Electrify America CEO-Elect's Coast-To-Coast Road Trip using EA charging stations - Video

[WasserGKuehlt]

Unfortunately, this video did not detail many unacceptable charging experiences that many have detailed.

Well, it wasn’t a documentary ?.

And tbh most of the negative reports we read around here are in densely populated areas (on the coasts) which make x-country trip reports a bit less relatable.

 

[kort]

Well, it wasn’t a documentary ?.

And tbh most of the negative reports we read around here are in densely populated areas (on the coasts) which make x-country trip reports a bit less relatable.

not true at all, most of the problematic ones that I've encountered are in FL or off of I 95 between florida and NY, at rural locations.
the reason why the most reports are from densely populated areas is because that is where the people are. there are more people around NYC than there are around florence SC

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

not true at all, most of the problematic ones that I've encountered are in FL or off of I 95 between florida and NY, at rural locations.
the reason why the most reports are from densely populated areas is because that is where the people are. there are more people around NYC than there are around florence SC

Funnily, reports like yours are exactly what I had in mind - what you call rural NY or FL still have a much higher population density than the areas traversed in this trip (or any cross-country one). (Tidbit: SC pop density is 160/sqmi, CO is 51.)

You're right on this: "reason why the most reports are from densely populated areas is because that is where the people are" (which is kinda the definition of population density ) - and the point was that contention and heavy usage of the chargers is what causes the problems. I was trying to say that the cross-country routes aren't anywhere near as heavily utilized, so a stellar charging experience there means nothing to you or others in more congested areas. Had he done your route, you might have found him more relatable.

CA and FL have the highest number of EVs, as well as the highest percentage of registrations. And it's not just the pop density of these areas, it's where they travel, too. I'm sure that if EA decided to release the heat map of their 'incidents' it'd overlap quite well with the high-traffic routes along the coasts.

 

[whitex]

100 miles between charging (on average for this experiment) is not great. Having trouble with that being more efficient than 150-200 miles between charges. Much prefer arriving at a hotel near empty and charging at night.

As @Tooney mentioned, with chargers not being 100% reliable, it's good to keep a buffer. Also, charging every 100-140 miles lets you charge faster than 150-200. My fastest road tripping so far was 689 miles in 11hrs 13 minutes, averaging 63mph. Stopping every 100-130 miles, winter weather, some snow and rain, not actually trying to break any records but motivated to get home after a long trip. IIRC in a 911C4 I would consider averaging 72mph pretty good on longer trips, in better weather and with some faster highways, so Taycan road tripping is not bad at all.

 

[DerekS]

I think it's really great the CEO did this. He got to experience the real EA experience.

I hope they focus on reliability/uptime, and also canopies so we don't get rained on.
And trash cans.