Tesla Supercharger
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Last week, I was in a bit of a Tesla funk. That’s not normal; my four-plus years of Tesla Model S ownership have been a mostly giddy ride, with the few bumps minor and temporary. But last week I was facing the prospect of two long-term permanent downgrades to my personal Tesla World, both related to Supercharging. DON'T MISS: Life with Tesla Model S: out with the old, in with the new First, the new 100D I had ordered last month (for delivery in late June or July) would not have the free Supercharging I’d become accustomed to with my current 2013 Model S-85. To me, free-for-life...
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Electric car charging: the basics you need to know (updated)
The number of plug-in electric cars on North American roads grows every year, and with them come new buyers. Each new electric-car driver will have a few things to learn, so we've rounded up some tips on how, where, and when how to charge up that new plug-in vehicle. Whether you're already an...
John Voelcker -
Tesla to double global Supercharger fast-charging network this year, it says
Tesla continues to make sweeping changes as it prepares for the launch of the Model 3, its first mass-market electric car. The company has announced a significant expansion of its global network of Supercharger DC fast-charging stations. Executives believe, it said, that charging should be...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S at 36,000 miles: Car and Driver's long-term Midwest test
We're long past the days when car enthusiast publications sneered at electric cars as underpowered golf carts. Much of the credit for that goes to Tesla, the first all-electric carmaker, whose Model S won the hearts of 'buff-book' writers everywhere for its speed and shape. Now electric cars...
John Voelcker -
$8 billion cost to make Tesla Superchargers as common as gas stations: analyst
Tesla is the world's only automaker to build and operate its own large-scale network of public charging stations. This year, the Silicon Valley automaker hopes to double the number of Supercharger DC fast-charging sites, to make it more convenient for U.S. Tesla owners to undertake longer road...
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla plans major U.S. expansion of Supercharger fast-charging
Tesla will undertake a major expansion of its Supercharger network of DC fast-charging stations this year. The Silicon Valley automaker is already one of the most committed to offering widespread DC fast charging, positioning the stations as a way for customers to complete longer journeys more...
Stephen Edelstein -
Unlike most automakers, Tesla doesn't schedule redesigns, updates, and new features for its cars to coincide with traditional model years. Aided by the fact that most of its new features are software-related, Tesla takes a more flexible approach. Many new features are pushed to its electric cars whenever they're ready, in the form of over-the-air software updates. DON'T MISS: Tesla releases Supercharger electric-car fast-charge prices That means, when checking for the latest Tesla updates, the best place to look typically isn't a company press release, but rather an owner forum. Sure enough...
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Tesla's Supercharger pricing: one owner reacts to new fees
It’s a new era in Teslaworld: the end of unlimited free Supercharging. Starting on January 15, anybody who orders a new Tesla Model S or Model X will receive an annual allotment of 400 free kilowatt-hours (good for about 1,200 miles). After that, they will have to pay for use of the...
David Noland -
Tesla releases Supercharger electric-car fast-charge prices
Tesla announced in November that it would end free unlimited use of its Supercharger DC fast-charging stations. Now that the cutoff point for that perk has arrived, the company is offering more details on Supercharger pricing. The new rates take effect for buyers who ordered a Tesla electric car...
Stephen Edelstein -
Musk ups Tesla Supercharger ante, teases 350-kw-plus charging
Tesla CEO Elon Musk teased a new generation of the company's unique DC fast-charging stations, suggesting that a future "version 3" Supercharger would deliver as much as 350 kilowatts of power. Unsurprisingly, he did it via Twitter, his preferred medium for communicating with the world. His...
John Voelcker -
Tesla to charge for Supercharger parking if charging is over, sometimes
Last Friday night, I arranged to meet my wife for dinner in Newburgh, New York, at a restaurant that has a Tesla Supercharger. Even though the battery in my Model S 85 was about 60 percent full, I figured I might as well top it off to 90 percent while we ate. When I arrived, there was a white Model...
David Noland -
Woz got a Tesla, not a Chevy Bolt EV: Supercharging may be why
In September, Chevy scored quite a publicity coup for its Bolt EV long-range electric car. The car's chief engineer, Josh Tavel, took a pre-production 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV to show Steve Wozniak, cofounder of Apple Computers—universally known as "Woz." He's a big electric car fan, and had...
John Voelcker -
With a slew of 200-mile electric cars planned for 2018 and later, the question of how their drivers will be able to make long-distance trips is coming to the fore in a big way. Silicon Valley electric-car maker Tesla Motors laid out the template with its Supercharger network, which now numbers 327 sites in the U.S. and more than 400 sites outside the country. Now, the three German carmakers and Ford plan to join together to design and build a network of ultra-fast DC charging stations along Europe's major highways. DON'T MISS: Germans Vs Tesla In High-End Electric Cars: Will Fast Charging...
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Tesla to charge new buyers for Supercharging after Jan 1
Tesla will charge a fee for access to its Supercharger network of DC fast-charging stations.
Stephen Edelstein -
Porsche's 800-Volt fast charging for electric cars: why it matters
The future of electric cars for practical transportation relies to some degree on the future of DC fast charging, and how it develops over the next decade. As in other spheres of electrifying transport, Tesla Motors has pointed the way to one vision of the future with its expanding network of...
John Voelcker -
Quick Chek convenience store tests Tesla Superchargers in NY's Hudson Valley
Not so long ago, gas stations and convenience stores seemed to be mutually exclusive businesses—you went to one, or you went to the other. Today, many convenience chains only open new locations that also sell gasoline. Many drivers don't know that gas stations work on the smallest of profit...
Tom Moloughney -
World's largest fast-charging site opens in Norway: 28 electric cars can charge, all standards included
A new DC fast-charging site in Norway can accommodate 28 cars, regardless of charging standards.
Stephen Edelstein -
When will electric-car DC fast-charging be available everywhere in the U.S.? Poll results
Energy infrastructure is key to any serious effort to make zero-emission vehicles practical for mass-market car buyers. The world has spent more than a century building an efficient, global distribution and delivery system for gasoline and diesel fuel, and any new energy source requires the same...
John Voelcker -
Tesla may charge Model 3 owners for Supercharger access through its website.
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Tesla boosts Supercharger electric-car charging rate to 145 kw
By now, the Tesla Supercharger network has provided a superb case study showing the importance of a comprehensive nationwide network of DC fast-charging sites to make electric cars practical for long-distance trips. While the competing CHAdeMO and Combined Charging System (CCS) standards are...
John Voelcker -
Would you recharge your Tesla electric car at a gas station?
Tesla is in talks with gas-station chain Sheetz regarding installation of DC fast-charging stations.
Stephen Edelstein -
CHAdeMO DC fast-charging to run at up to 150 kilowatts, starting in 2017
The CHAdeMO DC fast-charging standard will soon support 150-kW charging.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Model 3 owners will pay to use Superchargers, cost TBD
In the beginning, the use of Tesla's nascent network of Supercharger DC fast-charging sites wasn't going to be free. Not for owners of the less-expensive Model S 40 and 60 versions, at least: if they wanted to use the Supercharger network, they paid a $2,500 fee up front. But demand for the...
John Voelcker -
Toyota Mirai seeks to reclaim green image from Tesla, sans Supercharger network
Toyota believes the Mirai can recapture the green image it cultivated with the Prius.
Stephen Edelstein