Mega-Jolt: The Costs and Logistics of Plugging in EVs Are About to Become Supercharged
Gateway Pundit | Nov. 27, 2023 | John Murawski, Real Clear Wire… Not all chargers are equal, so the new EV infrastructure will require significant changes in driving habits. While so-called fast chargers can bring a battery to 80% of capacity in under an hour, most of the new public chargers will be cheaper, Level 2 technology, which provides between 5 miles and 60 miles of range for each hour of charging and isn’t practical for charging up quickly on a road trip.
Chargers are expected to lose money until there are enough EVs on the road to justify the investment. The cost of building a fast-charging station with four or more charging ports can range from several hundred thousand dollars to more than $1 million. Reliability remains a persistent problem, one that will shadow the industry as chargers are built out in remote areas, low-income areas, and other out-of-the-way places.
In the meantime, Analytics firm J.D. Power says that 20% of all EV drivers reported visiting a charger that did not or could not charge because it wasn’t working or there were long lines. The dissatisfaction rates ranged from 12% in the Cleveland-Akron-Canton area to 35% in South Florida. The firm said the trend is moving in the wrong direction: as more people buy EVs, “overall satisfaction continues to decline.”
This year, a Los Angeles Times columnist declared she’s ready to trade in her EV because charging is such a hassle. She wrote that chargers are sometimes blocked by cars that aren’t charging, exposed to blistering sunlight, charging at lower levels than advertised, or “it may shut off mid-charge with no warning or reason.”
The frustration seems to have no expiration date. And it includes a problem not caused to technology or economics but by human nature: vandalism. As Jonathan Levy, EVgo chief commercial officer, told the New York Times last year: “Where there’s a screen, there’s a baseball bat.”
Well, the EV Climatista-types don’t WANT you living in remote/out of the way places. They want you living stacked atop one another, densley packed, in CITIES, damn it! Consolidate! Get with the plan, man!
EVs should only be allowed to charge at stations that run on solar, wind, hydro, or nuclear power generators. Otherwise, they defeat the purpose of having one.
D…Di…Did you say N… Nu…Nuclear!? But green toxic sludge and three headed fish!!! And Hydro prevents the salmon from returning to historic breading grounds that the indians (oh $hit, I mean Native Americans) fished. Hydro is not just anti- green, it’s racist!!! What? No I don’t have a solution, just more cries of anguish and ignorance.
Don’t charge your car at all, the power grid must be saved!
Or, like me, you could just buy your EVs from a company that thinks ahead, understands that the customer experience is important, doesn’t feel like it should rely on Uncle Sam to fix its problems and force demand for its products, and who fixes their own infrastructure when it breaks or is broken.
As a Tesla owner, I have literally never experienced any of the problems in the excerpt… EXCEPT when I tried to charge once or twice at a non-Tesla charger (just for the hell of it). Then I experienced literally all of these problems.
Buy a Tesla. You’ll thank yourself. Do not buy ANY other EV for a good long while.
Add: Literally every article like thist, which contains some VERY important considerations, should have a disclaimer that basically says, “Oh, and none of this horrible sh*t applies to Elon’s outfit.” Not adding that proviso is just journalistic malpractice.
“I experienced literally all of these problems.”
Which you admit.
Enjoy your journey into the Adirondacks in severe weather. And Alaska. Also Death Valley.
And Florida during a hurricane warning. Charge up for six hours with your wife in Memphis, White Boy!
I admit these problems are real if you have an EV manufactured by a company OTHER THAN TESLA. Infrastructure is the key to successful EV deployment. I drive a Tesla, these problems do not exist for me. I know I sound like a Tesla bigot. I like not having these problems. But I also don’t have many Tesla owners’ blinders about how serious these problems are for EV growth overall. These problems are real and they are spectacular.
I have, yes, experienced all these problems, by simulating the experience of any other EV than a Tesla.
And Dude, I live in Florida. I live at what was ground zero for Hurricane Ian. I had no problem with evacuation or return. People who could not get gas because the grid was down did have problems. I was frankly amazed at how fast Tesla had their superchargers back up and running.
No, I would not drive a Tesla in Alaska. The density is not there to support the charging network. I don’t live in Alaska. Statistically speaking, NO ONE lives in Alaska. Do you? (I’m asking in all seriousness. I don’t know.)
Cold does noticeably affect range, this is true. But not as much as it once did. and not as much as it does other EV models.
I would not drive in Death Valley in any vehicle… because it is called DEATH VALLEY. I’m a coward.
In all seriousness, my point is that for 99% of drivers, the problems outlined in that article just do not exist for EVs with the funky T on the steering wheel. But they absolutely DO exist for vehicles from manufacturers who did not THINK before they produced.
Well, I appreciate your willingness to press home your point with good humor. I’m not convinced that Tesla has charging stations as plentiful as gas stations, though.
I heard the L.A.. Chargers are going around charging peoples E.V.’s for a fair price so they can pay their QB 40 mil a year but only if you have a Dodge Charger. Wth are those people smoking out there?!