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Why are Tesla Superchargers Only for Long-distance Travel?

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Liquid-cooled Tesla Supercharger in Mountain View, CA

Liquid-cooled Tesla Supercharger in Mountain View, CA

Before going on vacation around July 4th holiday, PlugInsights sent a short survey to me with questions about Tesla supercharging procedures and also about recent comments by Elon Musk. About half way into the short survey, it delves into Elon Musk’s supercharging “overuse” comment regarding some daily Tesla commuters relying on the free charging stations in southern California.

My first thought, this again. Musk’s comments made some waves last month but why dredge this issue to the surface in the form of a survey from PlugInsights, a division of RECARGO.

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Is something afoot at Tesla? Why is the company worried enough to conduct a survey about this topic and especially Musk’s comments at the annual shareholders meeting. One question from the survey actually discusses the actual comments by Musk. “Before today, were you aware that Mr. Musk recently made these statements?”

Below are Musk’s comments at the recent annual shareholders meeting held in June:

(paraphrased via the survey)…”that superchargers are meant for free, long-distance travel” and “that drivers who aggressively use the network for local charging may receive an email reminder that it’s ‘cool to do this occasionally but it’s meant for a long-distance thing.’

So why did Elon Musk comment on this relatively small issue? Ashley Vance recent biography on Elon Musk points out that Musk usually doesn’t get involved in PR, unless an issue threatens one of his companies. So how could this threaten Tesla Motors? My speculation is the very real possibility of  battery capacity loss and drastically reduced range with multiple instances of DC fast-charging on a daily basis.

Could these patterns lead to drastically reduced battery packs ranges by year three or four of ownership and possibly lead to Tesla replacing a lot of battery packs, due to their warranty coverage?

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My speculation centers around 120 kW of DC energy flowing into the battery pack on a daily basis. Did Tesla test battery packs for multiple, daily DC-charging usage? Maybe not.

Musk mentioned at the annual shareholder meeting that fast charging was intended for destination traveling and implied it wasn’t for daily use by commuters.

The Idaho National laboratory conducted a study on DC fast-charging and its effects on battery packs some years ago and released findings in 2014. Using 2012 Nissan Leafs, the study compared the effects of different types of charging: level 2 charging (3.3 kW) and DC fast-charging (50 kW).

The study revealed after 40,000 miles of testing that there was little loss of initial capacity and that the DC-fast charging battery pack had only lost 3 percent more than the other Nissan Leaf using level 2 battery charging.

Survey on usage of Tesla Superchargers

Screenshot of PlugInsights survey to Model S owners

However, Tesla Superchargers are dishing out 120 kW DC versus the Idaho study of 50 kW, more than 2x the amount of electricity coming into battery pack. That’s a lot stress on the battery management system to keep heat levels down, plus these car owners are supercharging daily, maybe doing it twice a day?

Many automakers have said that DC fast charging is fine on the battery pack, as long as it’s not done excessively. It seems twice a day could be considered excessive and cause concern for Tesla execs. This could be leading up to some proviso with excessive supercharging and the battery pack warranty, hence the PlugInsights survey on usage and expectations.

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What about you, any other thoughts on why this is such an issue for Tesla?

** My other mild theory is Tesla’s rising electricity costs for owners employing supercharging only mode. The results of PlughInsights survey showed that 26% of Model S owners polled have used Tesla Superchargers as a free local alternative to home charging.

 

"Grant Gerke wears his Model S on his sleeve and has been writing about Tesla for the last five years on numerous media sites. He has a bias towards plug-in vehicles and also writes about manufacturing software for Automation World magazine in Chicago. Find him at Teslarati

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Tesla gets price target increase on Wall Street, but it’s a head-scratcher

Delaney’s price target on Tesla shares went up to $395 from $300. Currently, Tesla is trading between $420 and $430, making the new price target from Goldman Sachs a bit of a head-scratcher.

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Credit: Cybertruck | X

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) received a price target increase from a Wall Street analyst today, who noted in his report that the company’s shares could rise or fall based on its execution in robotics and autonomy.

However, the price target boost still fell below Tesla’s current trading levels.

Mark Delaney of Goldman Sachs said in a note to investors today that Tesla has a significant opportunity to solidify itself as one of the stable and safe plays in the market if it can execute on its two key projects: humanoid robots and autonomy.

In the note, Delaney said:

“If Tesla can have [an] outsized share in areas such as humanoid robotics and autonomy, then there could be upside to our price target.”

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Delaney’s price target on Tesla shares went up to $395 from $300. Currently, Tesla is trading between $420 and $430, making the new price target from Goldman Sachs a bit of a head-scratcher.

He went on to say that Tesla could also confront outside factors that would limit the stock’s ability to see growth, including competition and potentially its own lack of execution:

“…although if competition limits profits (as is happening with the ADAS market in China) or Tesla does not execute well, then there could be downside.”

The note is an interesting one because it seems to point out the blatantly obvious: if Tesla performs well, the stock will rise. If it doesn’t, the stock price will decline.

We discussed yesterday in an article that Tesla is one of the few stocks out there that does not seem to be influenced by financials or anything super concrete. Instead, it is more influenced by the narrative currently surrounding the company, rather than the technicals.

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Tesla called ‘biggest meme stock we’ve ever seen’ by Yale associate dean

Tesla’s prowess in robotics and autonomy is strong. In robotics, it has a very good sentiment following its Optimus project, and it has shown steady improvement with subsequent versions of the robot with each release.

On the autonomy front, Tesla is expanding its Robotaxi platform in Austin every few weeks, and also has a sizeable geofence in the Bay Area. Its Full Self-Driving suite is among the most robust in the world and is incredibly useful and accurate.

The company can gain significant value if it continues to refine the platform and eventually rolls out a driverless or unsupervised version of the Full Self-Driving suite.

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Tesla addresses door handle complaints with simple engineering fix

“We’ll have a really good solution for that. I’m not worried about it.”

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Tesla Model S self-presenting door handle
Tesla Model S self-presenting door handle (Credit: TesBros)

Tesla is going to adjust one heavily scrutinized part of its vehicles after recent government agencies have launched probes into an issue stemming from complaints from owners.

Over the past few days, we have reported on the issues with Tesla’s door handle systems from both the Chinese and American governments.

In China, it dealt with the Model S, while the United States’ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported nine complaints from owners experiencing issues with 2021 Model Ys, as some said they had trouble entering their car after the 12V battery was low on power.

Bloomberg, in an interview with Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen, asked whether the company planned to adjust the door handle design to alleviate any concerns that regulatory agencies might have.

Regarding the interior latch concerns in the United States:

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  • Von Holzhausen said that, while a mechanical door release resolves this problem, Tesla plans to “combine the two” to help reduce stress in what he called “panic situations.”
  • He also added that “it’s in the cars now…The idea of combining the electronic and the manual one together in one button, I think, makes a lot of sense.” Franz said the muscle memory of reaching for the same button will be advantageous for children and anyone who is in an emergency.

Regarding the exterior door handle concerns in China:

  • Von Holzhausen said Tesla is reviewing the details of the regulation and confirmed, “We’ll have a really good solution for that. I’m not worried about it.”

The new Model Y already has emergency mechanical door release latches in the back, but combining them in future vehicles seems to be an ideal solution for other vehicles in Tesla’s lineup.

It will likely help Tesla avoid complaints from owners about not having an out in the event of a power outage or accident. It is a small engineering change that could be extremely valuable for future instances.

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Elon Musk calls out viral claim of 10,000 Tesla Optimus deal: “Fake”

For now at least, Tesla seems determined to focus on the development of Optimus V3.

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Credit: Tesla Optimus/X

Elon Musk has provided some clarification to recent reports suggesting that PharmAGRI, a US pharmaceutical and agricultural infrastructure company, is looking to deploy 10,000 Optimus robots for its operations.

Musk posted his clarification on social media platform X.

Alleged Optimus purchase

Recently, reports emerged stating that PharmAGRI Capital Partners will be tapping into Tesla’s humanoid robots for its operations. The firm claimed that it had executed a Letter of Intent with Tesla to deploy up to 10,000 Optimus Gen 3+ humanoid robots across its SuperPharm and CEA facilities. This should allow the company to automate its labor and ensure diversion control.

A comment from Lynn Stockwell, Chairwoman & CEO, suggested that the company really was partnering with Tesla. “With Tesla robotics powering our facilities and DEA-licensed infrastructure in place, we can scale with precision, meet federal sourcing mandates, and deliver therapies that are compliant, secure, and American-made,” she said. 

Elon Musk clariies

News of PharmAGRI’s Optimus claims quickly spread on social media, though some Tesla watchers argued that it seemed unlikely that the EV maker will commit two legions of Optimus robots to a rather unknown company this early. Some pointed out that Tesla typically commits to high-profile customers to test its early products, such as PepsiCo with the Tesla Semi. 

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Photos from PharmAGRI’s website depicting Tesla Optimus bots, as well as the rather basic look of the website itself, also brought more reservations to the company’s claims. Ultimately, Elon Musk weighed in on the matter, responding to a post about PharmAGRI’s Optimus-filled webpage. Musk was quick and direct, simply stating, “Fake.”

Elon Musk’s comments were quite unsurprising considering that Optimus is still very much in active development, and thus, it is quite unlikely that the company is already taking orders or even Letters of Intent from potential customers at this time. For now at least, Tesla seems determined to focus on the development of Optimus V3, which Musk has noted will be “sublime.”

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