The Tesla announcement gives a clear indication of the times at which the superchargers will be tight. “ Beginning April 12, 2022, California Supercharger locations will have different peak hours. Charge at selected superchargers before 11 a.m. and after 9 p.m. at lower prices,” says the Californian electric car manufacturer. Even if the rates on the different superchargers vary, they clearly reflect the trend. If you want to fill up with electricity during the peak hours between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m., you have to pay twice as much as at other times of the day. As a rule, this is 48 cents per kilowatt hour or 0.24 US dollars/kWh. At particularly popular charging destinations, it can be 29 cents/kWh or 58 cents/kWh.
A Tesla driver posted the receipt from the Marine Avenue / Redondo Beach charging station showing the breakdown of the tariffs in this 29 cent/kWh-S. The bad news is that the supercharger rate in the LA area has gone back up to $0.58/kWh. When I bought my Model 3 in 2018 it was $0.26/kWh,” the woman wrote on Twitter. The answers from the other users range from pointing out that everything is getting more expensive to practical advice: charge for free either at home or when shopping in the supermarket. However, if you look at Walmart
In addition to the fact that more and more people are opting for a Tesla, Elon Musk’s squad has to turn the charging stations into a profitable business model in order to be in the black in the long term. But in Los Angeles, despite this measure, getting e-car drivers to refuel outside of core hours is the crux of electromobility. Long queues in front of the charging stations are now part of the street scene in the Californian metropolis. Loading the BEVs has become a game of patience.
A look at the sober numbers confirms the disparity between electricity seekers and charging stations. According to the electromobility website “plugshare.com”, there are currently around 63,000 electric vehicles in the city of Los Angeles at 3957 public charging stations, of which charging at around 507 is free. A total of 312 DC fast chargers are available in Los Angeles, 81 of which are Tesla Superchargers.
But things are happening: 446 charging stations have been added in the last 90 days. With these values, Los Angeles is the frontrunner among Californian cities when it comes to the number of charging stations. However, the Pacific metropolis with around four million inhabitants in the city center is also the most populous. 12.8 million people live in the metropolitan region.
Meanwhile, the city council is looking ahead. By the end of the decade, L.A. plans to install about 28,000 commercial charging stations, and by 2025 about half will be up. At the same time, the number of urban BEVs is expected to increase from the current 124 BEVs, 46 PHEVs and two electric street sweepers to around 10,000. “We have the worst air quality in the country because of the freeways, internal combustion engines and urban sprawl,” said City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell when announcing the plan, which the board approved by a 12-0 vote.
The solution to these charging problems in Los Angeles should also be represented by so-called charging hubs, where several vehicles can be charged with electricity at the same time. Elon Musk has had a special idea since 2018. On hip Santa Monica Boulevard, the Tesla boss wants to build a two-story retro-style restaurant where drivers of his products can refresh themselves while the energy flows into the batteries. If you are not hungry, you can watch a film in the drive-in cinema.
This article was written by Wolfgang Gomoll
All electric car and plug-in hybrid models at a glance
