Tesla Supercharging Facilities Actually Must Be Higher — Nice Instance

By Imran Last updated Jan 8, 2025

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Additionally: You Can’t Depend on NACS Superchargers for Cross-Nation Journey in Suitable Non-Tesla EVs

Should you stay in northern Wisconsin, you see the “large” brand-new Fast Journey fuel stations/comfort shops in all places. They’re locations the place you should purchase a smooth drink, a gallon of milk, and/or a sizzling meal and so on., and so on. when you are filling up your automobile with fuel. We’ve related huge comfort shops/fuel stations in Utah beneath the Maverik model. Rumor has it that these stations make little or no on the fuel, however huge earnings on the comfort retailer. When you’ve got noticed the worth of a sweet bar or a bag of sunflower seeds in these locations, you perceive how that works. Though, the worth of milk and bread rivals that at Walmart. If this works for fuel stations the place you spend 5 minutes filling up your automobile, how a lot better ought to it work for EV charging stations, particularly Superchargers, the place you may have entry to effectively heeled prospects for 20 to 40 minutes whereas they’re charging?

Surprisingly, we’re fortunate to get a clear restroom at a lodge 20 yards away or a grocery store 200 yards away or a TJ Max 300 yards away, and infrequently even a real comfort retailer proper subsequent to the Superchargers. Even trash cans and window cleansing fluid, squeegees, and paper towels are very uncommon. Perhaps this is smart to maintain leg thrombosis at bay, however it will possibly’t make enterprise sense. Perhaps this makes enterprise sense for the 8-stall Supercharger in Rawlins, Wyoming, the place we seldom see one other automobile charging. However for the often busy 32-stall Supercharger in Beaver, Utah, or the often totally occupied 48-stall charger in Baker, California, there needs to be a possible gold mine of shoppers to faucet.

Cody’s Gastro Storage Menu on the Nephi, Utah Supercharger. January 1, 2025. Photograph by Fritz Hasler with permission from Cody’s.

The primary place I’ve seen this totally exploited is on the “small” 16-stall Supercharger in Nephi, Utah. The Supercharger in Nephi has 8 stalls on both aspect of a business constructing which stood empty for two or 3 years. That constructing is now occupied by Cody’s Gastro Storage restaurant, which actually is aware of easy methods to goal its prospects (see the menu within the photograph above, additionally excerpted beneath).

The Cody’s 10 Minute Tesla Menu reads partly as follows:

Falcon Fruit & Yogurt
Battery Enhance Breakfast Burrito
Mannequin 3 Breakfast Sandwich
Cyber-Cluck Rooster or Turkey Wrap
Mannequin 3 Quarter Pounder
ELON-Gated Ham or Turkey Hoagie
Powerwall Pork Sandwich

Then there may be the GIGAFACTORY GLUTEN FREE MENU, which incorporates hoagies, wraps, and sandwiches.

These individuals are clearly very Tesla EV educated and have a terrific humorousness. My spouse ordered rooster wings and fries from the common menu, and when it was sluggish arriving, they threw in free chips and salsa. That is on the similar Supercharger the place I noticed my first non-Tesla EVs charging. See the Mannequin 3 and Y line up on the drive-through chargers within the photograph beneath.

7 of 8 drive-through Supercharging stalls full. Tesla (NACS) Supercharger. Nephi, Utah. January, 1, 2024. Photograph by Fritz Hasler

My spouse, our small canine and I’ve commuted backwards and forwards 5 instances from Utah to northern Wisconsin during the last 5 years, so we’re most aware of the Superchargers over that route: what to anticipate and what to not count on. We often drive south slightly, then west to Minneapolis, then southwest to I-90. We cross South Dakota on I-90, then drop southwest by way of the Black Hills into Wyoming. We cross the remainder of Wyoming on I-80, which takes us southwest once more into Utah and Salt Lake Metropolis. Thankfully, the Superchargers are by no means spaced rather more than 100 miles aside over this entire convoluted route. This final fall, we dropped all the best way south to Madison, Wisconsin, to go to my brothers, then southwest to Cedar Rapids Iowa, then the remainder of the best way on I-80 by way of Iowa and Nebraska to hitch our common route by way of Wyoming on I-80. On these routes, we by no means fear about charging. We simply drive our most well-liked shortest route and there has all the time been a functioning Supercharger with out there stalls at each cease. Under, I’ll deal with two topics: 1) What sort of facilities we discover on the Superchargers en route, and a couple of) How most of the V3 and V4 250 kW “NACS” Superchargers we discover en route that can be utilized by non-Tesla EVs. Query: Can a non-Tesla EV use all of the Superchargers on the route? The reply is not any!

Northern Wisconsin to Southern Utah: Supercharger and Vacation spot Charger Facilities

We’ve taken the I-90/I-80 hybrid route quite a few instances, so we’re extra aware of the facilities on that route.

Be aware: The brand new 250 kW V3 and V4 chargers useable by non-Tesla EVs are in daring. Tesla has put in quite a few increased pace V3 and V4 250 kW Superchargers which can be utilized by different EVs in the previous few years. Many of those crammed the longer gaps within the community. Others have been upgraded for routes with heavy visitors. Nevertheless, there are lengthy stretches the place you solely have the previous chargers, which might’t be used with non-Tesla autos. Backside line: On the lengthy cross-country routes I’ve traveled. if you happen to aren’t driving a Tesla you’ll be able to’t depend on a Tesla (NACS) Supercharger the identical manner you’ll be able to depend on a daily Supercharger if driving a Tesla. On these journeys there are vital stretches by way of South Dakota on I-90 and all of Wyoming on I-80, with solely the older Superchargers that may’t be utilized by non-Tesla EVs. This doesn’t imply that non-Tesla EVs can’t journey these routes, however they should depend on CCS chargers which typically have fewer stalls per charger and have decrease reliability.

Each Routes

Three Lakes, Wisconsin (our summer season residence base)
Wausau, Wisconsin (clear restrooms, Hilton Backyard Inn — 400 ft)
Stevens Level, Wisconsin (out of the best way on path to Minneapolis)

I-39/I-94/I-90/I-80 Route (once more, stations that can be utilized by NACS-compatible non-Teslas are in daring)

Menomonie, Wisconsin (grocery store — 400 ft)
Oakdale, Minnesota (grocery store — 400 ft)
Bloomington, Minnesota
St. Peter, Minnesota (quick meals — 1000 ft)
Worthington, Minnesota (our in a single day cease two miles from the Supercharger — quick meals 300 ft away)
Mitchell, South Dakota (Culver’s quick meals — 2 miles)
Chamberlain, South Dakota
Murdo, South Dakota (the one Supercharger I’ve ever seen with waste baskets and windshield washing gear subsequent to the stalls and a real “western themed” comfort retailer inside 75 ft)
Wall, South Dakota (Wall Drug Retailer/restaurant — 300 ft)
Custer, South Dakota (in a single day at Bavarian Lodge with Vacation spot Charger. Supercharger 300 ft from downtown eating places)
Lusk, Wyoming (4 sluggish 120 kW chargers, in a single day at Pioneer/Greatest Western Motel/restaurant throughout the road from the Supercharger)
Casper/Evansville, Wyoming (comfort retailer — 200 ft)

I-39/I-80 Route (detour over Madison, Wisconsin)

Be aware: On this route there was all the time a clear restroom inside 100 yards, however I don’t bear in mind particular facilities in any other case
Madison, Wisconsin East City Mall (Barnes and Noble, and so on.)
Dubuque, Iowa
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Grinnell, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Omaha, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
Grand Island, Nebraska
Lexington, Nebraska
Gothenburg, Nebraska
Kearny, Nebraska
North Platte, Nebraska
Ogallala, Nebraska
Sidney, Nebraska
Cheyenne, Wyoming (4 previous 120 kW chargers, 7 miles off I-80 however close to a mall)
Laramie, Wyoming

Each Routes

Rawlins, Wyoming (Burger King — 1000 ft)
Rock Springs, Wyoming (mall with TJ Max — 750 ft; restaurant open after 4 p.m. — 75 ft)
Evanston, Wyoming (Hampton Inn Lodge with clear restroom — 75 ft)
Draper, Utah (Arctic Circle quick meals inside 75 ft)
Lindon, Utah (our residence base)
Nephi, Utah (Cody’s Gastro Storage — 20 ft)
Beaver, Utah (Starbucks — 75 ft; Dairy Queen — 400 ft; Mexican restaurant — 1.5 miles)
Cedar Metropolis, Utah
Saint George, Utah (our southern Utah residence base)

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