1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,200 Speaker 1: A couple of months ago, we asked you guys to 2 00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:04,200 Speaker 1: get in touch and tell us what you think about 3 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:07,320 Speaker 1: one of the buzziest tech companies around. We wanted to 4 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: hear from owners as well as potential buyers. I've had 5 00:00:13,360 --> 00:00:16,520 Speaker 1: my Tesla Model lest for three years. It's the best 6 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:19,320 Speaker 1: car I've ever owned. I definitely want to get a Tesla. 7 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:21,520 Speaker 1: I've always wanted one. I think they are beautiful cars. 8 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:25,080 Speaker 1: I love the Tesla models. I like the smooth ride, 9 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 1: the great NAV system, the Internet radio, the connected car. 10 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:34,479 Speaker 1: We got a lot of that. By the way, Tesla owners, 11 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:37,320 Speaker 1: we can tell you love your cars. And for those 12 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:40,280 Speaker 1: of you who don't have a Tesla yet, one concern 13 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:42,960 Speaker 1: stood out. I called up one of our listeners to 14 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 1: get a better picture. My name is Ramon Old. I 15 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:50,600 Speaker 1: am a business seannlists living in southern California. Ramon works 16 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:54,000 Speaker 1: at California State University in Long Beach. He and his 17 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:56,600 Speaker 1: girlfriend like driving out of the city into the desert 18 00:00:56,600 --> 00:01:00,240 Speaker 1: near Joshua Tree. We go usually two or three times 19 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:04,240 Speaker 1: per year, two different medeor showers. So now Ramond drives 20 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:06,640 Speaker 1: a Honda Element he brought in two thousand and seven, 21 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:10,000 Speaker 1: but he dreams of owning a Tesla. The Tesla brand 22 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 1: is synonymous with cool for me, particularly just because I 23 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:17,560 Speaker 1: admire Elon Musk so much and SpaceX and obviously, you know, 24 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:20,199 Speaker 1: talking about the media showers earlier. Space exploration is something 25 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:23,160 Speaker 1: that is absolutely fascinating to both me and my partner. 26 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:27,640 Speaker 1: At a starting price of thirty five thousand dollars, the 27 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:30,520 Speaker 1: Model three, the first of which just came off the 28 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:35,120 Speaker 1: assembly line this summer, is Tesla's most affordable car, and 29 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:38,240 Speaker 1: Ramont thinks he can afford it, but he has one 30 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 1: last worry that's keeping him from pulling the trigger. I 31 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 1: don't believe that any of the four or five weekend 32 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:49,120 Speaker 1: vacations that we've taken in the last twelve months and 33 00:01:49,200 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 1: I saw any charging station. Hi em Akito and I'm Pagakari, 34 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: and this week Undecrypted, we're going deep into the world 35 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:12,240 Speaker 1: of electric cars and asking why, despite tremendous advances and 36 00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:16,480 Speaker 1: much hype, they still haven't gone mainstream. In the US, 37 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: electric vehicles still make up only one percent of new 38 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: car sales. What could finally change that is an ambitious 39 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: and expensive plan that's already underway, funded by Tesla and 40 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:32,280 Speaker 1: a handful of other companies to build charging stations along 41 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:36,000 Speaker 1: America's highways, kind of like new gas stations for the 42 00:02:36,040 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 1: electric age, so that drivers like Ramont never have to 43 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:42,160 Speaker 1: worry about running out of battery on a road trip. 44 00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:47,120 Speaker 1: Tesla just announced that it's expanding its network of superchargers 45 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:50,360 Speaker 1: to not just highways and destinations, but to the center 46 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:54,800 Speaker 1: of cities like Boston and Chicago. But will more charging 47 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:57,960 Speaker 1: points be enough to convince drivers all over the world 48 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:01,840 Speaker 1: to finally make the leap to drip cars? And what 49 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 1: happens to companies like Tesla if after investing millions of 50 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:09,640 Speaker 1: dollars on this infrastructure, they don't sell enough cars to 51 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: make up for that investment. Stay with us, all right, 52 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:30,200 Speaker 1: yea until Antony. After literally years of waiting, Elon Musk 53 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 1: got on stage at Tesla's headquarters in Fremont, California. He 54 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:43,560 Speaker 1: unveiled the Model three card. All right, everyone, people in 55 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:46,960 Speaker 1: the audience are the people that have designed and engineered 56 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: and built the Model three. It was a big milestone 57 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:57,120 Speaker 1: for Tesla. Elon says, nearly five hundred thousand people have 58 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 1: reserved a Tesla Model three and because it's so much 59 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 1: cheaper than Tesla's Model s and Model X cars. It's 60 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:06,800 Speaker 1: been viewed as a potential tipping point for the entire 61 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 1: electric car market. Then, while he was on stage, Elon 62 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:13,600 Speaker 1: must took a moment to mention by the end of 63 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:16,320 Speaker 1: next year, there will be three times as many super 64 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:19,040 Speaker 1: charges as there are today. That should really help out 65 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:23,640 Speaker 1: a lot. Superchargers are the facilities that Tesla has built 66 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:27,000 Speaker 1: around the country so people on long drives don't run 67 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:29,840 Speaker 1: out of power in the middle. They charge your car 68 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:33,160 Speaker 1: in as little as half an hour, much more quickly 69 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 1: than the kind of plugs you'd have at home or 70 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:37,840 Speaker 1: at work. That's so you don't have to wait around 71 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:40,640 Speaker 1: all day at the electric equivalent of a gas station. 72 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:45,000 Speaker 1: And Elon might sound relaxed, but the need to charge 73 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:48,360 Speaker 1: up mid drive is an existential issue for the electric 74 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:51,840 Speaker 1: car industry. It's super significant and I'll tell you why 75 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: it's it's um in our opinion, it's the last barrier 76 00:04:56,760 --> 00:05:02,360 Speaker 1: to sales for the general consumer. That's Pat Romano. He's 77 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:07,160 Speaker 1: the CEO of a company called charge Point. Most people 78 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 1: don't want to worry about that. They just want to 79 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: know that when they're driving along and their batteries getting low, 80 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:13,839 Speaker 1: that if they look to the left and look to 81 00:05:13,839 --> 00:05:15,839 Speaker 1: the right on the highway. Over the next five or 82 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:18,719 Speaker 1: six miles, they can see something that looks like a 83 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:20,520 Speaker 1: place that they can go and get a fast charge. 84 00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:25,440 Speaker 1: So if that's the general consumer sentiment, and there's nothing 85 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:27,680 Speaker 1: wrong with that sentiment, by the way, because your car 86 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:30,960 Speaker 1: should be something that is serving you and not not 87 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,280 Speaker 1: the reverse. Um, what we have to do is we 88 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:39,400 Speaker 1: have to focus on planned build out of appropriate sites 89 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 1: on highways to cover the world's corridors between metro areas 90 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:47,400 Speaker 1: before the general consumer population is going to say, look, 91 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:51,359 Speaker 1: I can make this my only vehicle. Pat's company charge 92 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 1: Point is the world's largest network of electric charging stations. 93 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:58,400 Speaker 1: For now, most of his business comes from the long 94 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:01,840 Speaker 1: duration charging connect there's people use at home or at 95 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:04,960 Speaker 1: work when the car has hours to charge up. Most 96 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:09,000 Speaker 1: consumers the fueling model for gas cars is so ingrained 97 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:13,520 Speaker 1: in their minds that they actually are constantly trying to 98 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:17,920 Speaker 1: frames are thinking about electric vehicles as how much range 99 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:19,720 Speaker 1: does the battery have? And it doesn't have as much 100 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 1: range as my gas tanks, So that must be bad 101 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:24,599 Speaker 1: because I really want to go somewhere three to five 102 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:28,000 Speaker 1: days and refuel. Why do you want that shore, why 103 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:31,440 Speaker 1: not just fuel while you're doing something else. So a 104 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:33,920 Speaker 1: lot of people who drive electric cars will tell you 105 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:37,039 Speaker 1: a version of what Pat's saying here that really, you 106 00:06:37,120 --> 00:06:39,760 Speaker 1: hardly ever need to do a gas station style charge 107 00:06:39,839 --> 00:06:43,440 Speaker 1: up because you completely emptied your battery. That's because there 108 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:47,360 Speaker 1: are actually dozens of charging points all around us. That's 109 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:50,920 Speaker 1: especially true if you live in a big city. So 110 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 1: I checked out Tesla's map of where you can charge, 111 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:56,719 Speaker 1: and I had no idea that in Manhattan, you're basically 112 00:06:56,760 --> 00:06:59,040 Speaker 1: never more than a few blocks away from a parking 113 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:02,160 Speaker 1: garage that's fit it with a few Tesla connectors, so 114 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 1: you could keep topping up your battery when you're moving around, 115 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:08,039 Speaker 1: not just when you're at home or at work, but 116 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:10,520 Speaker 1: when you go out for dinner, go shopping, go to 117 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:14,000 Speaker 1: the cinema. I guess most people only do these long 118 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:17,680 Speaker 1: road trips a handful times a year, although I probably 119 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:21,080 Speaker 1: wouldn't fit into that category of most people. I drive 120 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:23,840 Speaker 1: hundreds of miles every weekend to get outside the city 121 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 1: and go camping and biking and whatnot. So Pat has 122 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:30,160 Speaker 1: future customers like you in mind when he says these things. 123 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:32,800 Speaker 1: And that's why, even though his main business is in 124 00:07:32,920 --> 00:07:37,160 Speaker 1: long duration charging. He's going to start building fast highway connectors. 125 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:40,240 Speaker 1: What it does do is it enables people to buy 126 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:44,200 Speaker 1: cars um more. You know, it'll accelerate the penetration rate 127 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:47,080 Speaker 1: to vvs. And what that does for charge point is 128 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:49,800 Speaker 1: it means those cars show up at work, at home, 129 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:53,280 Speaker 1: at around town locations, and those businesses have to buy 130 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:57,760 Speaker 1: the long duration chargers, you know, the chargers that serve 131 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:00,680 Speaker 1: the long duration parking marketer. And we're engaged with project 132 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:04,480 Speaker 1: companies right now that are looking at building out either um, 133 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:08,480 Speaker 1: significant geographic patches in the US, uh, you know, for 134 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:11,960 Speaker 1: highway transport for the entire US. So it's happening and 135 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,720 Speaker 1: there are going to be multi people, multiple players all 136 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:18,360 Speaker 1: vying for that. So um, that's good for consumers. By 137 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: the way, it's going to give them even more options. 138 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:29,280 Speaker 1: Eventually you'll be able to go anywhere on Earth. Yeah, 139 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:38,600 Speaker 1: so I thank you. In June, the University of Michigan 140 00:08:38,800 --> 00:08:42,520 Speaker 1: published a report saying that they're about sixteen thousand public 141 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:46,480 Speaker 1: electric vehicle charging stations in the US with forty three 142 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:51,920 Speaker 1: thousand connectors. A sizeable chunk of those chargers belonged to Tesla, 143 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:55,839 Speaker 1: which just announced that it's expanding its supercharger stations to 144 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:58,960 Speaker 1: city centers so that people who don't have plugs at 145 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:01,600 Speaker 1: home or at work will still have somewhere to quickly 146 00:09:01,679 --> 00:09:05,520 Speaker 1: charge their cars. The first of the urban stations launched 147 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:09,840 Speaker 1: on Monday in Boston and Chicago. Tesla's website shows that 148 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:14,400 Speaker 1: they're about nine hundred fifty supercharger stations globally with about 149 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:18,800 Speaker 1: sixty undred connectors. The company's goal is to get that 150 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 1: to ten thousand by the end of the year. Expanding 151 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:26,600 Speaker 1: this infrastructure is obviously a top priority for Tesla now 152 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:29,560 Speaker 1: that it's mass market car the Model three is on 153 00:09:29,600 --> 00:09:38,320 Speaker 1: the market. I am Chelsea Saxton, and I am an 154 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:41,600 Speaker 1: electric vehicle consultant and advocate working in the space now 155 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:48,760 Speaker 1: for over twenty years. Well, we do need quite a 156 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:53,560 Speaker 1: few more stations across the major highway networks, except for Tesla. 157 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:55,840 Speaker 1: I mean, Tesla does need to beef up their networks 158 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:59,000 Speaker 1: with the Model three coming in their increasing vehicle volume coming. 159 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,719 Speaker 1: But the main to stepancy at the moment is infrastructure 160 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:07,920 Speaker 1: for everybody else. When Chelsea talks about infrastructure for everybody else, 161 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:10,959 Speaker 1: what she means is that Tesla's network of charges is 162 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:15,000 Speaker 1: actually already pretty good, but also you can only use 163 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:18,000 Speaker 1: it if you have a Tesla. They're actually a number 164 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:21,240 Speaker 1: of different charging connectors out there. It's sort of like 165 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:24,360 Speaker 1: how an iPhone charger doesn't really work for Android phones. 166 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:29,000 Speaker 1: The Tesla network is called Supercharger. The other connectors have 167 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:32,680 Speaker 1: names like Chattamo and J one seven seven to. A 168 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:36,040 Speaker 1: handful of third party companies are building those networks that 169 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:40,240 Speaker 1: will serve all the non Tesla electric cars. One of 170 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:43,240 Speaker 1: those players is charge Point, and we've heard from its 171 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:47,199 Speaker 1: CEO Pat already in this episode. There's also green Lots 172 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:52,080 Speaker 1: and electrify America. Electrify America is a U S subsidiary 173 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:55,640 Speaker 1: of Volkswagen, the German car maker. It was created as 174 00:10:55,679 --> 00:10:59,719 Speaker 1: part of their court settlement for cheating regulators over diesel emissions. 175 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:02,160 Speaker 1: The big elephant home room at the moment is the 176 00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 1: Volkswagen Diesel settlement and the fact that as part of 177 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:08,320 Speaker 1: that they're spending two billion dollars through a new division 178 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:14,360 Speaker 1: College by America on agnostic infrastructure and awareness for eighties 179 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:18,040 Speaker 1: two billion dollars, that's a lot of money that could 180 00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:22,079 Speaker 1: make a lot of things happen very fast. Electrify America 181 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:25,240 Speaker 1: is planning to spend its money in several phases, and 182 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:27,880 Speaker 1: it made its first round of investments this year in April. 183 00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:31,000 Speaker 1: Having the whole U S Highway system covered is probably 184 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:34,640 Speaker 1: two three years off in terms of, you know, really 185 00:11:34,679 --> 00:11:38,600 Speaker 1: adequate infrastructure. Did not think about the you know, not 186 00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:41,400 Speaker 1: not not have to think about you know, what are 187 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:44,439 Speaker 1: the two metro areas that I'm trying to drive between? Wow? 188 00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:46,439 Speaker 1: I mean, I think if you live on the West coast, 189 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:48,160 Speaker 1: I think you're fine. And I think if you live 190 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:50,120 Speaker 1: on the East Coast, I think you'll be fine before 191 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:54,520 Speaker 1: that or northeast, I should say. But an arbitrary metro 192 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:58,960 Speaker 1: connectivity your your a couple of years away. Once the 193 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:02,120 Speaker 1: charging network is in place, Pat thinks customers will be 194 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:05,360 Speaker 1: a lot less worried about another fear around electric cause, 195 00:12:05,679 --> 00:12:09,000 Speaker 1: and that's something known as range anxiety. A lot of people, 196 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:12,280 Speaker 1: including Raman who you heard from earlier, want to know 197 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:16,120 Speaker 1: that they can travel very long distances on a single charge. 198 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:20,600 Speaker 1: You don't need four or five six miles of range 199 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:24,360 Speaker 1: in a vehicle. That's actually overkill with respect to that. 200 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:26,840 Speaker 1: And I think that that need is going to subside 201 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:31,199 Speaker 1: when people see fast chargers at appropriate intervals on the 202 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:34,560 Speaker 1: highway above a hundred and fifty or two hundreds, they 203 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:37,959 Speaker 1: start to realize, Yeah, I'm largely carrying around a battery back. 204 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:41,000 Speaker 1: I don't use that often. Of course, it costs a 205 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:44,840 Speaker 1: lot of money in solving thousands of these charging connectors. 206 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:48,800 Speaker 1: It's one thing for a group like Electrify America, which 207 00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:52,160 Speaker 1: is getting its funds from the v W settlements, But 208 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:56,120 Speaker 1: what about Tesla. Some investors might question the wisdom of 209 00:12:56,240 --> 00:13:00,760 Speaker 1: an already heavily indebted electric car maker spending big on 210 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:15,960 Speaker 1: a whole new project. One day this summer, I took 211 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:19,120 Speaker 1: a trip down to a Tesla supercharger near New York's 212 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:22,400 Speaker 1: JFK Airport. The connectors were in the back corner of 213 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:26,400 Speaker 1: a parking lot. The plugs are stationed at the end 214 00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:30,280 Speaker 1: of a regular parking bay, so you'd reverse into the 215 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:34,320 Speaker 1: spot and then take out the plug. The plug hooks 216 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:36,560 Speaker 1: into the back of the car near the tail lights. 217 00:13:40,200 --> 00:13:42,160 Speaker 1: I should say I hung out at the parking lot 218 00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:44,400 Speaker 1: for a couple of hours, and nobody pulled in to 219 00:13:44,559 --> 00:13:47,560 Speaker 1: charge up. When the whole point of your trip is 220 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:50,640 Speaker 1: to go and talk to owners of these Tesla's. Yeah, 221 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:53,120 Speaker 1: my takeaway was that I was probably a bit too 222 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:56,120 Speaker 1: close to the city. Drivers have so many other places 223 00:13:56,160 --> 00:13:59,079 Speaker 1: to top up that they probably only need a supercharger 224 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:02,120 Speaker 1: when they're in a more remote place. Yeah, going to 225 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:05,839 Speaker 1: these superchargers is not like going to a regular old 226 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:09,200 Speaker 1: gas station. Rather than standing next to your car like 227 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:12,240 Speaker 1: you would when you're filling up gas, most Tesla owners 228 00:14:12,320 --> 00:14:14,480 Speaker 1: plug in their cars and then leave them there for 229 00:14:14,559 --> 00:14:17,360 Speaker 1: like twenty thirty minutes. You want to be able to 230 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:19,680 Speaker 1: go get a coffee, use the restroom, maybe run an 231 00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:22,320 Speaker 1: errand um. I mean at one point I stopped and 232 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:23,800 Speaker 1: I was charging the car, and I think I went 233 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:26,240 Speaker 1: outlet shopping and an ant Taylor, which was very convenient 234 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:29,880 Speaker 1: for me. That's our colleague Dana Hull, who covers Tesla 235 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:33,080 Speaker 1: and SpaceX for Bloomberg, and not long ago, Tesla loaned 236 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:34,520 Speaker 1: her a car and she took it out for a 237 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 1: short vacation. You know, when I have pulled into Tesla's 238 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:40,520 Speaker 1: either supercharger or the destination charger, you know, chances are 239 00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:43,640 Speaker 1: there's another Tesla there, or as you're getting ready to leave, 240 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:45,480 Speaker 1: another Tesla might be pulling up, and so you have 241 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:48,080 Speaker 1: this kind of social connection. It's almost like going to 242 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:50,160 Speaker 1: a dog park. If you're a dog owner, you quickly 243 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:51,800 Speaker 1: get to know all of the other dog owners. You 244 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:54,480 Speaker 1: child chat about your dogs. The same thing happens at 245 00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:58,360 Speaker 1: a Tesla supercharging or destination charging station. You start to 246 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:01,160 Speaker 1: chat about your vehicle and over the over the air 247 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:04,240 Speaker 1: software updates and you know what is Elon Musk doing next, 248 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:12,600 Speaker 1: and um, it's It's just it's different. Building a charging 249 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:16,000 Speaker 1: network that covers the whole country, eventually the whole world 250 00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:19,080 Speaker 1: is a business imperative for Tesla. This is key to 251 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:22,360 Speaker 1: Tesla's whole business model. Because the Model three is their 252 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:25,200 Speaker 1: mass market car. They're going to have a huge volume 253 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:29,000 Speaker 1: of cars coming onto the roads within the next couple 254 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:31,000 Speaker 1: of years, and in order to meet that demand, they 255 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:34,600 Speaker 1: absolutely need to have a charging infrastructure in place. Making 256 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:38,000 Speaker 1: a viable business out of Tesla over the long term 257 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:41,280 Speaker 1: will depend on making the Model three a success. And 258 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:45,120 Speaker 1: it's clear that Tesla is already at its charging capacity. 259 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:48,320 Speaker 1: In some parts of the network, there really is a 260 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:51,800 Speaker 1: congestion issue, particularly in California, which is Tesla's home state, 261 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:55,800 Speaker 1: and on certain routes like the route between San Francisco 262 00:15:55,840 --> 00:15:58,359 Speaker 1: and Los Angeles, for example. You know, on the weekends, 263 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:01,120 Speaker 1: road trippers, Friday night people go back and forth, and 264 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:04,320 Speaker 1: you might go into a supercharger on Interstate five where 265 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:07,880 Speaker 1: there might be eight spots for eight different cars, and 266 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:10,840 Speaker 1: there could be a line of people actually waiting. There's 267 00:16:10,880 --> 00:16:13,600 Speaker 1: no two ways about it. Expanding the super charge and 268 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,120 Speaker 1: network is going to be expensive, and a lot of 269 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:19,480 Speaker 1: investors are already nervous about how much money Tesla is 270 00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:23,600 Speaker 1: burning through. Remember, investing in new charging stations is just 271 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:28,320 Speaker 1: one of the many big, expensive projects that Tesla is overseeing. 272 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:32,040 Speaker 1: For the last several years, Tesla has been constructing the 273 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:36,160 Speaker 1: largest factory on Earth, called the Giga Factory, where all 274 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:39,720 Speaker 1: its batteries will eventually be made. They also merged with 275 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:43,160 Speaker 1: Solar City in November, taking on a lot of debt 276 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:46,840 Speaker 1: that the rooftop solar company had on its books. Tesla 277 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:49,200 Speaker 1: continues to go back to the capital markets in the 278 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:51,920 Speaker 1: bond market to raise money to kind of fuel the 279 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:55,240 Speaker 1: Model three and the expansion of both charging and service. 280 00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:58,440 Speaker 1: So they are definitely spending, you know, millions to kind 281 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:00,840 Speaker 1: of expand this network, but I see it as really 282 00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:04,640 Speaker 1: being first mover advantage and really kind of cementing their brand. 283 00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:07,719 Speaker 1: The brand and the minds of the public. Despite all 284 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:10,480 Speaker 1: the money that Tesla and others are investing, it's not 285 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:13,800 Speaker 1: clear at this stage how much revenue electric vehicle charging 286 00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:17,879 Speaker 1: will generate. So while Tesla is pouring millions of dollars 287 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:21,520 Speaker 1: into building more superchargers, it's an investment that will really 288 00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:24,439 Speaker 1: come back to them once they start selling more cars. 289 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:27,560 Speaker 1: For a while, it was free for Tesla drivers to 290 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:30,000 Speaker 1: charge up, but at the beginning of this year, the 291 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:33,399 Speaker 1: company implemented a new policy where if you exceed the 292 00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:36,440 Speaker 1: equivalent of about one thousand miles, you have to start 293 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:39,720 Speaker 1: paying a nominal fee. Most of the people I spoke 294 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:42,200 Speaker 1: to think we'll end up with some kind of a pass, 295 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:44,400 Speaker 1: something similar to the data plan that comes with your 296 00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:47,600 Speaker 1: cell phone, that gives drivers access to the charging network, 297 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:51,040 Speaker 1: and if you're really organized, you may never have to 298 00:17:51,119 --> 00:17:54,639 Speaker 1: stop at a supercharger at all unless you're driving a 299 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:59,880 Speaker 1: long distance. Tesla has also developed something called destination charging. 300 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:04,520 Speaker 1: It's another little known but important piece of Tesla's business model. 301 00:18:05,119 --> 00:18:09,960 Speaker 1: This is where Tesla makes its charging connectors available to hotels, wineries, 302 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:12,960 Speaker 1: places where Tesla owners might like to go on vacation. 303 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:15,320 Speaker 1: I talked to a man who lives in Salt Spring 304 00:18:15,359 --> 00:18:19,480 Speaker 1: Island in Canada, and he regularly drives from Canada all 305 00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:21,959 Speaker 1: the way to Montana and back. Um. I mean, there 306 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:24,159 Speaker 1: are a lot of a lot of Tesla owners who 307 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:25,960 Speaker 1: road trips is a big part of their life. It's 308 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:27,760 Speaker 1: a big part of why they bought an electric car, 309 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:31,360 Speaker 1: and they will as they plan their route, they will 310 00:18:31,359 --> 00:18:34,240 Speaker 1: plan it around their charging. And this holds true in 311 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:37,240 Speaker 1: even more remote places. Dana had a chance to test 312 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:41,280 Speaker 1: this herself actually in Yosemite. The i Wanne Hotel has 313 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:44,919 Speaker 1: a destination charger. So this was fantastic because we were 314 00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:47,040 Speaker 1: going to be, you know, in a fairly remote place 315 00:18:47,119 --> 00:18:49,760 Speaker 1: in the mountains, far away from any highway where there 316 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:52,640 Speaker 1: would be a supercharger. And yet I could plan this 317 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:55,840 Speaker 1: Yosemite vacation with my family knowing that I could charge 318 00:18:55,880 --> 00:19:05,520 Speaker 1: the Tesla overnight. Eventually, as electric cars come to account 319 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:07,639 Speaker 1: for a bigger and bigger slice of the car market, 320 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:10,440 Speaker 1: and we should say that's still quite some ways off, 321 00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:13,760 Speaker 1: utilities will have to think about how a new generation 322 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:17,639 Speaker 1: of electric cars will affect the national grid. See e 323 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:20,199 Speaker 1: V batteries are big and could add up to a 324 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:23,199 Speaker 1: lot of extra burden if hundreds of thousands of them 325 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:25,440 Speaker 1: are all plugged in and charging at the same time. 326 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:31,160 Speaker 1: If done haphazardly with no coordination with utilities at scale, 327 00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:34,000 Speaker 1: it is actually a very difficult problem for the grid. 328 00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:37,919 Speaker 1: This is pat Romano from charge point again. If done 329 00:19:38,800 --> 00:19:43,600 Speaker 1: with reasonably, you know, very practical, very simple things, in 330 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:47,240 Speaker 1: coordination with the grid, it actually helps the grid. Utility 331 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:51,040 Speaker 1: networks in all countries right now are a sort of 332 00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:54,439 Speaker 1: peak demand oriented. They have to be engineered for peak demand. 333 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:58,400 Speaker 1: Just explain what pat means here. The grid is set 334 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:00,719 Speaker 1: up in a way that means it can only handle 335 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:04,120 Speaker 1: a certain amount of demand at a time. If one 336 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:07,080 Speaker 1: building decides to turn its air conditioning on and that 337 00:20:07,119 --> 00:20:10,960 Speaker 1: exceeds the generation capacity at that moment, it could bring 338 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:14,399 Speaker 1: the whole grid down. So for now, the ideal time 339 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:17,960 Speaker 1: to charge electric cars is at night, when skyscrapers have 340 00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:22,240 Speaker 1: their lights off and electricity demand is generally low. But 341 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:25,920 Speaker 1: there's a chance that equation could change if renewable energy 342 00:20:26,119 --> 00:20:29,080 Speaker 1: like solar and winds start to play a more important 343 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:32,560 Speaker 1: part in our energy mix. Because our grid is built 344 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:35,840 Speaker 1: to deliver electricity instantly, we don't have a lot of 345 00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:39,240 Speaker 1: infrastructure in place to store energy that we can use later, 346 00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:41,919 Speaker 1: So we could be in a situation where there's too 347 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:45,200 Speaker 1: much electricity being generated during the day when the sun 348 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:47,399 Speaker 1: is out. So what that means is you want cars 349 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:49,880 Speaker 1: plugged in at work all day long, and you want 350 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:52,040 Speaker 1: to potentially in the long term, plugged in at home 351 00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:55,640 Speaker 1: so that opportunistically the rate of charge into the car 352 00:20:55,800 --> 00:21:00,680 Speaker 1: can be managed by the utility. So when the sun 353 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:04,800 Speaker 1: is burning bright and solar is providing an abundance of energy, 354 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:07,280 Speaker 1: it's a great time to charge vehicles. In fact, in 355 00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:10,320 Speaker 1: many cases they're paying people to take load right now. 356 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:13,879 Speaker 1: So there's a lot of really interesting debates within the 357 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:17,919 Speaker 1: industry going on about vehicle to grid so that potentially 358 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:20,440 Speaker 1: the cars could act to sort of mobile storage units 359 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:22,880 Speaker 1: and send electricity back to the grid. We're not really 360 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:25,600 Speaker 1: at the at the point yet where that's become an 361 00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:28,000 Speaker 1: issue or where that's happening in practice, but it's something 362 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:30,320 Speaker 1: that people are seeing as a potential synergy that could 363 00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:34,159 Speaker 1: really help manage these load issues that utility operators and 364 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:41,439 Speaker 1: grid operators are always struggling with. So of course the 365 00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:45,560 Speaker 1: big question is whether having more charges around will mean 366 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:49,840 Speaker 1: that people start buying more electric cars. I tested this 367 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:53,280 Speaker 1: out with Ramon Vivero. He's the listener from southern California 368 00:21:53,320 --> 00:21:56,240 Speaker 1: who we heard from at the start. In the beginning, 369 00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:58,720 Speaker 1: Ramon was kind of skeptical. He told me he lives 370 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:02,880 Speaker 1: in an apartment where he couldn't install an electric charging connector. 371 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:05,879 Speaker 1: He was also worried about taking an electric vehicle on 372 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:08,800 Speaker 1: a road trip to Palm Springs. But I actually looked 373 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:11,520 Speaker 1: online and there are places Ramon could stop to charge 374 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:13,760 Speaker 1: on the way. So I asked him if that made 375 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:18,320 Speaker 1: him feel different. I'm very impressed. I didn't think that 376 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:21,680 Speaker 1: they would be at this point for another year or two. Um, 377 00:22:21,760 --> 00:22:26,040 Speaker 1: so conceivably with only a thirty minute detour, you can 378 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:29,920 Speaker 1: go four miles. I mean, that's Los Angeles to Vegas, 379 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:34,119 Speaker 1: seems we I mean obviously, once we have the hyperlips, 380 00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:55,480 Speaker 1: that's entirely different. UM. Waiting on that. And that's it 381 00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:59,639 Speaker 1: for this week's episode of Decrypted. Thanks for listening. Do 382 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:02,280 Speaker 1: you have an electric car or are you thinking about 383 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:05,159 Speaker 1: getting one? We'd love to hear your story. Get in 384 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:09,119 Speaker 1: touch at Decrypted at Bloomberg dot net or I'm on 385 00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:12,840 Speaker 1: Twitter at pa Gadkari and I'm at aki Eto seven. 386 00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:16,240 Speaker 1: If you haven't already subscribed to our show wherever you 387 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:19,399 Speaker 1: get your podcasts, and while you're there, please leave us 388 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:22,520 Speaker 1: a rating and a review. I read each and every 389 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:24,680 Speaker 1: single one of these, and it goes such a long 390 00:23:24,720 --> 00:23:27,080 Speaker 1: way to get the show in front of more listeners. 391 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:30,800 Speaker 1: This episode was produced by Liz Smith and Magnus Hendrickson. 392 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:33,600 Speaker 1: A very special thanks to Dana Hull for all her 393 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:36,920 Speaker 1: guidance and expertise on this topic, and to Isabel Gottlieb 394 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:39,919 Speaker 1: who helped with research for today's episode. We'll see you 395 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:40,359 Speaker 1: next week.