Technology Connections
I don't know why it took me this long to articulate this thought, but Tesla's charging model is ultimately a trap for themselves:
They rely on other folks to provide services near their charging sites. That's clever, BUT it means they do not make any money from those services.
And that's precisely what keeps gas stations in business. They compete with one another to such an extent that the fuel is sold barely above cost, and the store/car wash/cafe is where they /actually/ make money.
Technology Connections
@marcoarment Somewhat tangentially related, I had a convo at Open Sauce with two Tesla employees.
Neither one knew about the charging speeds Hyundai/Kia E-GMP has attained, and it was also humorous when I brought up the touchscreen control for the glovebox.
"It reduces BOM!" I was told excitedly, and when I said
"but you still need an actuator. Why not just use a manual latch?" the response was a completely surprised
"oh"
It, uh, very strongly reinforced some of my opinions, gotta tell ya.
Marco Arment
@TechConnectify Obviously, I don't represent everyone, but I'd MUCH rather stop at a nice travel plaza on the side of the highway than drive 3 miles out of the way to a Wal-Mart, even if the charge at the travel plaza costs an extra $5 or whatever.
Technology Connections
@marcoarment Oh, I agree with you there.
I've found that most of the conversations regarding this have misaligned frameworks - I'm thinking of the way I suspect things will be 10 years down the road.
Tesla's situation is the best EV solution /right now/ but I think this reality makes a lot of people think "well, just copy what they're doing" without looking more broadly at what other industries are doing. Some of that, I think, is outright aversion to engaging with ideas born in the past.
Technology Connections
@marcoarment My gut says once signs that actually advertise charging cost are normalized (which, perhaps won't happen but time will tell) people will still view it more of a commodity than anything else and will look for the cheapest charge.
But, I agree with you that niceties of the site will be a large factor. And personally, I don't think Tesla has a winning formula there (though others disagree with me).
Marco Arment
@TechConnectify I've gone to a lot of NY-region Superchargers over the years, and some EA chargers recently. Tesla has a significant leg up around here, but they still vary a lot.
What I always want is a travel plaza with multiple options on how I spend my time and what/whether I eat, and a bathroom I can use without feeling obligated to stay or spend money.
What we often get is a mall/Target/Walmart parking lot, or a sit-down restaurant's parking lot with nothing else in walking distance.
Technology Connections
As soon as a big player like Pilot, Loves, whatever rolls out charging en masse they're gonna be able to do the same with electricity.
Tesla, unless they want to learn the ins-and-outs of running convenience stores, won't be able to do that, so the cost of their charging will stay high. They aren't set up to subsidize it with other things.
Marco Arment
@TechConnectify Probably right, but I wonder if fast-charging most EVs is actually too cheap for this to matter — at least for people on long trips who usually charge at home.
For those customers, the experience of the charger and its location — how nice/convenient it is to spend 30 minutes there — is probably more important than whether the electricity costs $15 or $12.
Of course, the bigger the battery, or the more you use DC fast-charging, the more a price difference starts to matter.
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