What’s Next for Tesla Supercharging?

August 5th, 2018

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I just noticed a feature on the Model 3 map.  Not only does it list the superchargers within range, but also seems to be showing the number of spaces occupied & available. Of course Tesla would know this as they track who is charging so they may be able to bill those whom dont have free supercharging. So what is next?  Tesla is likely already working on a trip planner.  With data from this trip planner Tesla could reserve spots for supercharging.  Or make some attempt to load balance their supercharger availability. Perhaps Tesla’s approach will be to ensure fairness within the confines of their superchargers.  Tesla should be able to determine who arrived at the superchargers first and moderate the queue.  The way a restaurant would take reservations Tesla could determine who arrives first and use this information to notify people on their Tesla app that it is their turn to park in Supercharging spot #1a.

Tesla has shown their displeasure with Tesla owners parking in these spots and not charging, especially when these spots are busy and in demand.  If Tesla determines that your vehicle is charged enough and notifies you that you should move your car, then if you don’t move your vehicle, you get an additional fee for not moving after 5 minutes.

A really cool extension of this would be to repurpose the funds raised from this and apply it as credit to the people that are waiting.  This could be any of several different ratios, but for example every minute I make you wait to supercharge, I am forced to pay for the equivalent of 5 minutes of your supercharging.  This would reward patient Tesla owners whilst penalizing inconsiderate owners. This forward looking article was in no way assisted by insider knowledge and is the views of Jeff Sturgis based on software development experience and speculation. I am TSLA long.  My TSLA price target is $2021 by 2021.        

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jsturgis

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Software Developer always striving to be better. Learn from others' mistakes, learn by doing, fail fast, maximize productivity, and really think hard about good defaults. Computer developers have the power to add an entire infinite dimension with a single Int (or maybe BigInt). The least we can do with that power is be creative.

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