tesla chargers freezing?

[davehu]

Anti EV media/people are having a field day talking about Tesla's parked unable to charge. From what I can determine a single Tesla's bank of chargers in Oak Park, Il (Chicago area) had issues. A local media outlet found out and then when they reported on it, it spread like wildfire on the internet. Ridiculous assumptions by people having no understanding of the issue permeate the internet blowing it completely out of context. drives me nuts, but it is what is..

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[Heliian]

Ya, it's crazy that one location turns into a nationwide emergency.

Makes you wonder who would care so much about it? Who's gaining by slandering EVs?

 

[Pioneer74]

It was actually 3 locations that had problems. A lot of things contributed to it. This is a pretty good article on it.

InsideEVs did some investigating of its own, and here’s what we found: For starters, several Tesla owners in the Chicago metropolitan area reported via the Tesla Owners Club forum on Monday that three out of 13 Superchargers were closed, possibly due to the frigid weather, mainly in Oak Brook, Rosemont, and Country Club Hills.

https://insideevs.com/news/705057/chicago-tesla-stranded-ev-charging/

 

[TaxmanHog]

 

[mefly2]

Someone with a spray bottle in this cold weather

 

[02Reaper]

Ya, it's crazy that one location turns into a nationwide emergency.

Makes you wonder who would care so much about it? Who's gaining by slandering EVs?

The squeaky wheel gets the oil. It happened last year when it got cold, only different brand chargers, and different places. Obviously its an issue with not just one thing at hand here. If there is no news of it or no talk about it, then certainly nothing is going to be done about it, regardless of the issue.

 

[Zprime29]

I also initially thought it was being overblown, but where there's smoke.... Sounded like a large part of the problem was people not staying at home, not able to charge at home, and too many ride share drivers using poorly equipped EV's that couldn't handle the extreme cold. Kyle was speculating about the base model 3's not having enough capability to heat the battery, which lead to slow charging, which lead to bottlenecks at the chargers, which lead to dead, cold soaked batteries.

I'll take the desert sun in the summer over that mess any day of the week.

 

[Peddyr]

Jesse Waters did a hit piece on Foxnews a few nights ago and his guest was a man who flew into Chicago and had to have his Audi EV towed because he couldn't charge it. The guest kept trying to focus on lack of infrastructure, which is the correct approach, but Jesse wouldn't engage, kept pushing his narrative and made him look like a fool. Maybe mention how most people have home chargers and that using public charging isn't necessary for the majority of people unless they are making a long trip? Pathetic.

 

[Mike m]

I will try to be politically neutral.
I have observed that the frustration with current electrification strategy which I would agree is not realistic has resulted in EV's being targeted as the blame. Its that simple. As usual we in the US cant find the middle ground of a sensible blended strategy. The public now is being inundated with negative EV stories. I am a Cyber Security professional and I think some of what I deal with applies. Perception is reality so deal with it and double down on education. The right energy strategy does include EV's as a component but in no way is it a silver bullet nor should it take the blame for a unrealistic strategy. Strategy includes times lines as well.

 

[flypony53]

I will try to be politically neutral.
I have observed that the frustration with current electrification strategy which I would agree is not realistic has resulted in EV's being targeted as the blame. Its that simple. As usual we in the US cant find the middle ground of a sensible blended strategy. The public now is being inundated with negative EV stories. I am a Cyber Security professional and I think some of what I deal with applies. Perception is reality so deal with it and double down on education. The right energy strategy does include EV's as a component but in no way is it a silver bullet nor should it take the blame for a unrealistic strategy. Strategy includes times lines as well.

I will say, this is the majority of the problems with the US in general. Everything has to be politics. It has to be I am right, you are wrong in every narrative. We have turned EVs into a political issue across the board. I am a huge fan of all of my EVs. I really like the tech, I really like the fact that I can fill it up at home, I really like the fact that I am less reliant on oil changes, moving parts, etc. I have had great success in my ownership. With the exception of last weeks road trip where I ran into issues at 3 fast chargers when I only needed an additional 15 miles of range. (1. Shell Recharge - System would activate, start charge and immediately end. App would not recognize that the charge had stopped, and this location could only be activated by the app. 2. Apple Maps integrated with the lightingin navigated me to an EVGO site on my route, even though it was not open yet. I struggle with the Ford Navigation as it is always behind in adding charging sites. but, apparently Apple Maps is early 3. Electrify America - 4 of the 6 chargers were unavailable. 1 person charging to 100% and 5 people waiting for the only other working charger.)

I am not a fan of tax incentives/rebates/credits in anyway for adoption of any technology/product. This is just another way to "choose" winners and losers in any space. I think these incentives are creating the political narrative that only helps politicians line their pockets from lobbyists on BOTH sides of the aisle.

That being said, the current strategy to push the country to 100% EVs and banning ICE vehicles is ridiculous. I see EVs as a cheaper, more efficient and enjoyable alternative to an ICE vehicle. But, my situation is controlled. I own my home with a garage where I have 3 level 2 plugs installed. I have the power in my panel to handle the load as well. many people do not have either luxury. There are a number of people I speak to at Fast Chargers that hate their EVs, common thread is they rent a house or apartment with no access to overnight charging. This is not changing in any of the strategies I have seen from the push to electrify. Until rental properties have access to charging infrastructure, there will always be a lack of fast chrging infrastructure. The beauty of EVs is that 90% of usage does not require a fast charger if you have access to charging at home or work. This is the big game changer. Fast Charging should be reserved for drives outside of ahome base. I agree with Out of Spec Kyle in the above video. Ride Share companies need to invest in their own dedicated infrastructure. This would solve a big issue from the many Uber drivers I have talked to on their charging needs.

anyway, Rant over, Love my Lighting, love my Rivian and really love my Tesla.

 

[62F1004x4]

Gas pumps freeze also, no media frenzy

https://calgary.citynews.ca/video/2024/01/12/gas-pumps-freeze-at-calgary-gas-stations/

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