Tom Suddard said:
After a few interactions across the east coast, I think I have some insight into why these chargers are so busy. Uber. One driver told me that the company rented her a Chevy Bolt to drive for Uber, then just told her "it's easy to charge" with no further instructions. I helped her learn how to use the charger, add payment, and charge her car. And I see Uber signs in many of the cars parked here. They seem to frequently be charging all the way full, too, which takes forever.
Wait she's renting a car from Uber to drive for Uber?
Something something 16 tons something something.
Keith Tanner said:
Did you ever have a fault-free charging experience - other than the wall plug? I'd be pretty frustrated if I'd dropped $100k on what I considered the best EV in the market and I'd had to deal with all that.
On a comparatively different note, other than the very first time on an Electrify America charger back in early 2020 (which was the first time at a DCFC period) where my wife (on a solo road trip) had to call EA to get the app payment to work, all the charging my wife and I have done has been fault free. Up and down the spine of VA and into TN, up to Rhode Island, down to SC. Over a 4 year span, it's all been good. Knock on wood, but we've never been iced, never had to wait for a stall, never had to go to the next charger due to the one being broken. I've seen broken stalls being worked on, however, in a multi-stall installation.
I use PlugShare to find chargers AND pre-qualify them (are they in use, under repair/construction, etc), so I'm not merely driving around looking for something. I do have backup plans, but as of yet never had to deal with that.
In reply to JG Pasterjak :
I learned something yesterday when I took an Uber from JFK. To be an Uber driver, you need a car carrying a TLC license to pick up and drop off passengers in NYC. NYC isn't offering new TLC vehicle licenses, at least according to my driver. So, if you want to Uber, you got to rent a ride from someone who has a TLC license. It's not cheap. My driver said his Uber rental costs $550 ... per week.
In reply to J.A. Ackley :
It's my understanding that TLC licenses are basically hereditary. Scarce, very valuable and they come with a lot of privileges that allow you to make money.
In reply to Chris_V :
Yours is a good counterpoint to the general experiences with EA. I've never used one myself (for obvious reasons) but a couple of friends that run CCS cars have had to work around problems. How much of your success is due to your extra diligence, do you think?
This NPR article (a pretty good read overall) says that JD Power found that non-Tesla owners leave a charging stop without charging 20% of the time - and that's not counting those that get a derated post and charge anyway, I assume.
Keith Tanner said:
Did you ever have a fault-free charging experience - other than the wall plug? I'd be pretty frustrated if I'd dropped $100k on what I considered the best EV in the market and I'd had to deal with all that.
No I did not, and that's exactly my fear for the company's success. But over 1500 miles of driving the Lightning immediately before the Lucid, I had great two weeks of consistently good charging experiences. That's using the same standard and the same chargers. So it's a total crapshoot.
To be fair, I did look for EA chargers with the Lucid, because they're free for the first whatever years when it's new and I'm cheap. In my truck, I nerd out and prioritize PlugShare reviews more than any particular network.
JG Pasterjak said:
Tom Suddard said:
After a few interactions across the east coast, I think I have some insight into why these chargers are so busy. Uber. One driver told me that the company rented her a Chevy Bolt to drive for Uber, then just told her "it's easy to charge" with no further instructions. I helped her learn how to use the charger, add payment, and charge her car. And I see Uber signs in many of the cars parked here. They seem to frequently be charging all the way full, too, which takes forever.
Wait she's renting a car from Uber to drive for Uber?
Something something 16 tons something something.
RIGHT? It's almost like Uber is a massive corporate grift on multiple levels.
Tom Suddard said:
JG Pasterjak said:
Tom Suddard said:
After a few interactions across the east coast, I think I have some insight into why these chargers are so busy. Uber. One driver told me that the company rented her a Chevy Bolt to drive for Uber, then just told her "it's easy to charge" with no further instructions. I helped her learn how to use the charger, add payment, and charge her car. And I see Uber signs in many of the cars parked here. They seem to frequently be charging all the way full, too, which takes forever.
Wait she's renting a car from Uber to drive for Uber?
Something something 16 tons something something.
RIGHT? It's almost like Uber is a massive corporate grift on multiple levels.
She's not renting a car from Uber to drive for them. There are people that rent cars to others so they can drive for Uber/Lyft. I know someone that has @100 cars in his fleet.
Uber might be a grift, but this is not their grift.
Okay, I guess she didn't understand what she purchased. Looks like it's not technically from Uber, but you find it and sign up for it via Uber?
https://www.uber.com/us/en/drive/vehicle-solutions/
You mention that these Uber Drivers are common to do the long charge to get the car to 100% full.
I wonder if that is because they have to return the rental car back "with a full tank."
I guess that then begs the question, if you rent a Tesla at the airport via Hertz, are you expected to return it with "the tank full?"
In reply to Tom Suddard :
Yeah it's odd. I assume it solve a problem of people that can't afford to buy cars that qualify (as far as I know Uber requires certain year requirements) but seems like you're exploiting people, feels scummy.
John Welsh said:
You mention that these Uber Drivers are common to do the long charge to get the car to 100% full.
I wonder if that is because they have to return the rental car back "with a full tank."
I guess that then begs the question, if you rent a Tesla at the airport via Hertz, are you expected to return it with "the tank full?"
80% charge or a $35 fee.
The rental Teslas are LFP, which charges faster in the 80-100 range AFAIK.
Appreciate the review. I actually think the e39 comparison is a rather good one. It's worth noting that the 540 had a $51k base price in 1998, that's $96k inflation adjusted. While I won't be buying a Lucid today I can hope for one 20 years from now, assuming they follow the same depreciation curve as my 540.
We recently picked up a Bolt EUV for my wife and I'm really pretty chuffed with it. I picked up the car in Iowa and drove it back to Denver area without a hiccup. Even with slow charging I was never particularly bothered, Every station worked as expected. I ran, ate, or slept while the car was charging. I'm impressed enough that I'm now considering a Bolt EV for myself. It's a fine appliance and if I can thread the needle just right to pick one up in 2024 it will be a $30k car with $15k worth of tax incentives. Funny that it has the same basic downside as a Lucid at 6x the price - our charging network
In reply to mikeonabikesmith :
One "advantage" the Bolt has is that it can only charge at 50 or 55 kW, so chargers that would be slow for a Lucid are full speed for the Bolt. Makes the network more complete from a Bolt point of view.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Fair point, my expectations were low enough that I was just happy all chargers were online and functioning to some degree. If/when the Tesla network opens up to non-Teslas this should improve. At least for Bolt owners. With slow charging, the queue Bolts cause may demand as much hate as they had when they were catching on fire...
I'd really prefer to pick up a Tesla, but the price difference would force the sale of my 540, and I don't find the Tesla to scratch the itch in the same way. I think it's the clutch pedal that I'm not 100% ready to give up. Maybe I'll sit in traffic on I70 for a bit later to find some sense
Keith Tanner said:
In reply to mikeonabikesmith :
One "advantage" the Bolt has is that it can only charge at 50 or 55 kW, so chargers that would be slow for a Lucid are full speed for the Bolt. Makes the network more complete from a Bolt point of view.
If you use a 50kW charging station with a Bolt, you'll never see more than 30-34KW of charge speed. You'll only get the full 55kW on a 100-150+kW charge station, and then only up to about half charge. But yes, unlike a Lucid, you're not going to be hit as hard by using a mere 50kW station.
Chris_V said:
Keith Tanner said:
In reply to mikeonabikesmith :
One "advantage" the Bolt has is that it can only charge at 50 or 55 kW, so chargers that would be slow for a Lucid are full speed for the Bolt. Makes the network more complete from a Bolt point of view.
If you use a 50kW charging station with a Bolt, you'll never see more than 30-34KW of charge speed. You'll only get the full 55kW on a 100-150+kW charge station, and then only up to about half charge. But yes, unlike a Lucid, you're not going to be hit as hard by using a mere 50kW station.
Charging a slow car fast vs charging a fast car slow?
P3PPY said:
Chris_V said:
Keith Tanner said:
In reply to mikeonabikesmith :
One "advantage" the Bolt has is that it can only charge at 50 or 55 kW, so chargers that would be slow for a Lucid are full speed for the Bolt. Makes the network more complete from a Bolt point of view.
If you use a 50kW charging station with a Bolt, you'll never see more than 30-34KW of charge speed. You'll only get the full 55kW on a 100-150+kW charge station, and then only up to about half charge. But yes, unlike a Lucid, you're not going to be hit as hard by using a mere 50kW station.
Charging a slow car fast vs charging a fast car slow?
it's very GRM. lol. Charge a bit slower, but spend a quarter as much on the car.
