This year, Tesla opened up its Supercharger network to other brands. That’s awesome news for non-Tesla electric vehicle owners since the public charging network isn’t always the greatest. For Tesla owners? Things aren’t so peachy.
Tesla’s agreement to allow more carmakers to use the Supercharger network is great in theory. Superchargers are the best public chargers, often located in ideal places, and have strong uptime stats. But Tesla designed the stations to serve Teslas and nothing else, which is where the problems begin.
Tesla specificity is creating issues for non-Tesla owners and that, in turn, is leading to issues with Tesla owners. While they sometimes have good reason to be upset, it’s a little hypocritical for some Tesla owners to be complaining if they’re the same owners who have been behaving badly at CCS chargers.
Supercharger Cords Are Not Designed For Non-Teslas
Supercharger stations almost all have a relatively short charging cord which, unsurprisingly, was designed for Tesla vehicles where the charging port is uniformly placed at the rear driver’s side of the car. Other manufacturers don’t necessarily follow that same pattern.
And so, in order to get its charging port within plugging distance, a non-Tesla may need to be positioned outside the space a Tesla requires, thus preventing an adjacent Supercharger from being accessed. Imagine the frustration of rolling up and realizing that one or more otherwise available chargers are blocked by someone.
That’s the reality that countless Tesla owners are facing right now as brands like General Motors, Rivian, and Ford gain access to the Supercharger network.
Is there a possibilty not to allow other car brands for Tesla #Supercharger when their charging is on the left side (other than Tesla)? One VW ID3 blocked 2 Stations for 45 minutes on a very busy time! What do you think? @elonmusk and @Tesla pic.twitter.com/slR5l9JwcG
— Michelga1971 (@michelga1971) July 28, 2024
One Tesla owner who recognized the reality of the situation expressed their feelings this way. “Is it expected? Yeah, kinda, on some vehicles, due to the charging port location. Is it blocking other spots? YEAH, AND IT’S INFURIATING.”
I saw a Ford Lightening parked across the spots at a Tesla supercharger station a bit back and thought the guy was being a knob and taking 2 spots.
As it shows in this picture the Super Charger cords are long enough for Tesla's rear charge port, but Ford put the charging port… pic.twitter.com/bdpT8l9iUH
— RobotPete of Selwyn! (@RobotPete) September 4, 2024
Of course, when the parking lot and several charging stations are wide open, it shouldn’t be a big deal but that’s not what some have found. According to one F-150 Lightning owner, a Tesla owner left them a horrific note despite several charging stations being wide open.
Tesla owners are an angry bunch
byu/poolmoney1 inF150Lightning
Here’s the craziest part, double or even perhaps triple parking is Tesla’s official solution for cars that don’t have a port in a location that enables the car to take up only one space.
Most Supercharger cables at NACS Supercharger sites should be able to reach your EV charge port, however, in some cases you might have to park over the line in order to charge comfortably. Avoid parking diagonally to reach the cable and try to obstruct as few charge posts as possible. Charge port locations vary by EV model, which requires cable sharing between adjacent stalls at many sites. Tesla is rapidly deploying our latest V4 Supercharger post which reaches all EVs in the same Supercharger stall. Additionally, we encourage all vehicle manufacturers to standardize charge port locations to the rear driver side or front passenger side.
The issue isn’t one that only includes double parking either. Due to the port location on some vehicles, a car like a Ford Mustang Mach-E can take up only one spot but ultimately block the use of a charger. Take for example the one in the photo below. The Mach-E is in a single space but the charger ahead of it and to the right is left idle and out of reach for anyone else.
First time a supercharger for some electrons
byu/datim2010 inMachE
In a somewhat cool turn of events, some of these EV owners are coming up with creative solutions to the issue. Jim Augat, a realtor in the North East simply drove over some landscaping to not only access the Supercharger but to ensure he didn’t inconvenience other drivers.
A Ford F-150 Lightning owner did something similar to avoid blocking more than a single stall. In this case they pulled up directly onto the curb itself which allowed the cable to reach the truck without issue.
Tesla Supercharger – Cheaper and better
byu/elgato123 inF150Lightning
Somewhat hilariously, this problem isn’t one only created by non-Tesla drivers. Sometimes, they do it to themselves says at least one person on Reddit.
We just got a new gen 4 super charger locally so I went over with 5 spots supposedly open. Got there, it was a full super charger because a handicap driver was double parked across two charging spots, neither of which was the dedicated handicap charger spot that nobody else but them could use, so the took up 3 spots and then another genius decided to try out the longer cables by using the cable from the next spot over instead of their own blocking of another 2.
2 teslas blocked 5 of 8 spots with no trailers. Must be a new record.
Here’s a Cybertruck with a trailer (audible gasp) blocking at least three different Superchargers.
Looks like the “Non-Teslas at Superchargers“ charging approach is catching on…
byu/roccthecasbah inChargerDrama
Tesla Owners Do This At Non-Supercharger Stations
Long before non-Tesla owners got access to Tesla stations, Tesla owners could access basically any non-Tesla supercharger with an adapter. Now the adapter is on the other cord.
Unsurprisingly, Tesla owners sometimes block or take up chargers that aren’t Superchargers. Here’s an example of a Tesla owner and a Volvo owner both parked in front of Electrify America chargers while not charging at all. Again, imagine the frustration of expecting to pull up to open functional chargers before finding this.
Tesla owners are as bad as BMW owners
byu/Bobbyj59 inVWiD4Owners
Here’s another Tesla owner just parked in an EV charging space for no apparent reason since the charging cord certainly won’t reach all the way to the back of the car.
I’ll add this one because it’s not one but several Tesla owners blocking charging spaces at an apartment complex while almost comically, none of them are plugged in and using the charging spaces.
Just moved into a new apartment. Typical
byu/kevinxb inChargerDrama
This is especially galling because, for a long time, non-Tesla owners could only charge at CCS stations whereas Tesla owners had their own dedicated charger network.
Could This Hurt Tesla?
Finally, there is one more interesting turn in all of this. The situation could lead some buyers away from Tesla and into the arms of other brands. The Supercharger network is one of Tesla’s key selling points. It works so much better than most of the public charging infrastructure. Until recently, the only way to benefit from it was to buy a Tesla. Now, that’s not the case, and some owners report that they might ditch their Tesla over it.
The supercharger situation is the solitary reason I’m considering selling my MYLR, having had it for only a year. I love this thing, but the charging situation has no indication of getting any better. Nothing stopping people from doing this garbage. But worse yet is the lawlessness of a charger with a line. In my experience, It’s dog-eat-dog, apocalyptic guerrilla mayhem. A year ago it wasn’t like this.
Another person complained, “I’m about to make a longer trip around Thanksgiving, and I’m a bit concerned about how many other companies they’ve opened up superchargers to.” That kind of sentiment could indeed lead buyers away from Tesla in the coming months and years.
For now, the automaker currently keeps some of its Supercharger stations exclusive to Tesla owners so it appears as though it recognizes the need for such a move. Additionally, the switch to NACS charging might eventually lead automakers to move charging parts to a more universal location.
What about an extension cord like this one from Amazon? Not only is it a small price a pay to get easy access when other cars are there, it’s a nice way to avoid conflict with your fellow electric car owners. However, the major caveat here is that most cords like these only support Level 1/Level 2 charging and so it’s not a great solution if you pull up to a Supercharger station, though they may work at certain Tesla Destination stations.
[Full disclosure: We put an Amazon affiliate link on that extension cord and might make a commission if you buy one.]
Other chargers of this level are designed to be used by any vehicle, and in theory, with the Cybertruck being rolled out, Tesla should have designed a new supercharger prior to accommodate for that, perhaps developed at the same time as the truck, since it’s nowhere near what Tesla usually pushes out.
But if their only solution is to put an image out telling other brand owners to park like this, then I can only assume Tesla has no intention to fix this issue. I shouldn’t have to buy a third party add-on for this sort of thing, Tesla should have seen the problem and made the adapter an extension cord. That’s all there is to it.
The new V4 Superchargers (black and white, not red and white like V2/V3 charger) are much better for EVs who don’t have their charging port in the driver’s rear location. They have longer cables (~9.5 ft. vs. ~6.5 ft.) and IIRC all V4 chargers are native Magic Dock units. Still no pull-through spots for vehicles that are towing though.
On the one hand, I understand the frustration if there are legitimately no spots available and people are taking multiple spots. On the other, I get a massive hit of schadenfreude seeing your stereotypical Tesla owners getting mad over people using their precious chargers on non-Teslas or parking “wrong” while also having multiple open spaces.
The exclusivity of the Superchargers was the only reason I was interested in a Tesla a couple years ago.
Think that says a lot about you. (JK)
A charger for an EV shouldn’t be exclusive. These aren’t phones, these are vehicles we use to get places we need to go.
But on high travel days like around the holidays, supercharger lines were already stupid long. Now it’ll be even worse.
I don’t think that extension cord will work for DC fast chargers. I think the cords themselves have coolant lines running through them
Meh, I feel like these Tesla people have just discovered something all too common to any diesel driver when pulling up to a gas station with a dozen pumps but only one of them that has diesel; all pumps are open except for the diesel one where a soccer mom has parked her Tahoe and went inside to take a dump, re-apply make-up, buy cigarettes, a slurpee and chat up the counter boy.
Yeah, the broad problem is not new, just the circumstances. I had this problem driving gas as well – I’d be ready to pull out from my pump but the guy at the pump in front of me locked the car and strolled into the Buc-ee’s like it was a normal parking space. I had to back a trailer into a traffic lane to get out.
Inconsiderate actions take place everywhere and we’re all guilty at one time or another if only because we let our situational awareness lapse.
Can we bring back the fold down license plate thing? 😀
Thank god Tesla has an entire team of Supercharger experts to tap into for solving this problem.
Wait, what?
It’s really nerve-wracking to me that the OEMs have all moved over to Tesla standard (which is admittedly better than the alternatives!). Putting the future of charging in the hands of one asshole who … clearly doesn’t seem interested in maintaining or improving it.
Isn’t the Tesla standard open now? Theoretically, anyone can build them. I can’t figure out why Ford or GM don’t do that.
Musk fired everybody, so Supercharger will die on the vine.
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/inside-story-elon-musks-mass-firings-tesla-supercharger-staff-2024-05-15/
Except that that extension cord is J1772, or level 2 charging like you might have in your garage. CCS and Supercharging DC fast chargers have liquid-cooled cables to handle well over 20x the amount of power of the J1772 cable.
A Supercharger “extension cord” would need its own liquid cooler, monitoring system, and CANBUS communications with both the charger and the car. Best case that sounds like a really annoying apparatus to shlep around, worse case that’s a fire waiting to happen.
OOOORRRRR… Tesla can just include longer cables on their V4 Superchargers, which is exactly what they’re doing.
The only problem there is having to wait for those V4 stations to replace all the V2 and V3 stations. If over-reliance on FSD/Autopilot has taught us anything, it’s that there is nobody more impatient than a Tesla owner.
Maybe. I don’t have a Tesla, and I only ever need to use a public charger maybe 1-2x a year, so public charging infrastructure isn’t something I think about very often, despite daily driving an EV.
We’ve fixed the blog. Extension cords only for L1 and L2 (I knew this, as both my own extension cord and my adapter make that clear, but I should have mentioned this to Rivers; my bad!).
Thank you for pointing that out!
we are 11 years in to electrics being in the “mainstream” and people still can’t wrap their heads around the fact that current ev buyers are STILL the “early adopters”
I’m a Tesla owner and the only people I blame are Tesla for not installing longer cords or upgrading to V4 dispensers faster. Sure its annoying but I would rather people be able to charge.
Has anyone ever explained the short cords? I don’t public charge but I always thought those cords were unusually short.
They are cheaper. The problem really is the lack of a standard.
They’re cheaper and perfectly adequate when the only vehicles they can charge all have ports in the exact same spot. Also cooling of cables becomes more complex and expensive as length increases, so it was totally fine.
It really speaks to the fact that opening up NACS to other companies was never in the Supercharger networks plan until government money came along to fund expansion. The V4 stations with longer cables are a direct response, but there’s an extremely large number of V2 and V3 superchargers still in operation that will need to be entirely replaced before the issue goes away. This is a problem that will eventually sort itself out, but it’ll be many many years and a lot of conflicts at blocked stalls until it’s fully sorted.
Copper wire is expensive and those big thick cables need a lot of it. $5 per pound, x 50,000 superchargers adds up quick.
And that $5 is for raw copper, mark it up a little more for the cost of actual copper cable.
Plus when you get to a certain length, you also have to start thinking about adding cable storage mechanisms for the extra slack.
Electric-charging-hissy-fit-slap-fight. The newest event for the 2028 Olympics.
I’ve long (before EVs) been tempted to carry a jack and a set of car dollies so I could move cars that are in the way. This sort of thing long predates charging stations. Try driving a van with a wheelchair lift in the side door.
I thought about this when I read about the person complaining about the handicap vehicle not being in the handicap spot. Navigating the world is SO. HARD. for people in wheelchairs. Sometimes the set up of the “handicap-accessible” charger (or anything) is not actually accessible to the person in the wheelchair.
Excellent thinking adding the extension cord and purchase link to the story. I hope you thought to get a percentage from buyers. This is electronic media at its best. The original idea was to pair pertinent ads to pertinent stories with less clicks but more purchases. However, big money was allowed to buy sponsored ad spots so the best search results are 3 to 4 pages in. NOT HERE MIND YOU but on any Google search with the mind numbing 3 million hits and you can’t find a good one. I think if I hit the lottery I will hire some geeks and create an app only shows pertinent results. And then allow my heirs to sell it for billions
Except that extension cord is useless for DC fast charging of any kind, and most level 2 chargers like that extension cord is for have ample cable length for all EVs already.
The garage with all the non-charging Teslas taking all the charging spots? It’s nothing a few minutes with a valve stem core tool couldn’t solve. They won’t repeat that mistake.
But then they are stuck there for weeks waiting on Tesla repair units and trucks.
Side cutters.
Seems like a high income, first worlder problem. The fact that the closest charging stations ( 2 of ’em!) are a 40 mile round trip from here, I’ll stick with a hybrid.
It’s possible to get a $10k EV with 225+ miles of range. This is not high income territory.
That’s still probably a 2 hours round trip just to fill up.
If you can’t charge at home, yes. I still kinda fall in the camp of EV folks that totally agree that it’s probably not the ideal vehicle if you are not a homeowner.
If you do own a home, and can install a charger, and you have more than 1 vehicle, one of them should be an EV. There is really no excuse at this point. I mean, there are, but it should be in the “next car plan”, if it’s not already.
More than a few do not agree, myself included. I cannot be convinced to own a BEV in light of the many issues with the current state of the industry and it’s support structure. Then there are the high costs of ownership and lack of service anywhere near where I live. Here abouts any domestic dealer that may offer a BEV has a lot full of trucks and very few if any BEV units for sale. This offers no confidence that there will be skilled service or reasonable turn around time. The best service choices are a 300mi round trip away.
That is certainly a very good point. BUT, the service items on my 2018 Bolt are basically fluids (which any DIY’er can do), and suspension. I have heard many stories of people going years with only wiper fluid and tire changes.
What do you suggest is the high cost of ownership? A Bolt can be had for $10k after federal rebates. With the right timing, the battery may be new, and have an 8yr/100k warranty. If your daily commute is less than 100 miles, and you can install a level 2 charger, you will absolutely save money over the life of the vehicle.
After spending my adult life servicing cars at many dealers, foreign and domestic and in several states, my opinion is firm and will not be swayed. There is little faith in me for any dealers service ability given what my experience has shown, including the simple install of a bed liner on my ’24 Maverick hy. A Bolt may be fine for you, and you have the right to take the government bribe. I’ll pass until there is an actual functioning and broad based support system for the BEV.
Understood. Interesting take, given your history, though. Someone of your experience would have little issue maintaining most EV’s. I’ve only rarely paid anyone to service my vehicles (primarily due to requiring welding, which I don’t have) throughout my life. I have spent a lot of time looking back at the amount of time and money I have invested to keep my ICE vehicles on the road, including one that is currently in the garage waiting for ~$700 in parts to arrive in the mail. Frankly, I’m getting tired of removing intake manifolds, replacing timing belts, swapping radiators, etc… I’m looking very forward to the maintenance (or lack thereof) of my EV over the course of ownership.
It was not a bribe, but rather an incentive. I’ve spent my adult life paying taxes. It’s nice to be able to get some back. I’m also receiving state aid to help feed my kids due to having been fired with cause. You have the same right to the same incentive. Free money is free money, why not take it if you having been contributing to it.
Service is a consideration, but I will say my local Ford dealer mostly sells commercial Ford work trucks/vans/etc and they have absolutely no issues servicing my Mach-E for the two recalls that actually required going into a dealer.
That might not be true for all brands, but at least Ford has taken good care of me, and I’ve never had a Ford before this one. YMMV depending on brand and locations though.
I have to think that when the manufacturers start putting the NACS ports on the car they will place it approximately where the Tesla port is at. HAHA just kidding, they won’t do a fucking thing to help anybody.
They might purposefully put in anywhere else out of spite, and just call it ‘innovative’ and ‘disruptive’ 😀
Maybe the Tesla type plug as a standard wasn’t a good idea after all.
Look at this way, the next time someone cuts all the superchargers cables Tesla can do a smart move and actually replace them with a longer cord if they want other cars then Teslas
Don’t blame Tesla they spent company funds not tax payer dollars to create charging stations for their cars. And when other companies who spent zero money on any chargers asked to be part of the network Tesla said okay. It’s not Tesla’s fault the other manufacturers didn’t design for the Tesla chargers. However it would have been a good idea for Tesla to require it moving forward. Why is this Tesla’s fault at all? Just a bunch of Musk haters. Grow up.
Fully grown, still hate Elmo
“Don’t blame Tesla they spent company funds not tax payer dollars to create charging stations for their cars.”
The ONLY reason the Supercharger network was opened up to other car companies, which is what has created the problem described in this story, is to get access to federal money.
https://insideevs.com/news/718664/tesla-supercharger-nevi-charger-funding/
There is nothing like the confidence of someone on the internet that is 100% wrong.
Calm down there, where did I say it’s Tesla’s fault.
Don’t you have pictures of people blocking superchargers to post
I am getting five tonnes of coal delivered tomorrow!
Does that get you through winter, or do you need a refill in February?
Stoke twice a day, or electric hopper that you fill once a week?
It is about two years worth or about a thousand miles.
Big tipper lorry,big coal bunker, done. The hard work is getting it up and into the traction engine bunker, half a tonne at a time!
Are you Sandy Klaus? Or were you that bad this year? Ha ha
Seriously though, I think those traction engines are awesome
I am glad someone else thinks they are awesome, I shift between feeling hugely proud and privileged and stupidly happy to own them and near suicidally furious because I have look after them ( I have three and a half). One of them is running as I type, possibly the most stupid way of generating electricity imaginable but the leccy people are replacing stuff and I thought ” why not” so I am genuinely typing on a steam powered computer. OK, they are pretty awesome, a downside is that I never have even vaguely clean fingernails.
For complicated reasons the Dorset Steam Fair may never happen again but here is a fillum of it when it did. From home near Hadrians wall to Blandford Forum took three weeks, I cheated coming back and came home on a flat bed truck, pulled by a Thornycroft Mighty Antar. That only took three days.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II61D0czAVM&t=77s
Nice! Thank you
That hill is steeper than it looks!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzgqX97Jsw0&t=1086s
Definitely do not use DC fast charger extension cords. Yes, they exist, but they are massive fire hazards. 100-250++ kW is a massive amount of power, and Supercharger cables are cooled and rated to handle it, unlike whatever you might find on Amazon or Aliexpress.
I wouldn’t use an AC charger extension cable from Amazon either.
My favorite part is when tesla owners complain about something and then @elonmusk as if he gives a shit. It’s so pathetic it’s almost cute.
Tesla owners being insufferable? No fucking way.
In other shocking news, a bmw just failed to signal a lane change and a charger just ran a red light!
Really it’s the Tesla owners being insufferable here? I must be missing something.
Wireless charging anyone?
Boy, that extension cord looks a little thin for DC fast charging. How does the station know that it can’t pump 400A through that?
Ahh, that’s the J1772 extension… This is AC only and won’t work with Tesla or DC fast charging in general. Only Level1/Level2.
People overreacting to everything has gotten so f’ing old. Everyone is just huddled inside their self-created sensory deprivation chambers, cobbled together from echo chambers and self congratulatory social media posts, and interrupting them from that false reality is emotionally jarring
Especially the note hoping someone close to the person dies. Like, I get you are inconvenienced, and may have lost half an hour, but the number of people for whom that half an hour is life altering is pretty low, and I’m not overly inclined to believe the note author is one of them. Usually if time is that critical, you wouldn’t waste any writing a nasty note. So instead you are just a soft, pandered-to, douche bag who can’t deal with the real world wherein you don’t matter.
Some people just have to be so dramatic and flamboyant, it just makes me want to set myself on fire
Amen
I think I’ll stick to just filling up my tank every two weeks a little while longer.
This post reminds me very much of the shitheaded battle for spots at the grocery store gas rewards (Kroger/Safeway/Costco) stations. The worst people exhibiting the worst of human behaviors. Which I can drive right on by and find an easily accessible station, no problem. I would really hate to be stuck without alternatives.
possible solution; cars should have the cable permanently affixed to it, and then plug that into the charger itself?
But then you’re manufacturing 100x the cords. 1 charger (and cable) can serve a lot of cars. Making 1 cable per car is a bit wasteful.
Cars should have not fewer than 8 cables. That way you’re never more than 45 degrees out from however the charger is situated. The fact that you will look like a deranged copper octopus flailing your way down the interstate is just a bonus.
FINALLY SOMEONE GETS IT
Mine’s attached to my home L2 charger and mounted on a windup reel like a canister vacuum. I leave the car plugged in and never have to worry about range issues. The best part is that when I’m ready to go home I just give the cable a tug and it drags me home without using any electricity at all.
“…it drags me home without using any electricity at all.”
Actually, you used electricity to load the spring that drags you home. I think Newton said so when he wasn’t inventing fig paste cookies.
No, it’s magic, and you would understand if you were ever a four-year-old and your mom walked away from her Lady Kenmore canister to answer the phone on the kitchen wall.
All physics is magic. 🙂