Tesla Supercharger Network

[ebill3]

Since nobody's mentioned it yet:

http://insideevs.com/teslas-next-supercharger-station-to-open-in-oregon-on-thursday/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Some of the comments tagged on to that release are rather interesting.

 

[GRA]

Since nobody's mentioned it yet:

http://insideevs.com/teslas-next-supercharger-station-to-open-in-oregon-on-thursday/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Some of the comments tagged on to that release are rather interesting.

Woodburn is now listed on the Tesla Supercharger site, although they haven't yet updated the map or the total (should be 19, counting Milford once):

http://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[GRA]

It appears that Tesla is now tacitly admitting that they won't finish installing all the scheduled "Summer 2013" Superchargers.

The Supercharger map,

http://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

has now removed the separate "Summer 2013" button that used to be between the "Today" and "Fall 2013" buttons. So either they figure the 'observed' summer is over as of Labor Day, or else they know they're not going to finish the remaining 9 stations they'd predicted before the equinox. Those stations still show as red dots (i.e. already existing) on the "Fall 2013" map.

 

[sparky]

Well even if they don't get them all done by the 20th, 26 stations in less than a year ain't bad considering they had to do it all on their own.
I have a lot of love for the SC's in CA.

 

[GRA]

Well even if they don't get them all done by the 20th, 26 stations in less than a year ain't bad considering they had to do it all on their own.
I have a lot of love for the SC's in CA.

Yes, even if they fall short they've still managed to make Nissan's efforts look anemic.

 

[GRA]

Waco open today:

http://insideevs.com/tesla-motors-opens-26th-supercharger-station-as-site-in-waco-texas-comes-online/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

See my comment to the article there. Also see the GCR article here:

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1086827_tesla-scrambling-to-meet-supercharger-installation-deadline" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[GRA]

I haven't seen an announcement, but Rockford Illinois is now shown and listed on the Supercharger map:

http://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[GeekEV]

I would rather they put one in on I-80 east of Sacramento first, or else on I-5 North.

I've heard, from unsubstantiated but trusted sources, that they may well do just that. Like, maybe at a large shopping mall just east of Sacramento off I-80. Ahem. No word on when though.

Further word on the street is that they will be going in at the Galleria Mall in Roseville (which I don't even see on Tesla's map, but it's not very specific). Apparently they are now waiting on the local utility to tell them where they can put a 750kVA transformer to nail down the exact location and they're ready to roll after that.

 

[GRA]

I would rather they put one in on I-80 east of Sacramento first, or else on I-5 North.

I've heard, from unsubstantiated but trusted sources, that they may well do just that. Like, maybe at a large shopping mall just east of Sacramento off I-80. Ahem. No word on when though.

Further word on the street is that they will be going in at the Galleria Mall in Roseville (which I don't even see on Tesla's map, but it's not very specific). Apparently they are now waiting on the local utility to tell them where they can put a 750kVA transformer to nail down the exact location and they're ready to roll after that.

Yeah, it's decidedly strange that they ignore I-80 East on the map until you get to Reno, other than what appears to be Vacaville. That's more useful for people taking I-505 north, and seems a bit redundant as they also show SCs before that in/around what appears to be Williams and another at Redding, followed by one 30 miles south later at Red Bluff (needed for people traveling to/from Lassen from the Bay Area). Still, Vacaville is a major junction, and it's always nice to have recharge points at those. Roseville or Auburn is a good location for Bay Area people going to N. Tahoe/Reno, especially for those with S-60s. Below the snow line but at the base of the climb, and plenty of places to eat.

 

[GeekEV]

I'm beginning to think they're actually going to be far more aggressive with supercharger density than they've let on so far.

 

[GRA]

Two more 'locations' today: Port Orange Fl., on I-95, and the Welcome Center on the other side of the freeway in Darien Ct.

http://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also, an article by David Noland, a rebuttal to a Forbe's article in rebuttal to Noland's article last week on Tesla falling behind their SC timeline, plus the usual comments:

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1086987_sorting-out-the-superchargers-doing-tesla-math-for-forbes" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And Insideevs.com take:

http://insideevs.com/forbes-defends-teslas-supercharger-honor-and-we-do-too/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[sparky]

This is why Superchargers are Tesla's marketing and advertising.

Building the 21st century transcontinental railroad

So far, Carrick Contracting has built three supercharger sites in Florida, and it's an effort that Melnick compared with one of the greatest transportation infrastructure projects in U.S. history.

"This is going to be something like back in the day of the transcontinental railroad, and what a great thing to be part of. We're doing it for our kids," Melnick said. In fact, it wasn't just Tesla car owners who turned up as noncrew visitors to the sites: Carrick Contracting employees brought their own kids out to the supercharger projects to see them.
The transcontinental railroad metaphor may be hyperbolic, but it is, in fact, a metaphor that has made the rounds of Tesla's offices. "We've talked about where we would put the golden connector. It really has that feel," said JB Straubel, Tesla's chief technical officer.

I think the last bit below about the permit pulling reminds me of when folks here were tracking ships from Japan to Long Beach and nearly getting arrested at the docks looking for LEAFs.
Nissan seems to have lost that enthusiasm. Seems like mostly battery degradation plots and lawsuits.
Oh well, back to unbounded optimism:

Todd Nielsen, project manager at ADK, said Tesla owners have brought pizzas to the work site for construction workers and engaged construction crews in ways that the workers have never experienced, and don't know quite how to respond to. "They try to talk our crews into cars to go for a ride, even when they are all muddy," Nielsen said.

He said he was most surprised the day after he first pulled the permit from the state website for a supercharging station contract. "I got a call from a guy the next day, questioning me like crazy on the project. That's the first time anyone even looked at the state website to look into permits being pulled in my experience," Nielsen said.

 

[GRA]

Although it's not listed in the total yet, the Supercharger site lists Glenwood Springs, Co. now, making 23 locations (but 25 sites, as two, at Darien and Milford Ct., are just corresponding rest stops on the other side of the freeway):

http://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger/glenwoodsprings" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[nsayer]

The big difference between the intercontinental railroad and the SC network is that the intercontinental railroad was built with standard gauge rather than a proprietary standard.

 

[GeekEV]

The big difference between the intercontinental railroad and the SC network is that the intercontinental railroad was built with standard gauge rather than a proprietary standard.

Was it? Or was the transcontinental railroad what MADE it the standard gauge? :shock:

 

[smkettner]

I don't think anyone could just buy a train and run it coast to coast.
Nothing is more proprietary than a railroad.

And the transcontinental was built with Federal money. Tesla at this point is private money afaik.

 

[GRA]

The big difference between the intercontinental railroad and the SC network is that the intercontinental railroad was built with standard gauge rather than a proprietary standard.

There weren't any true intercontinentals in the U.S - they all ended west of the Mississippi except the ones that ran into Chicago. Of course, who's to say that Tesla's won't become the standard? After all, at the time the CP/UP was built, many of the railroads in this country had been built to non-standard gauge. This was a particular problem for the south during the civil war, as many of their RRs couldn't use each other's tracks or equipment, as 5' or 5'2" gauge along with standard gauge and others were widely used. Not that most of the companies wanted to interchange, but it would have helped the south move troops around. The reason the CP/UP was built to standard gauge is because the federal government was subsidizing it, and so specified.

It took some time for 'standard' gauge to be accepted; the civil war sped up the process, but there were still many RRs in the north that didn't switch for years, and some narrow-gauge lines, primarily heritage/tourist, remain to this day. Even when standard gauge was used by virtually all the major RRs, many of them didn't have union terminals in major cities, which meant that you had to travel cross-town by carriage/horsecar/streetcar to change trains from one company to the other. Chicago was like that. And every RR used (and AFAIK still uses) different signals. So while there's a great deal of standardization, it's by no means universal even now.

At the moment we're still in the pre-civil war phase of development, still using iron instead of steel rails, with underpowered engines that can barely manage a 2% grade, hard wooden benches in the cars lit by kerosene lanterns, no meal service, a pot-bellied stove for heating, and you can't open the windows because the cinders will burn holes in your clothes. But someone's just invented this new device called a 'cow-catcher' (cow-killer would be more accurate), which should help prevent derailments due to hitting livestock. Now if only someone would invent a decent brake. Oh, and a headlight that would allow you to see the track a reasonable distance ahead.

 

[GRA]

Silverthorne, Co. due to go operational this week:

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/earth_to_power/2013/09/tesla-opening-colorados-1st-free.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Unlike the claim in the article, Glenwood Springs has been operational for a week or two already.

Added: As of 6:00 p.m. PDT, Oct. 2nd, Silverthorne is now shown on the Tesla Supercharger website list, but it's not yet shown on the map.

 

[GRA]

Columbus, Tx. SC now open, on I-10 between San Antonio and Houston:

http://www.teslamotors.com/supercharger/columbus" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[GRA]

Corning, Ca. is operational. Mt, Shasta, Ca., Grant's Pass and Springfield, Oregon should follow shortly.

Edit: Someone used the Grant's Pass SC yesterday, so it may not be official yet, but it's working. See http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/20860-Oregon-Superchargers/page25" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;