Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by michaelt 5037 days ago
The article says:

  We drove from Fontana on the eastern edge of the L.A. 
  basin to San Diego and all the way back to L.A.'s Pacific 
  edge on one charge. Five hours of continuous driving.
The 233 mile, 5 hour trip was done on a single charge.

To me that's pretty far - I could tolerate a 1 hour break every 5 hours.
1 comments
jfb 5037 days ago
But that's not yet in the cards. Realistically, you need to be talking about 2.5 hours as the effective range, as almost nowhere will have the full speed charging setup.
link
michaelt 5037 days ago
I was thinking someone who drove 5 hours to visit family would be staying over night and could do an over night charge. I'll admit this may not always be the case.

I certainly agree that serious range and uptake will need serious charging and generation infrastructure.

link
clarky07 5037 days ago
Even overnight isn't enough though. It's 30 hours to charge in a normal outlet, and you then you have to take over their garage.
link
michaelt 5037 days ago
Ah, the article says the Tesla home charger takes 6 hours for a charge, but I guess it needs to be wired directly to be breaker box or something.
link
clarky07 5037 days ago
Yeah, that a special installation that you would get in your own house. Unless your friend also has this hookup (which if they do they probably need to using for themselves anyway) you have to use the special regular outlet hookup which is ~5 miles per hour of charge.
link
CapOpp 5037 days ago
Most modern homes have a 240v hookup for a dryer or welder in or near the garage. That is more than sufficient to charge the Model S over night.

If your family already has an actual charge station they DON'T need it because they aren't about to go driving 200 miles while you are visiting, and if they are the car can be charged before you get there, or charged after you are done with Model S. It takes 4 HOURS to do a full standard charge. You can charge 2 cars in a night easy.

If your family doesn't have a 240v plug it can be installed for anywhere from $300-$1100. If you go there regularly, just pay to have it installed and it will pay for itself.

link