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[Technology Connections] Tesla won the plug war - and that's good news!

Posted by gumol@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 27 comments

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27 Comments

UniqueThanks@reddit

Tesla is able to produce and install higher quality and more reliable chargers quicker (and cheaper) than anyone else. That alone is the reason why we should be switching to NACS
View on Reddit #7258835

Bensemus@reddit

NACS is different than super chargers. Tesla’s chargers are sill locked to Tesla cars. However there’s a new partnership agreement and Ford, VW, and GM have all signed on to it so their cars will gain access to the network. More car makers will or already have joined as well. It’s basically guaranteed all cars sold in NA will eventually gain access to Tesla’s chargers. The NACS charger is the new spec for the physical connector and the protocols it supports. So every charger in NA will be switching to that physical charger.
View on Reddit #7480386

PrpleMnkyDshwsher@reddit

It wasn't because of any superior tech, it was a management that actively cared about delivering a quality charging experence. Didn't hurt they only had to test and certify their own cars as well.
View on Reddit #7366134

biggsteve81@reddit

They have only proven reliable when charging Tesla-manufactured vehicles. It remains to be seen how well they will work when interfacing with vehicles from other manufacturers.
View on Reddit #7259947

natesully33@reddit

The problems with CCS chargers seem to revolve around cable temperature sensors, payment terminals, software... From what I've experienced and seen in videos, the cars and chargers can all chat with one another just fine. It's everything else that keeps breaking. Not that there aren't some car-charger comms issues, I know there's some problem with Rivians not getting along with EA stations, and Signet ones not liking 800V cars. Those issues don't take down stations though.
View on Reddit #7306452

I_AM_TESLA@reddit

The actual charger is in your car. The plug doesn't do much. No reason why they wouldn't work well with everything else.
View on Reddit #7274289

Blackzone70@reddit

That's only true for AC charging though where it goes to the battery via the onboard charger. DC fast charging uses the external equipment to handle the charging and bypassed the onboard charger completely.
View on Reddit #7276331

I_AM_TESLA@reddit

TIL, cool!
View on Reddit #7276348

JtheNinja@reddit

Technology Connections has videos on this too! ​ AC (lv1/lv2) "chargers": [https://youtu.be/RMxB7zA-e4Y](https://youtu.be/RMxB7zA-e4Y) DC fast chargers (lv3): https://youtu.be/sZOuz\_laH9I
View on Reddit #7278629

StPapaNoel@reddit

The reality is this means that the charging infrastructure will roll out faster and that alone is incredibly big news. People hate hearing the basic fact that most people use vehicles simply as commuter appliances. When people have plenty of cheap charging options and those charging options exist outside of home ownership the uptake of electric vehicles will speed up even more than it has in the last few years.
View on Reddit #7252745

snoo-suit@reddit

> People hate hearing the basic fact that most people use vehicles simply as commuter appliances. On this sub, that kind of statement is usually used for gate keeping- all EVs are appliances, you must not be a car enthusiast if you like EVs. Or, the car you think is a hot hatch is just a commuter appliance.
View on Reddit #7358453

biggsteve81@reddit

The last section where Alec talks about making charging stations more like gas stations (from payments to amenities) is what really needs to happen to make widespread EV adoption possible. You shouldn't have to search for a brand where your membership works to charge your car. With gas, although I usually fill up at Costco, when on a road trip I can stop anywhere and tap with my credit card and start fueling. I think the resistance comes from the charging networks wanting deep data on their customers; if that is the case they should do like a lot of gas stations do and offer a (slightly) lower price for members of their program, but still work normally for the general public.
View on Reddit #7260157

PEBKAC69@reddit

And then you need to be done charging in five minutes... or increase the number of stalls by an order of magnitude.
View on Reddit #7277736

Surturiel@reddit

There's no way charging will be done in 5 minutes. It's simple physics. A vehicle spends an amount of energy, in kWh, to move, let's say about 50kWh every 200 miles or so. For you to put 50kWh worth in 6 minutes you'd need to cram 500 kW constantly into a battery. The fastest chargers nowadays do 350kW *peak* charging, and NO EV supports 350kW constant charging. And 50kW per 200 miles is a pretty optimistic consumption. Now, if you double that to 10 minutes, we start to approach more realistic numbers, and even those aren't still reality. And be honest with yourself, you spend at least 3 minutes just interacting with the pump before you actually start refueling. Where we can reduce the time spent is with the interaction part, and this is where Tesla shines: it takes about 30s between parking, plugging and leaving, as opposed to fiddling with apps/cards/screens/connectors that take a while to "talk" to the car.
View on Reddit #7298272

Jace__B@reddit

Rumor has it that Tesla is developing a megawatt charger... if that's true, for a 75kWh pack, you'd basically be done in 4.5 minutes (probably a little longer assuming a nonlinear charge rate).
View on Reddit #7305422

Surturiel@reddit

The problem with a megawatt charger is that it wouldn't be practical for anything smaller than 200kWh. You'd need a ridiculously high C value to recharge a battery as small as 78kWh in as fast as 1MW. The limitation is still the battery.
View on Reddit #7336783

biggsteve81@reddit

Buc-ees has the model for how to do this - just replace most of the pumps with chargers.
View on Reddit #7286403

natesully33@reddit

A few in Texas, which I've visited, have Tesla stations. They're off at the edge and have no canopy - but we're slowly getting there.
View on Reddit #7306268

biggsteve81@reddit

They have done the same thing at their SC location. But I also wonder if they signed any exclusivity contract with Tesla.
View on Reddit #7309618

Pearl_krabs@reddit

Now that I think of it, I wouldn’t be surprised if they took a leadership role in the future of this.
View on Reddit #7292113

Loan-Pickle@reddit

Buc-ee’s signed a deal with Tesla to install chargers at all their stores. They’ve already completed quite a few of them, and it is one of my preferred places to charge.
View on Reddit #7307350

Jace__B@reddit

I absolutely hate downloading multiple apps, signing up, having to deposit a MINIMUM AMOUNT like $20 just to charge for $4, and then finding out the fucking charger doesn't even work! Tesla's stuff? Just roll up, plug in, play Polytopia for fifteen minutes, unplug, leave. App handles all the payments automatically. And sure, like one stall might be out of order, but fortunately there's usually a half dozen at each installation.
View on Reddit #7297641

faizimam@reddit

The thing is you can't run a business with 4 chargers. Even at highest speeds were only talking a dozen people an hour passing through. That's not enough revenue to do much. If you look at Europe charging stations with full service have a dozen or more stalls. Seems like a few are being proposed across north America, but none open yet.
View on Reddit #7262786

stml@reddit

That already exists in the US. Plenty of supercharger stations with 40+ charging stalls with food and restrooms nearby.
View on Reddit #7278020

Professional-Bad-619@reddit

This guy is one of YouTube's best channels with the subscribers to back it up. His auto tech analysis is razor sharp. Highly recommended.
View on Reddit #7269384

testthrowawayzz@reddit

he shares my sentiment regarding payments on chargers. I don't want to sign up for anything or download apps just to charge!
View on Reddit #7266597

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