Today I charged my Tesla Model 3 with a non-Tesla charger for the first time. Just when I think I’ve learned all of the ins and outs of EV ownership I find there’s a new and different bit of knowledge to digest and details to sift through.
The city of St. Paul installed four EV Spot charging stations just across the street from our building. They were supposed to be online in August but they just became available yesterday so, today, I thought I’d give them a shot.
These EV Spots are Level 2 chargers and use the J1772 connector, which is slightly different from the proprietary Tesla connector. Thankfully, Tesla was still including the J1772 adapter when I ordered my car last March but they no longer do. As you can see from the screenshot above, I charged for 48 minutes today, I got 10% of range (about 36 miles) and it cost me a grand total of $3.40. My car told me it would take another hour and a half to charge to 80% but I just didn't have the time to stay plugged in.
Now, when you use a Tesla Supercharger everything is completely seamless and automatic. You pull up, remove the connector from the stand, your car recognizes the plug, opens the charging bay door, you plug in and you’re charging. The credit card you have loaded into the Tesla app is charged after your session is over in ten or twenty minutes depending on your state of charge when you pull up.
These EV Spots require a couple of hours for the same amount of charge. They also add about five additional steps to the process before you even plug in and a clunky third-party app that you have to load money onto before you charge. You also have to park your car on the street while it’s powering up, not always an ideal thing to do in the city we live in.
The EV Spot app lists the per kWh charge to be around $.10 less than what you'd pay a Tesla Supercharger. On paper this works out to be about 2/3rds the cost of Supercharging but I'm highly skeptical about this after today's charging session. I'll explain more about this below.
The EV Spots aren’t all bad. The Level 2 charging is also significantly better for overall battery health than the faster Level 3 chargers. Since we have a few right across the street, they’re also much more convenient than driving miles to charge at the Supercharger network.
My takeaway from my first non-Tesla charge is just how far ahead Tesla is from the competition. Every aspect of the Tesla Supercharger network tech feels a decade ahead of my EV Spot experience. That said, the EV Spot wins purely on location (for me) and because Level 2 charging is better for the car’s battery health.
As I touched on above, I'm still not convinced the EV Spot chargers will be less expensive to charge from 20(ish)% to 80% based on what I experienced today. I'm going to the EV Spot again once the car's battery is down in the 20% battery range and we'll have a true head-to-head price comparison. Just doing the math based on my session at the EV Spot today if I were to have added 60% of charge it would have actually cost me a few dollars MORE than what I typically pay at a Supercharger.
I like my Tesla Model 3 more than any other vehicle I've ever owned or driven in my thirty-five years on the road. It's simply next level in every way imaginable. What I don't care for are the complexities of charging it when you don't have an at-home charging solution. If I had a chance to do this all over again I would definitely have waited to purchase the Tesla until I had a way to plug-in at home. The public charging infrastructure is still quite a few years away from catching up to Tesla's tech.
All for now. Trust your instincts, invest in you, live boldly, and take chances.
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Here in our country, the era of electric car has not come yet, here people are using petrol-powered cars. The people here want the electric car to come here but the government here does not want it because the government benefits a lot from petrol. By the way you are telling that you have never charged your car at a Tesla charging station for the first time in your life. The original stuff works very well and the locally made stuff can never work like that. I really like the design of the tesla cars and the quality is also very good.
It'll be interesting to see how long it takes before you see EVs there. I believe there's still a future for petrol cars but it looks like they'll be phased out in many countries.
As somebody who has never owned or ever even driven an EV, I gotta say you described this whole charging thing very well. I know me, I’d be trying to supercharge my Tesla while I was at the gym for an hour or two. My city’s superchargers just happen to be right next to the gym I go to. It would work perfectly. If it were a traditional charger I would come out and barely have mileage gained. Maybe 50-60 miles+ with the numbers you’re showing.
So is leaving your car outside charging overnight something that’s possible for you? Or do you have to sit with it and babysit it while it charges?
There's a bit of a learning curve to discovering how these cars will fit into your life. I'm seeing a lot more Level 2 (slow) chargers in mall parking lots and on city streets. I think it'll become customary for people to just plug in while they park to shop or go to the gym. After a while it'll just become like second-nature. I probably wouldn't be comfortable leaving my car on the street overnight in our area. There's just too much crime here. I would leave it on the street for a few hours during the day (with Sentry Mode on) so I'd be alerted if anyone messed with it.
I’m lucky where I live is very laid back and there isn’t a ton of crime. Plus our only chargers are in a very public place with lots of cameras and people always around.
Too bad Sentry Mode doesn't actually come with a turret.
You’re very lucky! Our neighborhood didn’t get terribly bad until a few years ago.
😂 We joke that we hope Elon rolls out “force field mode” with the next software update. I’m not holding my breath though.
Force field gotta happen!
I never thought of Tesla having proprietary chargers but that makes sense. At least there are adapters. You will have to be getting that home charger installed sooner rather than later!
I think on your side of the pond they come with a standard CCS connector but in North America they have the smaller Tesla connector. The j1772 is the most common connector for Level 2 here and the adapter is small and easy to use. Tesla fought hard to make their proprietary connector the world standard but got lots of push back. We live in a condo building so I'll have to wait until the HOA green lights the project to add EV charging options to our underground garage. It's looking like this is going to take a couple of years. I'll have to decide if I can wait that long or not.
That sounds too long, its a difficult one. I will have to look into it for here, as I said Iwill be due to get a new car at some point. Mine is a smokey old beast!
Yeah, it is a conundrum. I've thought of trading it in for a hybrid but after driving this it just feels like taking a step back. What do you drive?
I drive an old Nissan qashqai. I mean I think that's the spelling, too this day I am unsure.
It's a great car but the mileage is awful and I know it's bad for the environment. I own it though she's it feels good not to have to pay for it each month so I am kinda determined to drive the beast till it don't drive no more!
Having a EV is a dream for many, I want to have one, but couldn't afford at the moment. Holding some coins for Bull market , so that i could afford one, I may not be able to buy Tesla, but we have MG HS Ev available in my country. We are way to behind in the technology, there are only 85 charging spots available in my country at the moment. You did great to give a try to newly installed Charging place, This will Support them and also encourage them to do work in the best way possible. After all they have installed it for public convenient. Glad to know you had a great Experience and you are satisfied with the result and time it takes to charge your Tesla 10%, I'm going to search For Tesla model 3 right away after leaving comment on your post.
I hope you realize that dream! There are many other good EV manufacturers out there now. A friend of mine in England just bought an MG and it sounds like they love it. The great thing about EVs is you can charge most of them right at home (albeit very slow) if you have access to a regular plug
Your experience confirmed what I was thinking about Tesla which is way ahead of the competition and that as well it is a Technology and Energy company. I dare to think that at some point the electric car part will be a fraction of what this company will do.
I agree, Tesla is just getting started. They're working so many paradigm shifting projects that the odds are great that at least one of them will reach their goal.
I'm curious to hear how your comparison goes. In general a circuit diagram of a charging circuit is a couple of resistors, some capacitors and a few transistors to control the flow. But each of those pieces have some level of "loss". Typically, the more current, the more loss.
In my mind, the Tesla circuit is faster because it's going to jam more current into the circuit. This will definitely be faster, but it will consume a little more power.
So, if you can keep track of Cost, KWH and time taken, it'd be very interesting.
Does Tesla provide any information on what they do with their spent batteries? I've Googled a couple of times, but not found any info that satisfies. I was wondering if you, as an insider, know where the elephant graveyard is?
I'm trying to figure out if the discrepancy between the advertised per kWh price on these public chargers isn't being advertised correctly or if it's actually energy loss. I'm kind of leaning towards the former but won't know for sure until I can do a full charge.
Tesla has said that they'll recycle close to 100% of the materials from spent batteries to make new battery cells. I think they haven't had a chance to implement this yet because most of the battery packs they've made are still in use. I think are actively planning the recycling program now though to get ahead of the day when the packs are dead. I'd love to see a replaceable battery cartridge that could just quickly slide in and out.
If the electric car industry could standardize, swappable battery packs could replace gas at "Fueling Stations". Lots of changes would be required, but it is definitely possible..--- just like Propane tanks.
Of course, I don’t understand much about car chargers, but if you have one near the house, then this is good news. Better than nothing at all
True, it's wonderful to have options!
You live in a modern country with the latest Tesla cars that use electricity to charge. You really are lucky . I've never seen an electric car like that because in my country cars are only filled with petrol or diesel. God bless you Eric.
We are lucky here. Soon EVs will spread throughout the entire world. I can't wait for you to feel the acceleration of an EV, it can take your breath away! Thank you! Bless you too my friend.
The trials of new fangled technology! I do not have the patience for this. It's a good thing we have you figuring it all out.
So at $3.40 to charge enough to go 36 miles, your Tesla costs no less to drive around than my Honda Fit. I don't know why I thought EVs would be cheaper, but I did. Good to know!
I'm glad you like it though. If you feel good in it, then it's worth any extra hassles to get around in it.
EVs are significantly less expensive if you can charge at home and maintenance costs are close to zero due to there being far less moving parts. Many Tesla owners in forums I'm part of say in five years of ownership all they have to buy are tires, air filters, and windshield washer fluid. I really do love the car. It was a bit of an indulgence for me. I wouldn't typically spend that much on a vehicle.
This car the truth is that it is a total genius, it is amazing!
EV's are a scam fall for them at your own wish. We are already facing a situation where energy is being rationed. In the future there is nothing more certain than electricity is going to be more expensive. We are already seeing the governments coming in banning conventional energy stoves, cars, landscaping equipment.
EV's are nothing more than a tool of further control when they are able to control when and where you are able to charge. Nothing like having the ability to store fuel that can't be turned off at the press of a button.
I respectfully disagree with you on that EVs are a "tool of control". Prices and availability of any form of energy can be controlled or rationed by those in power, petroleum products included. If the electricity grid is shut down gasoline/diesel pumps don't work either. A lot of EV owners who're charging at home have methods of collecting and storing their own energy (solar, wind, batteries) which even gives them an advantage over ICE vehicles in times of crisis but if "the powers that be" decide they're going to shut down the grid only the cowboys will have transportation.
When looking at tools of control I seek to understand how immediate is the situation of control. When looking at how often you need to recharge your car vs the ability to store gasoline. You are under much less control the more gasoline you have in your possession. The same can't be said if you need to visit a EV charger multiple times a week to charge up.
EVs are cool but what does their usage 10 20 years in the future look like with laws they are debating over today? In that way the blossoming EV market is a tool of control, maybe not yet but just have a look at the bills coming out around their regulation.
Pretty soon you won't have a choice about ICE or EV's idk where you are from but by 2026 in America new cars HAVE to have a kill switch ICE and EV's. My only question is what happens to the car if the kill switch is tampered with.
I don't think it's very practical to store gasoline. So impractical that most people wouldn't do it even if faced with a crisis. We've been under almost complete control for decades, wether most people realize it or not. I think that you're right that it's looking like EVs will be the primary source of transportation soon but I think there's room for a mix of different energy-types. It would be smart not to have to rely on one particular tech. It will be interesting to see what the future brings.
Very I’m interested in seeing how large of an energy deficit the powers at be will allow. I’ve read some into nuclear power and the new work around city sized reactors seems an interesting change to the conversation of renewable energies.
Such an amazing car
The car is really awesome and a nice one to own as well.
Thank you!
Very interesting. It definitely sounds like they have a bit to go to get more proliferation of chargers and such. I am seeing more and more Tesla's driving around near where I live. I can see how not having your own charger can be a pain.
For me I think it was just "user error". Lol. I jumped the gun. They make total sense if you have the ability to charge at home.
Here in our country, the era of electric car has not come yet, here people are using petrol-powered cars. The people here want the electric car to come here but the government here does not want it because the government benefits a lot from petrol. By the way you are telling that you have never charged your car at a Tesla charging station for the first time in your life. The original stuff works very well and the locally made stuff can never work like that. I really like the design of the tesla cars and the quality is also very good.
What are the negativeness of anon-Tesla charge? Like slow charging and damaging the life of battery?
With the way and details I am hearing about Tesla car, I will be hoping to lay my hand to one of it one dag