Dinner and a discussion about Tesla Motors

I went to see some of my friends today, we had fun, hung out, did our thing, then we went to get dinner. At the dinner table I brought up the idea that the best way for the Tesla Roadster, Tesla Model S, and any future Tesla vehicles or just purely electric vehicles to really survive and compete would be if a big restaurant chain or two, something nationwide like Red Lobster, or Outback Steakhouse, somewhere you are going to go in and sit and eat for an hour, were to provide 440V/160A outlets, just one or two, even some 220V and 110V outlets. You charge the car completely up while you eat, you pay a fee either based on how much electricity was used to charge your car or a flat fee, I feel $10 to $20 isn't a bad deal for the service.

Then you stop at a hotel overnight, get your room key and a space that has a charge outlet for your car. The success of the electric vehicle as a gasoline replacement depends upon us and what we do to get such technology implemented. The adoption may still be over a decade away, but the infrastructure should be built now. The government could put charge stations at all parking spaces in rest stops, or every 10-50 miles along the interstate highway system. Until I can charge my car from empty to full while I have a grilled chicken salad at a restaurant, it's only going to be a viable car for going to my job 2mi, the store 2mi-15mi, my mother's house 60mi, friends house 65mi, and lastly, and there probably wouldn't be a return trip without some charging on this one, my friends that live about 6 or 7 counties away ~150mi. I wouldn't be able to drive all the way to visit my grandmother (~800mi) unless I could charge it when I get lunch and again at dinner.

Just my random blurb on something that was on my mind, now go and get a restaurant to supply at minimum a 220V outlet for charging Teslas, even though a 440V would be a much better option. I want these outlets everywhere when I can afford to purchase and the Model S is released.

Tags: charge, model, motors, restaurant, roadster, s, tesla, whitestar

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Comment by Kinkajou on March 12, 2009 at 9:25pm: I'm guessing if the Model S has the 300 mile range it's battery will be around 75 kW·h.
Again, like I said you wouldn't use this service unless you were going on a road trip. Another thing I would like to see implemented is solar panels integrated into the roof, trunk, and hood. Sure with a good day of sunlight you may only get a few miles of charge, but every little bit of extra juice can't hurt. Also if the businesses were to install solar panels as well to offset the cost, they may charge less because when they are generating electricity, if they are making more than they are using, they will be selling it to the power grid, even more money for them. Going green is good for everyone.

Comment by m on March 12, 2009 at 8:36am: Thanks, Kinkajou. So a full charge around here is under $6.00. While I would expect offering power at cost would be a good attraction for a restaurant, I can understand charging twice as much to offset the cost of installation and maintenance of the equipment. After all, they are making money when feeding you, so a modest profit is somewhat understandable for providing electricity. It is the excessive charge (sic) like $20.00 I would object to. While it's true a "fillup" is cheaper than gasoline, look at the higher upfront costs of owning an electric. Also, there is the ongoing costs of battery replacement somewhere along its life. I'm saving my money for an electric someday... maybe a Tesla S.

Comment by Kinkajou on March 12, 2009 at 12:09am: 53 kW·h for a standard Roadster, top range of a little over 200 miles.
The standard Model S will probably use the same batteries, but the extended range is supposed to get 300 miles so it will probably be a larger capacity battery pack. Also, I pay about 20 dollars for a full tank of gas now, and that gets me 300 miles. If I got a Model S and had the 300 mile range they hope for, I wouldn't mind shelling out 20 dollars for a full charge in an hour at a restaurant during lunch while I am on a road trip. But if I'm not on a road trip I definitely would charge at home, probably only cost a buck or two to fully charge from home. This is mainly talking about what would be needed for the car to work for a long range trip (anything over 150 miles one way).

Comment by m on March 11, 2009 at 2:43pm: Whoa, Nellie! Just how much "juice" does a Tesla battery hold? 40 kWH? That would be a whopping $4.00 around these parts. If you drove 150mi, you probably used 15~20 kWH, so $5.00 would be over a 100% markup. At least around here, anyway.

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