Really the big, and almost only noticable difference between an electric and a gas car is how you “fill up”. When we bought our first Tesla almost 5 years ago, part of the calculation was based on the supercharger network. If we ever wanted to go on road trips, or even just move the car some distance, it was nice to know it was possible, and even easy.
We aren’t heavy car users but we were a bit naive about charging. At first we were using 110v which gave maybe 4 miles of range per hour of charge. Ok for us, but probably not adequate for a commute.
With the tax breaks available we put a 220V charger in the garage and it is wonderful. Full charge in a few hours. So much easier than going to gas stations.
We did take some short road trips, then a longer one. Using Tesla superchargers was fast and convenient. We had to plan a bit more, and it was maybe a bit slower than filling up with gas, but we were never in a hurry. Another big win for Tesla.
Today I see headlines that EVs are somehow going out of style for hybrids. I personally don’t think so. My guess is Mr Musks politics has gotten him in trouble with a big chunk of his potential sales base. I personally know people who won’t buy a Tesla for this reason. We actually had similar reservations when we bought our second Tesla.
While there are lots of good EVs out there, I don’t think any are better over all than Tesla. And none have that fast charger network. I think this is keeping Tesla afloat, and may be the source of enduring value for the company. To their credit, Tesla understood their customers and invested significantly to provide this charger network, and others did not.
What will happen to Tesla, I can’t say. Cheap Chinese imports could kill them in a very short time. But I do know this for certain, their charging network will be around for a long time.
Steven A. Guccione 