[tom_]

Is 15 minutes really "not much more than filling up with gas"?

You can fill my car up to 100% from empty in 100 seconds. The entire process, including payment, takes less than 2.5 minutes, and usually (I rarely let it run to empty) more like 2 minutes, from switching off the engine at the pump to switching it back on and driving off.

My car's fuel tank is 60 litres (15.8 US gallons). 35 miles per Imperial gallon in miles per 60 litres = ~460 miles. 6060/90460 = 18,400 miles'-worth of charge per hour (in principle).

You can get more fuel-efficient cars than mine, and you can also get cars with larger fuel tanks.

[davidgould]

This is only meaningful if you happen to live at a gas station. My electric car takes me only ten seconds to charge as I plug it in when I get home on my way inside.

[tom_]

The claim is that 15 minutes at a supercharger to fill your Tesla to 80% charge capacity is "not much more" than the time it takes to fill up with petrol.

[imtringued]

I have a car with 30 litres and I don't think I ever filled up that quick in my entire life and I honestly couldn't care less because simply driving to the gas station and back takes me 5 minutes.

[tom_]

The fuel pump doesn't mind whether you care or not - it delivers fuel at a fixed rate. I bet the actual process of filling your car takes less than 2 minutes, too.

Anyway, the point of my comparison is not so much that you should care, or not, because that's up to you - but rather, to be vaguely data-driven about comparing Tesla charge times with how long it takes to fill a petrol or diesel car. Because we're often breezily assured that the two times are comparable, and it takes 15 minutes to charge a Tesla, and that this is "near enough" (or similar handwavy term) to how long it takes to fill up a petrol car, but people never provide hard figures for the petrol case. So here's me, doing my bit.