Report from a local Tesla owner on a recent road trip and charging…

[Carnos Jax]

Yes, places like yours are in stark contrast to other parts of the country. Whenever I get out to run an errand I may see 5-7 Tesla’s on the road. And most people around here live in houses with garage is too. I don’t get it, especially since on top of that they have long commutes that would greatly benefit from an EV.

[sekker]

Carnos Jax wrote:
Yes, places like yours are in stark contrast to other parts of the country. Whenever I get out to run an errand I may see 5-7 Tesla’s on the road. And most people around here live in houses with garage is too. I don’t get it, especially since on top of that they have long commutes that would greatly benefit from an EV.

Tesla density is 10x year/year in this sleepy SE MN town.

Our Tesla is no longer an oddity.

There's one Ford Mach E. A singular white car that was one of the first 5000 Ford made.

Otherwise, a scattering of Volts and an occasional Bolt/Leaf.

[Robert M]

jdc,

No surprise to see lots of vehicles from Tesla in Northern CA. Seems like lots of the newer new-fangled vehicles show up in Northern CA before other areas. This is especially true in areas like Palo Alto. Last time I was on the west coast in No Ca, it was various electric vehicles and hydrogen cell vehicles. The time before that it was just electric vehicles. Visited a Tesla showroom, which proved very interesting.

Here on the north shore of Long Island in NY, you see electric vehicles from large variety of brands . What I don't see is nearly enough charging stations for them. Could be that most people have appropriate charging systems in their homes and/or offices.

In my case, if I wanted an EV, I'd have to put the charging system at my office. I live in an apartment building which doesn't have the infrastructure and hardware for charging electric vehicles and I doubt they'll put anything for it into place until our shareholders force the Board of Directors to make the investment.

Robert

[Carnos Jax]

Robert M wrote:
Here on the north shore of Long Island in NY, you see electric vehicles from large variety of brands . What I don't see is nearly enough charging stations for them. Could be that most people have appropriate charging systems in their homes….

Yes, I’ve noticed this too whenever I visit the area. Teslas seem to be as common as any other make. And yes, everyone I know that owns an EV up there (they all are Teslas) charges from home.

[pqrst]

I have to agree with Robert with the apartment. I live in a complex which has problem with keeping the plumbing going and adding chargers would be difficult. It is a very large parking area with assigned spaces. Running electric out to a lot of the spaces would require putting in overhead or buried lines. The neighborhood parking situation is always difficult. My work takes to different locations with large parking lots. A hybrid makes the most sense Altho at the moment I have a compact gas car. Not quite the money to get new or used wheels. Everyone’s situation varies.

[kj]

I don't think I would ever recommend a EV for someone living in apartments unless the apartments are already built with the charging infrastructure. Maybe some people make it work though, I guess.