Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Who has or is planning to get an electric car / EV Talk
- Thread starter PracticalMac
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I think gas stations adding fast charging would be a logical step ...Even gas stations are getting in on the action.
They realize that you still need snacks and drinks while you're charging!
Sheetz Sees the Future of EV Charging
The Mid-Atlantic c-store chain has been installing EV chargers over the past decade and is “future-proofing” its stores.www.convenience.org
Probably more so. I expect many petrol stations to convert to EV charging stations with a coffee shop and EV charging stations.
I imagine it will be quite tricky to find petrol stations in a few years
There will be a lot that close down too. I know of quite a few that would discourage people hanging around for longer periods after dark. It will depend on the areas I’d say.
TLDR: My charging experience at EVGo for the first time. Pricing hard to find, not intuitive, ended up being more expensive (which is why no one was using it?) than a Tesla Supercharger in same parking lot (Santa Clarita, CA). From the perspective of a Tesla Owner.
I went on a 1.5 hour road trip yesterday. Left with 85% charge and got there at something around 53% charge. Figured I'd look around for charging instead of using a Tesla Supercharger just to see what I could find. Local Tesla Superchargers were $.36-$.39/kwhr. No public ChargePoint+ nearby.
Saw there was an EvGo in the same parking lot as the Tesla Supercharger and it was reporting that it works with my Tesla with no adapter needed through my Tesla's map. Figured, it's gotta be cheaper than Tesla right? So I drove there and parked at the 3 stalls that EvGo had - no one was there despite it being mid day and the large Tesla supercharger being half full.
Never used EVGo before (I have used ChargePoint+ and SemaConnect or something like that). So, pulled up, downloaded the EVGo app, registered an account. The app told me I needed an adapter despite the charger having a Tesla cable. Took me 10 mins to figure out how to start charging after entering in my VIN manually and answering a few questions in the app. I even "reserved" the spot thinking I had to do that to start charging because I couldn't figure out how to start charging. Well that cost me $3. Finally figured out you have to CLICK the adapter type you want to use on the specific charger (each has their own name) then it gives you the option to charge.
For the life of me I could not find out what the pricing was. It had a big: "Powered by Renewable Energy" sticker on it. The website seemed to indicate $.36 - so I figured, sure. Cool, started charging - 50kW was nice - I was in no hurry and proceeded to work on my laptop in the car.
Well, after too long (12 mins), the car started beeping a loud warning - and I noticed the current dropped to 10kW and then slowly counted back up to 50kW (never had this happen before). In the app I saw the drop too. That's when I noticed the app was telling me the cost of the charging session, which ... showed way over $.36/kw. Finally figured out the super tiny "pricing" text on the right is how you find the cost - which, was $.49/kW not counting a $.99 session charge, and my $3 "reservation" charge.
Disconnected, went across the parking lot and finished charging for $.36/kW at the Tesla supercharger lol.
I had no idea that EVGo had stations with Tesla adapters. Now I have yet another app I can check if looking for 3rd party charging. Looks like the monthly plans decrease charging costs significantly. 50kW makes running off to get groceries a lot less stressful than the Tesla Supercharger (which charges way too fast).
Looks like ChargePoint+ is really prevalent in Northern CA where I'm moving.
I went on a 1.5 hour road trip yesterday. Left with 85% charge and got there at something around 53% charge. Figured I'd look around for charging instead of using a Tesla Supercharger just to see what I could find. Local Tesla Superchargers were $.36-$.39/kwhr. No public ChargePoint+ nearby.
Saw there was an EvGo in the same parking lot as the Tesla Supercharger and it was reporting that it works with my Tesla with no adapter needed through my Tesla's map. Figured, it's gotta be cheaper than Tesla right? So I drove there and parked at the 3 stalls that EvGo had - no one was there despite it being mid day and the large Tesla supercharger being half full.
Never used EVGo before (I have used ChargePoint+ and SemaConnect or something like that). So, pulled up, downloaded the EVGo app, registered an account. The app told me I needed an adapter despite the charger having a Tesla cable. Took me 10 mins to figure out how to start charging after entering in my VIN manually and answering a few questions in the app. I even "reserved" the spot thinking I had to do that to start charging because I couldn't figure out how to start charging. Well that cost me $3. Finally figured out you have to CLICK the adapter type you want to use on the specific charger (each has their own name) then it gives you the option to charge.
For the life of me I could not find out what the pricing was. It had a big: "Powered by Renewable Energy" sticker on it. The website seemed to indicate $.36 - so I figured, sure. Cool, started charging - 50kW was nice - I was in no hurry and proceeded to work on my laptop in the car.
Well, after too long (12 mins), the car started beeping a loud warning - and I noticed the current dropped to 10kW and then slowly counted back up to 50kW (never had this happen before). In the app I saw the drop too. That's when I noticed the app was telling me the cost of the charging session, which ... showed way over $.36/kw. Finally figured out the super tiny "pricing" text on the right is how you find the cost - which, was $.49/kW not counting a $.99 session charge, and my $3 "reservation" charge.
Disconnected, went across the parking lot and finished charging for $.36/kW at the Tesla supercharger lol.
I had no idea that EVGo had stations with Tesla adapters. Now I have yet another app I can check if looking for 3rd party charging. Looks like the monthly plans decrease charging costs significantly. 50kW makes running off to get groceries a lot less stressful than the Tesla Supercharger (which charges way too fast).
Looks like ChargePoint+ is really prevalent in Northern CA where I'm moving.
Last edited:
Tesla has/had Urban Chargers but those never seemed to catch on.
Sorry you had a difficult time with your Tesla.
I use EVGo almost all the time now with my Ford EV.
My EV is registered as "AutoCharge+" which means no app, no phone, no tower to interact with - just plug and charge.
You can even forget your wallet, phone or keys and even let others drive it to any EVGo fast charger to charge without any interaction.
EVGo will bill your credit card attached to it every time.
I also have the AAA/Auto Club discount attached which eliminates the $0.99 session fee.
EVGo rates are 3 different pricing tiers depending on demand and time of day.
Cheapest is late night thru early morning, then later till early afternoon goes mid tier and the highest tier is about the time everyone leaves work.
This is a recent charge at mid tier rate:
Very cool!
I see the AutoCharge+ thing but they require me to have a CSS Combo 1 Adapter to continue (which I don't have). Thinking about hitting Yes anyway and just registering and using only the stations that have a Tesla cable.
OK, I hit I had one, and yep, I just have to connect to an EVGo station to complete the registration for the plug and charge - thank you!
I'll give that a try this weekend.
I see Montclair has one, Chino, looks like Ontario Mills and Victoria Gardens.
Same here. I go out of my way to get a hotel that has chargers or ... because we are moving - we went out of our way to make sure where we were moving had easy access to chargers (there's a ChargePoint+ in our complex where we're moving in 2 weeks).
If I'm traveling with my EV - I will DEFINITELY look for charging (almost always need my adapter).
I've been enjoying/learning much from this thread, and thought some here might find this newsworthy:
electrek.co
Tesla reaches 50,000 Supercharger milestone in just over a decade
Tesla has reached the milestone of having deployed 50,000 Superchargers around the world. It took the automaker just over a...
electrek.co
Fortunately no need for adaptors in Europe.
Someone over at the Chevy bolt forum claims that you can use your ChargePoint account at evgo…
Never used evgo, when I went to Monterey for the weekend I stopped in Soledad to charge to 80% before heading into Monterey, used EA, the 4 stations were used by at least 2 EVa while I was there (both directions of the trip), in the same parking lot there were 4 evgo fast chargers that weren’t used at all, they were pretty new…
I had no idea there were other 3rd party chargers out there with the Tesla cable! I realize my post about EVGo was kinda negative but I was very happy to find that there did exist a 3rd party option to Tesla Superchargers. I gave it $11+ of business. lol.
Might go out of my way to charge at these places as a Tesla just to let them know that even if a little more expensive, I'd like to see more 3rd party Tesla options.
Try the PlugShare app, I find it the best one out there to find any charger on any network
I installed that app last year and haven't touched it since when I first got my Tesla - wow you're right, it shows a lot of chargers I didn't know existed!
Thank you!
More than likely it will take a very long time for such thing to happen in the US. And even so, liquid fuels will still be needed by the defense forces of all nations, the aviation industries, and so on.
Last edited:
Until alternative fuel sources are developed for aviation/military…. It is likely to be a long time, but even they will switch.
Perhaps. But if there was an alternative fuel source over the existing fuel sources of today, that would be "the goose laying golden eggs." The ingredients needed to build batteries, and also all types of liquid and solid fuels- aren't found in endless quantities. The same can be said by uranium and other radioactive materials, coal, and so on.
The idea of switching from petroleum-base fuels to natural gas for heating/cooling one's home sounds great, but again there aren't endless supplies of it, and as more people switch from one product to another, this second product becomes a more expensive commodity. As we switch from liquid fuels to batteries, electricity will become more expensive. Governments will always pass the loss of revenue generated from the sale of fuel...to the people.
Last edited:
Soon, we CCS1 EVs will be charging at your Tesla SC using an adapter like the Magic Dock.
So far, not impressed with the availability of Tesla SC of many while CCS1 chargers are few and not crowded.
This is typical:
20 Tesla SC all full and cars lined up waiting.
6 EVGo CCS1 - only one taken (mine).
Maybe I'll stick with CCS1 chargers unless I am in a bind and need to use Tesla SC....
I’m sure the US will be years behind Europe in adoption. After all isn’t oil where your money comes from?
Switching from petroleum based to natural gas to heat homes? We are starting to switch away from gas theses days. Heat pumps and the like are most likely the future here.
A lot of new buildings in the NYC area are required to be net neutral. Times are changing even here. It will just take time because each state is almost treated like a separate country when it comes to regulations.
Outside of big cities that have gas lines run, most newer dwellings are using electricity. This can be offset with solar.
