Re:Storage ‘not fundamentally needed’ for future power grid,...
by jameshart on Tuesday June 20, 2017 @06:34PM
(#14599156)
Regarding "I can't drive a Tesla from my house to a Supercharger station. I'd have take a slow charge somewhere - or a tow truck. I'm sure I'm not the only one in that situation."
If you're located in the lower 48 states of the US, you're definitely one of a very, very small number of people in that situation - the map on https://www.tesla.com/supercharger claims they've pretty much got the map covered these days - though Hawaii and Alaska are out of luck. It looks like North Dakota might still be underserved right now, but pretty much everywhere is within a couple of hundred miles of a station.
Fact is, though, that a vanishingly small number of people are living in places that far from charging infrastructure, mechanics, or frankly, the places they need to drive to regularly.
It is more about my personal situation than preference. I can't drive a Tesla from my house to a Supercharger station. I'd have take a slow charge somewhere - or a tow truck. I'm sure I'm not the only one in that situation. So for me and many others "long-range" continues to be an oxymoron. Someday range will increase and I'll have to decide if it makes sense for me or not - but it this point it isn't even a possibility. Until long-range means keeping up with an average gas/diesel car, it isn't long enough for many.
Tesla is much more likely to be able to sell me a power wall than a car. I could use one or two of those.