The Tesla Charging Network is a huge advantage to an EV Purchase!

The Tesla Charging Network North America

Disclaimer: While our team are certified Tesla installers, we do not consider ourselves “Tesla Super Fans,” and do not drive Tesla vehicles. We maintain our position of being brand neutral and enjoy discussing the wonders of technology and the world of electric vehicles with our customers.

Pack your bags and go!

Is your family into long distance travel? Does the freedom of the open road thrill you and make you want to explore small corners of Canada or the USA? If this sounds like you, then its certain that you may be a regular customer of a gas station on route. The prospect of an electric vehicle doesn’t necessarily fit with this narrative, or does it?

At present, the regular long distance (CCS and CHAdeMO) fast charging network in North America is incredibly fragmented, with hundreds of different providers that offer the same experience for a varying fees. Some of these providers have integrated their services and offer roaming agreements that allow you to use a single account to access different types of chargers. When you compare service providers, the positioning of chargers is inconsistent and infrequent. It is getting better with time however needs a more coordinated approach. The overall user experience of this system is clunky and frustrating for many users.

While Tesla vehicles boast exceptional battery range, the overall user experience is augmented by the extensive Tesla Charging network. We think that the Tesla Charging network alone is the real key to this company’s long term market success.

While Tesla was developing an identity for its electric vehicles in the market place, they had a whole division dedicated to establishing the most expansive and convenient charging network in North America. This massive undertaking involved thousands of easement agreements, property negotiations and partnerships with utilities in States, Provinces and Districts.

Here is why the Tesla Supercharging experience is by far the best on the market today:

1.    Frequency and Availability: Currently Tesla has deployed 1,971 Supercharger Stations with 17,467 Superchargers in North America. Multiple (6 or more) chargers at one location means you have less chance of waiting long periods in line to charge up and many vehicles can charge at the same time,

2.    Trip Planning is easy: The Supercharger network has streamlined integration with the vehicles GPS so when you enter your destination the GPS will calculate your route and tell you where to stop and charge. It even tells you how long you need to charge at each location to reach your destination,

3.    Speed: The V1 and V2 Tesla Superchargers can charge up to 150kW and the new V3 version has been future proofed to deliver up to 250kW. If you are interested in the V3 Supercharging user experience check out this video,

4.    Integrated Payment and Billing: The other thing that makes the charging experience so easy is that payment and billing is integrated into the system and happens automatically when you plug in the vehicle. The system will pair up with your car and take care of all the billing for using the equipment without you having to swipe an RFID card or activate the charger on your cellphone app.

5.    Free Supercharging for some models: For years Tesla offered free Supercharging for life with the purchase of the Model S and Model X. Tesla even provided free Supercharging for life codes that dedicated Tesla owners could distribute to others in order to seed further vehicle sales. While this was not available for the Model 3, it is a serious perk if you do a lot of long distance driving on a Supercharger serviced route,

6.    In App Notifications: Your vehicle will communicate through your smart phone and tell you when charging is complete or provide real time updates on charging remotely,

 If you plan on buying an electric vehicle and want maximum flexibility in travel, we suggest on doing some calculations on what this seamless charging service is worth to you. While the other networks are catching up in some areas, the points mentioned above really provide an exceptional long distance travelling experience.

While the focus of this post was on long distance travel, we know that all EV owners do 95% of their charging at home and having a convenient and reliable charging solutions is essential to the EV ownership experience. We design and install charging solutions for all vehicles. If you are interested in installing EV charging infrastructure in in your Multi Unit Residential Building, workplace or single family home, call Cielo Electric for a fully comprehensive site assessment. Ph: 778-862-4109 or visit www.cieloelectric.ca

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