not looking to increase our non-pleasure (i.e. car) spending.

 

[Behoff]

This is not as crazy as it appears. In fact it looks like Tesla had been subsiding the cost up to now - or at least minimizing their profit.

Consider a 180 kW charger, producing 3 kWh/min (180 kW * 1/60 hr). At that rate you are paying $0.28 b kWh. Not to bad as the cheapest fast charger I have seen is 0.30, but as high as 0.45. And the fastest charger I have found in my area is 100 kW.

At 250 kW you are getting 4.17 kWh, at $1.35 that’s 0.32.

$0.32 instead of 0.35 or 0.40 and I am getting out of there faster? Sign me up!

 

[Neil4Real]

A Mach-e costs way more than a typical home solar install. If you can buy a Mach-e money isn't an object.

I'm sorry, but what? That makes zero sense. Like at all.

 

[RedStallion]

A Mach-e costs way more than a typical home solar install. If you can buy a Mach-e money isn't an object.

That's a childish way of looking at money. The question is not whether there is money to spend, rather if something makes sense or not, it requires planning, prioritizing, and sober analysis.

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