Strange charge port placement… aka exactly where the gas tank is on half of normal ICE vehicles. They then try to justify it being strange because Americans don’t back into parking spots most of the time, which is of debatable importance to start with. Then try to say it’s just because it fit Elon’s garage better… But never point out that it’s also where 50% of people are used to their gas cap being already.
People constantly complain online that EVs do things different just because. Tesla doesn’t make a change and leaves things familiar and people also complain. The only possible objectively better placement is which side would be street side parking. But even then that would change depending on which side of the road you drive on still, so people would still complain.
For Tesla, until 2024, charging infrastructure was something Tesla built out on their own with the Supercharger network, not something they relied on third parties for. So it didn’t matter where it was placed since they controlled 99.9% of the charging anyway. They built the chargers with the port location already in mind, and that infrastructure didn’t need to consider anyone else because no one else was using Tesla’s connector despite it being openly available. Now that it’s a standard everyone else is adopting they’re having to update the existing locations to better support other car designs, that has nothing to do with where the port is on Tesla vehicles.
If you believe people online my car would constantly be falling apart and in and out of the shop. In reality I’ve only had to take it in twice, once for new tires, and once for a new AC compressor after Tesla detected was bad before it failed (covered under warranty).
I would not rebuy my car today because there are many more options on the market now, but 5 years ago no other EV could compete. If I needed a new car and I could buy a Tesla from an identical company with a different CEO I would probably consider it…
Yeah that sounds like a terrible experience, let’s not pretend it only affects Tesla though. Lemon laws exist because all auto manufacturers run into issues like this (at different rates, Tesla may be worse then others)
The Tesla connector was NOT openly available until late 2022, and wasn’t a fully published standard until 2024. They originally wanted a hefty licensing concession from other vendors. Specifically, they would only license it if they joined a patent pool.
In fact, the current NACS connector isn’t even electrically the same as the one Tesla used in 2021. Superchargers are backwards compatible, but they have to support multiple standards. It also means that older Teslas can’t use the growing network of NACS chargers without an upgrade.
You could put a price tag of eleventy billion dollars on something and say it isn’t unavailable. When you’re effectively handing over your business for it, it practically is.
Strange charge port placement… aka exactly where the gas tank is on half of normal ICE vehicles. They then try to justify it being strange because Americans don’t back into parking spots most of the time, which is of debatable importance to start with. Then try to say it’s just because it fit Elon’s garage better… But never point out that it’s also where 50% of people are used to their gas cap being already.
People constantly complain online that EVs do things different just because. Tesla doesn’t make a change and leaves things familiar and people also complain. The only possible objectively better placement is which side would be street side parking. But even then that would change depending on which side of the road you drive on still, so people would still complain.
For Tesla, until 2024, charging infrastructure was something Tesla built out on their own with the Supercharger network, not something they relied on third parties for. So it didn’t matter where it was placed since they controlled 99.9% of the charging anyway. They built the chargers with the port location already in mind, and that infrastructure didn’t need to consider anyone else because no one else was using Tesla’s connector despite it being openly available. Now that it’s a standard everyone else is adopting they’re having to update the existing locations to better support other car designs, that has nothing to do with where the port is on Tesla vehicles.
If you believe people online my car would constantly be falling apart and in and out of the shop. In reality I’ve only had to take it in twice, once for new tires, and once for a new AC compressor after Tesla detected was bad before it failed (covered under warranty).
I would not rebuy my car today because there are many more options on the market now, but 5 years ago no other EV could compete. If I needed a new car and I could buy a Tesla from an identical company with a different CEO I would probably consider it…
I have heard entirely opposite experiences from other people - one had to take his car in 40 (!!) times in the span of four or five years.
I think there’s a serious QA issue if some are getting good cars and others are getting garbage that keeps falling apart.
Yeah that sounds like a terrible experience, let’s not pretend it only affects Tesla though. Lemon laws exist because all auto manufacturers run into issues like this (at different rates, Tesla may be worse then others)
The Tesla connector was NOT openly available until late 2022, and wasn’t a fully published standard until 2024. They originally wanted a hefty licensing concession from other vendors. Specifically, they would only license it if they joined a patent pool.
In fact, the current NACS connector isn’t even electrically the same as the one Tesla used in 2021. Superchargers are backwards compatible, but they have to support multiple standards. It also means that older Teslas can’t use the growing network of NACS chargers without an upgrade.
Other companies being unwilling to accept the licensing terms doesn’t mean the option was unavailable.
Either way though, none of that has anything to do with port placement, which is what the article is trying to claim is strange for whatever reason.
You could put a price tag of eleventy billion dollars on something and say it isn’t unavailable. When you’re effectively handing over your business for it, it practically is.