Elon Musk’s Biggest Coup: the quietly built Supercharger network that trumps all comers.

[Tooney]

We know about the cars, rocket ships, and tunnels; Ludicrous, Twitter, and Grimes. But for all of Musk’s ventures, including Tesla producing and delivering 1.3 million EVs globally in 2022, his most underrated breakthrough may be Tesla’s biggest modern edge: the Supercharger network.

“Without the Supercharger network, we wouldn’t be talking about Tesla today,” says Dan Ives, a Wall Street tech analyst and regular television commentator on Tesla and EVs. “It was the core DNA of their success, along with innovation and engineering. Now it’s the linchpin of their brand and their competitive moat against other automakers.”
...
So why didn’t other automakers build or fund their own networks (Rivian is trying, as are Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis more recently) or cut some partnership with Tesla? Martin Eberhard, who co-founded Tesla in 2003—before Musk notoriously forced him out in 2007—suggests a few reasons. Volkswagen’s German EV department, where he worked post-Tesla, was a Siberia for engineering “losers,” he says. They were tasked with making dreadful compliance cars to help the company prove the pointlessness of EVs, in Eberhard’s view. “It was clear people at the top didn’t buy into it at all,” he says. As for chargers, that kind of holistic problem-solving “is outside automakers’ paradigm. To them, that’s Chevron’s problem or whoever.”

Eberhard recalls a pointed dismissal from Wolfgang Hatz, Volkswagen Group’s imperious engine chief: “Mr. Eberhard, I am four years from mandatory retirement,” Hatz said. “By then, I guarantee 100 percent of our profits will come from internal combustion. So why am I talking to you?”

https://web.archive.org/web/2023011...rcharger-elon-musk-biggest-coup-aint-rockets/

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[Teufel Hund]

Eberhard recalls a pointed dismissal from Wolfgang Hatz, Volkswagen Group’s imperious engine chief: “Mr. Eberhard, I am four years from mandatory retirement,” Hatz said. “By then, I guarantee 100 percent of our profits will come from internal combustion. So why am I talking to you?”

https://web.archive.org/web/2023011...rcharger-elon-musk-biggest-coup-aint-rockets/

Wow!!! Self centered much? ?

 

[kempez]

The charging network is definitely Tesla's biggest sell. They are still maintaining it too, expanding and making sure it works well. Of course the drive-train and software are also excellent. The paradigm shift with Tesla is the attitude that it can be done, rather than "it's too hard". Everyone else really needs to catch up, but sadly they will do it in an old school way and it will take some time.

People keep telling me that electric cars are a fad and that "hydrogen is the way", but I'm yet to see any evidence of that happening any time soon - certainly not with Green Hydrogen, which is the only right way. As such: there needs to be an acceptance that the charging network needs to dramatically improve, and fast.

 

[Rob********]

There seems to be a growing number of Supercharger sites open to non-Tesla cars now. One in Banbury which I may use on the way north sometime as they are 250 kW

 

[tigerbalm]

One in Banbury which I may use on the way north sometime as they are 250 kW

As they are 400V chargers – they'll be 50kW for Taycan's or 150 kW (135 kW in real world with losses) if you optioned the enhanced DC/DC converter.

 

[Rob********]

I've optioned the 150 kW. The Superchargers would be a good back up if Instavolt Banbury (also 150 kW) are full/dead.

 

[f1eng]

It was actually blindingly obvious that if Tesla wanted to sell cars when they started they were going to have to install some sort of charging infrastructure, IMO.

Few people would have bought one if it was charge at home only.

The charging infrastructure in some countries outside Tesla’s is still pretty ropey now, many years later. The UK and USA seem to have done a mediocre to poor job whereas Germany and Scandinavia are, as usual, much better.

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