Electrify America - extremely bad first experience

[astronut325]

OP, your first mistake was thinking the Mach-E is capable of doing road trips. The CCS network needs to die a quick fiery death.

Second mistake was not setting up plug-n-charge (if I read your post correctly). I made the exact same mistake near the start of my Mach-E ownership journey.

Moral of the story: Don’t take long trips with the Mach-E where you will need to stop and charge. You’ll need to have 4 levels of backup plans for every stop because the CCS network is total garbage.

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[Yerfdog56]

I think it depends a lot on whether the adapter has the extra 18ish inches to allow our MMEs to fit in the same slots in the same order as teslas. If MMEs have to be parked carefully and take up either 2 slots or need to wait for a slot at the end, there will be a lot of grumbling.

I also don't think the rush will be that bad. In borrowing and renting teslas I don't like the charging locations, they are places I wouldn't want to stay. They're often in weird and skeezy parking lots. EVGo and EA are often in nice(er) places with a restaurant to get some fries or a taco truck or a street with shops to browse. I'll pick non-tesla first just for that reason, when I have a choice.

It'll also depend on the reliability. If I find that tesla is 100% compared to the current public networks 80%, I might find myself heading to Tesla as the first choice. That's worth a few extra bucks on the cost of electrons.

I think the price difference won't be that huge, it'll be 10% probably. The charging speed shoudln't be that different, at least, on the rare times I public charge I always filter to 150kw or better chargers and make sure I"m using a charger that maxes out my car if I'm going to be waiting (50kw is OK if I'm shopping and know I'll be 30 minutes anyway).

But most importantly is the cars on road difference. Also remember tesla was selling cars at volume a couple of years later so I think the cars on road difference is massive.

I sometimes look at the number of stalls taken at the Tesla MagicDock equipped station nearish my house. It's pretty empty. Of course probably few CCS users know it's there and waiting, or its in a spot that's rarely a rush. It would be more interesting to hear about the tesla stations in ... NY state, right? .... that are more visibly used.

You are correct about the cable length being an issue on V3's. I use the Magic Dock location in Verona, NY quite often and out of maybe 15 kiosks, I've never seen it half full. Although there's usually at least one non-Tesla charging. If more than one, ideally they would partner up to lessen the impact of each taking 2 spots. Assuming they both take the other slot that a Tesla would, and they park next to each other, 2 Bolts would need 3 spots, 5 Bolts would take 6 etc.

Currently though, it appears that the locations with MD, at peak utilize less than 50% capacity which would make the impact when they are completely opened a non-issue.
I am surprised that in your experience, you find the SpC locations inferior to the public ones. I've never heard that be the case, typically it's just the opposite but you've used both and I haven't so I'll take your word for it. For years, that was Tesla's big advantage that they grabbed the low hanging fruit of best locations with adequate infrastructure.

I also forgot to mention that the roll-out to other brands will also be staggered. First up is Ford and GM I think. Maybe they will be spaced out based on when they signed up but if e.g. BMW drags their feet on software integration per Tesla's specifications, they presumably would be delayed.

I too suspect that if Tesla lives up to their reputation of seamless, reliable, charging, many would opt to just pay the $2 more and make the SpC their primary charging option. I know I would as I think it's a small price to pay for peace of mind knowing that I have one less thing to worry about.

The charging speed could be a hindrance though for Taycan's and Hyundai's that can handle 350kW/800v. They would be wise to filter out the V3's and only use the V4's once they become more prevalent.

 

[tbrumleve]

Do Teslas have an 800v battery, or do they just have a different built-in charge curve that gives then the faster charge time?

Cybertruck is the first Tesla with 800v battery and 48v architecture. Teslas charge at a faster rate (kW) than the Mach E, hence the shorter time. Your Mach E will charge at the same rate on any 150kW or higher DCFC / Supercharger.

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