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Thanksgiving is the busiest travel time in the US and is an excellent stress test for EV charging architecture, such as the Tesla Supercharger network.
This is particularly important this year with the rapid expansion of the Tesla fleet thanks to model 3, which weighs more heavily on the network.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, recently announced a new expansion of the Supercharger network to cover "95% to 100% of the population in all active markets".
The network is already quite extensive and Tesla drivers can move almost anywhere in many countries in North America, Europe and Asia, but the limited number of charging points per station can create lines of waiting.
This is particularly difficult in California, where the Tesla fleet has grown faster with the increase in model 3 production.
As we announced earlier this week, Tesla sales have grown nearly 400% in California this year.
Nico Wirz reported a long queue of Model 3 waiting for a spot at the Burbank supercharger yesterday:
Model line 3 at @You're here compressor in Burbank. pic.twitter.com/Fg9NrZhIwf
– Nico Wirz (@nico_wirz) November 23, 2018
Kevin Sanchez announced Tuesday that 8 cars were waiting to load at Culerc City Supercharger, which is one of the biggest with 16 charging points:
@Elon Musk can we get an extension of the Culver City compressor? It is 22 hours on Tuesday and a continuous queue of about 8 cars. You are our only hope. pic.twitter.com/LdLjsJejAa
– Kevin Sanchez (@BrownerThanAvg) November 21, 2018
Northern California is also experiencing significant traffic this week. The Concord Supercharger, which has 19 Superchargers, was also full on a few occasions this week:
Complete 19 Stall Concord, Supercharger. pic.twitter.com/iedDAtstv2
– Tony Pham – License Support Model 3 "The Bandit" (@ TonyTesla4Life) November 20, 2018
Tesla apparently took some precautions in busy stations by limiting the charging time to 40 minutes.
Many homeowners have reported seeing these posters:
"40 MINUTES MAXIMUM CHARGING"
New sign at Laurel Supercharger. pic.twitter.com/GhRv3sOQpU– PlugInSites (@pluginsites) November 20, 2018
The vast majority of charge sessions in Supercharger stations take less than 40 minutes, but the full charge may take longer depending on your charge status.
This could change with the release of the Supercharger V3 "early next year". The new generation of the charging station should bring a higher charge rate.
Tesla said it currently operates 1,375 superchargers and 11,414 superchargers worldwide.
Electrek's Take
I understand it's frustrating when you get to a Supercharger station and have to wait to charge, but I think Tesla is doing its best to fix the situation.
Unlike third-party companies that must try to maximize the use of their stations, Tesla is willing to build charging stations where less than 20% use most of the time simply to ensure their capacity to manage their capacity. . when the traffic is higher.
The Kettleman City Station, which has 40 charging points, is a good example. It would not have been full all week – even though it was shown to be temporarily out of order one day.
Anticipating increased usage this week, Tesla even had a mobile technician on hand to help any homeowner in case of a problem.
As Elon said this week, they plan to double the size of the network, but that's only part of the solution.
The Supercharger V3 will also make all the difference. If the vehicles load faster, they will stay in the stations more quickly and this will facilitate traffic.
If the new generation, which has already been delayed 3 times, finally arrives at the beginning of next year, I think it will be easier for Tesla drivers on Thanksgiving trips next year.
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