Solving the charging problem

[kognito]

How long does the SpaceX Dragon capsule need to re-charge before it can fly back to earth? Just asking for a friend

[lemming]

Doug DeMuro is one of my favorites.

He got a Stinger GT for his commuter car. Couldn’t do a Tesla 3 preowned car because he has a two car garage —but would never boot one of his other cars.

Since his garage opens onto an alley —no charger.

So it’s a pretty common limitation. Especially for urban people. Even in progressive CA there is no way to run cords to the street anywhere.

I think we know where the ceiling will be for Tesla’s. It will always be a single family home with a driveway. Those are big caveats for market expansion.

[Alan]

Originally Posted by lemming

Doug DeMuro is one of my favorites.

He got a Stinger GT for his commuter car. Couldn’t do a Tesla 3 preowned car because he has a two car garage —but would never boot one of his other cars.

Since his garage opens onto an alley —no charger.

So it’s a pretty common limitation. Especially for urban people. Even in progressive CA there is no way to run cords to the street anywhere.

I think we know where the ceiling will be for Tesla’s. It will always be a single family home with a driveway. Those are big caveats for market expansion.

Doug is good, he is really thorough in his reviews.

Do you have a link showing his garage ?

I’m interested in seeing his other car, he had mentioned in the review of the C8 Corvette he had a sports car., I was wondering what it was.

[lemming]

Originally Posted by Alan

Doug is good, he is really thorough in his reviews.

Do you have a link showing his garage ?

I’m interested in seeing his other car, he had mentioned in the review of the C8 Corvette he had a sports car., I was wondering what it was.

Ford GT. 2006.

And that odd G wagen convertible.

And a Defender.

[ZBB]

Originally Posted by lemming

So it’s a pretty common limitation. Especially for urban people. Even in progressive CA there is no way to run cords to the street anywhere.

Not exactly true... LA has installed chargers on 284 street light poles: https://bsl.lacity.org/smartcity-ev-charging.html

I’ve also seen street-side chargers in Paris, Oslo and Lisbon (the pic below)... this is public infrastructure and may be provided by private charging networks. More are needed, but it’s a start.

[JST]

Pointing to DeMuro as evidence of a cap on Tesla demand is a stretch; I mean, the guy has a two car garage and the only reason he doesn't want to use it to charge is because he doesn't want to street park one of the goofy semi-exotic cars he owns. Except that I guess he does street park one of them, because he has 4?

I mean, to call Doug DeMuro a corner case is to vastly understate precisely how esoteric his objection is.

Also, based on his vid about the Stinger, it doesn't really sound like a Tesla would be a great choice for him, anyway.

Also, DeMuro's schtick is kind of exhausting.

The broader issue with charging and people that don't have garages or dedicated parking spots remains well-taken. It's a problem that will only be solved slowly. There are a lot of people for whom a BEV isn't a great choice (yet). But I think you are potentially overestimating what this means for overall EV demand, because there are ALSO still millions of people for whom a BEV would be a good fit who haven't yet bought a BEV.

Tesla (and Ford and GM and whomever) have a really big market to tap before they run into the "what about people in apartments without parking spaces" demand cap.

[lemming]

Originally Posted by ZBB

Not exactly true... LA has installed chargers on 284 street light poles: https://bsl.lacity.org/smartcity-ev-charging.html

I’ve also seen street-side chargers in Paris, Oslo and Lisbon (the pic below)... this is public infrastructure and may be provided by private charging networks. More are needed, but it’s a start.

284.

And how many people live in LA?

Just need to establish the denominator for this debate moving forward.

[JST]

Originally Posted by lemming

284.

And how many people live in LA?

Just need to establish the denominator for this debate moving forward.

Apparently LA's housing stock is 50 percent single-family houses.

https://la.curbed.com/2018/9/10/1782...ules-explained

Which isn't great for a wide variety of reasons, and of course not all of those have driveways/garages.

But if one of the priorities in LA is to shift toward denser housing, that makes it relatively easy to install charging infrastructure when new units are developed.

[lemming]

Originally Posted by JST

Apparently LA's housing stock is 50 percent single-family houses.

https://la.curbed.com/2018/9/10/1782...ules-explained

Which isn't great for a wide variety of reasons, and of course not all of those have driveways/garages.

But if one of the priorities in LA is to shift toward denser housing, that makes it relatively easy to install charging infrastructure when new units are developed.

I want to see this paradigm shift also. I just can’t see what it looks like yet.

The infrastructure will have to be amazing. How much of the grid would need to be upsized to carry that much current multiplied by 100 for each garage? It’s solve-able.

[Nick M3]

Originally Posted by lemming

Doug DeMuro is one of my favorites.

He got a Stinger GT for his commuter car. Couldn’t do a Tesla 3 preowned car because he has a two car garage —but would never boot one of his other cars.

Since his garage opens onto an alley —no charger.

So it’s a pretty common limitation. Especially for urban people. Even in progressive CA there is no way to run cords to the street anywhere.

I think we know where the ceiling will be for Tesla’s. It will always be a single family home with a driveway. Those are big caveats for market expansion.

Is an SFH with a driveway really that much of a ceiling for sales? Do you think that they sell that many pickup trucks to urban apartment dwellers?

More to the point, the net benefit of selling an electric car to an urban apartment dweller is going to be a lot lower. I live in the city. People don't really drive. Hell, notwithstanding the seven cars that we currently have in DC (just the ones here with us right now), my wife drives twice a week (bike commuter pre COVID), and I only commuted by car because I hate transit and need an excuse to use a car. It's for people in the suburbs and the country where electric cars make the difference.

And yes, there are going to be lots of edge case scenarios. I don't care about that. They don't really matter that much.