Tesla Supercharger

2024: Frost turns Tesla charging stations into graveyards for electric vehicles Video

In mid-January 2024, Tesla Supercharger charging stations across Chicago became electric vehicle cemeteries. Due to the severe frosts for this region, the process of replenishing the energy reserve of Tesla cars does not start, and they cannot leave the charging platforms on their own.

Low temperatures negatively affect the performance of automotive propulsion systems of any type. Cars with an internal combustion engine have difficulties starting, while electric vehicles have reduced range and charging speed. However, it is extremely rare that an electric car does not charge at all - and this is the situation in Chicago, and the problem is widespread.

Tesla Supercharger charging stations across Chicago turned into electric vehicle graveyards

The glitches reportedly began to occur when temperatures in Chicago dropped to about minus 20 degrees Celsius (considering the wind, it feels like minus 30 degrees). Tesla owners complain that they cannot activate the charging process for their cars after connecting to installations at Supercharger stations. Some of them towed electric vehicles to local Tesla service centers. In the mobile application, most Supercharger stations in the region are marked as fully populated with customers.

The problem may be because Tesla owners do not pre-prepare their battery pack before charging, which Tesla recommends doing - especially in cold conditions. However, this function must be activated automatically by command from the navigation system when entering the charging pad. Therefore, failures can be explained by a malfunction of the Supercharger charging units themselves, which failed due to frost. Tesla, as of mid-January 2024, does not comment on the situation in any way.^[1]

2023

Tesla set commission for charging electric vehicles over 90%

On November 22, 2023, it became known that Tesla introduced a new commission for owners of electric cars using Supercharger fast charging stations. Motorists will have to pay an extra fee if they continue to replenish their energy supply after the battery pack of the machine has exceeded 90%.

Tesla notes that the new type of commission is aimed at increasing the availability of electric charging plants for owners of electric vehicles and reducing queues at stations. As soon as the charging level of the machine's battery module reaches 90%, the user will receive a corresponding notification in the mobile application. Next, he will have five minutes to leave the court. If the car continues charging after the specified time, an additional fee of $1 per minute will automatically begin.

Tesla introduces new commission for electric car owners using Supercharger fast charging stations

This commission encourages drivers to charge the battery to the level they need to make the trip, rather than 100%. This increases the availability of Supercharger installations so that every driver can use them when they need to, "Elon Musk said in a statement.

It is noted that the commission for charging the battery pack over 90% differs from the downtime fee, which is charged when motorists leave their cars connected to the charger after the battery is fully charged. But in some cases, the new fee will be charged instead of the traditional downtime fee. As of November 2023, the introduced rules are valid in the United States. The Mashable resource notes that in the future the threshold of 90% can be changed: this will optimize the operation of the Supercharger network depending on the specific region and the volume of the fleet of electric vehicles.^[2]

In the United States, one Tesla driver shot another because of a charger. Video from the place

On May 3, 2023, at one of the Tesla Supercharger charging sites in Denver, a conflict occurred between two electric car drivers of this brand. As a result of the quarrel, one of the motorists shot another.

The incident occurred on West 20th Avenue, where Edgewater Public Market is located with numerous restaurants and breweries. According to investigators, the conflict began with a skirmish between two adult men who drove to the Tesla site to charge their vehicles. One of the participants in the quarrel, for an unknown reason, approached the opponent's electric car, after which he fired two shots from a firearm. The victim with a serious wound was taken to the hospital, where he died, despite the efforts of doctors.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and Edgewater police are investigating the incident. It was established that one of the participants in the conflict was the owner of a Tesla electric car, and the second rented a car. The man who fired the shots first left the scene, but then called 911 and was detained by law enforcement officers.

At one of the charging sites of Tesla Supercharger in Denver, there was a conflict between two drivers of electric vehicles of this brand

The reasons for the quarrel are being investigated. The identity of the murdered man has already been established: he turned out to be 33-year-old Adam Michael Fresquez, a resident of Denver. He is survived by his wife and two young children. Surveillance images show that at the time of the conflict, all the charging units at the Supercharger site were occupied. Therefore, it is suggested that the men did not share the freed charge among themselves. A criminal case was initiated under the article "murder": if the suspect's guilt is proven, he will be behind bars. The name of the shooter was not disclosed, but it is known that he is 38 years old. In addition, it is noted that the victim was also armed.^[3]

2020: Tesla gas stations start charging any electric vehicles for free due to software error

In September 2020, some electric car owners discovered they could charge batteries virtually free at Tesla's new Supercharger V3 stations in Europe, which uses the generic CCS standard. As it turned out, this is not a pleasant bonus at all, but a bug in the software of the charging equipment.

With the launch of Model 3 electric vehicles and Supercharger V3 charging stations in Europe, automaker Tesla has moved to use the general CCS charging standard. Despite the fact that many other electric cars use a similar standard and connector, this does not mean that other electric cars can also use Tesla's extensive Supercharger charging station network. Tesla's electric vehicle charging process involves performing a so-called "handshake" (software pairing) with Supercharger. At this stage, the cost of charging is calculated, which is associated with the driver's Tesla account.

Tesla Supercharger V3 charging stations start charging any electric cars for free due to software error

However, several publications at once indicate that almost any other electric car that supports the CCS standard can be charged from the new Tesla Supercharger V3 charging station with CCS support in Europe. Nextmove, which provides electric car rental services, tested the charging capability of the Tesla Supercharger V3 with various third-party electric vehicles and eventually compiled a list of models that can be charged for free:

• VW e-Golf;
• VW ID.3;
• BMW i3;
• Opel Ampera-e (Chevy Bolt EV);
• Hyundai Kona Electric;
• Hyundai IONIQ Electric;
• Renault Zoe;
• Porsche Taycan;

According to Electrek, the bug is most likely in the "handshake" software, allowing you to charge an electric car even if the system does not determine that a Tesla electric car is connected.^[4]

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