The give-and-take of electric vehicle ownership includes the paradox of charging stations. On one hand
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00:02 - So one of the biggest challenges of any electric vehicle,
00:10 let alone an electric truck like the Tesla Cybertruck,
00:12 is how you're gonna charge it.
00:14 Tesla has a huge advantage with their supercharger networks
00:16 all over the country, but I would argue
00:18 that probably aren't enough in rural areas.
00:20 Do you think there's probably room for expansion?
00:22 - Yes, but that gets to who is going to really buy it
00:25 in the first place.
00:25 Are they going to be purchased in rural areas
00:28 and used in traditional work truck ways?
00:31 Or will it be seen as entirely different
00:33 product truck category?
00:34 - Traditional truck buyers, they love reliability.
00:37 Electric motors are inherently simple.
00:38 - They are very, very reliable.
00:40 That's something that's really being observed
00:42 with early Model S's, it's just they're just lasting forever.
00:45 - So that's, I think, something that, you know,
00:46 the traditional truck buyer can really get behind.
00:48 - But what's interesting about the Envision superchargers
00:51 that are going to be added to the network
00:53 is being able to charge while trailering something.
00:57 I mean, when you're traveling,
00:58 you're going to a lake or something, pulling a boat,
01:02 you don't want to have to stop and--
01:04 - Oh my God, what a pain in the ass.
01:04 - Take your boat off to go over and charge.
01:06 That's just not gonna work.
01:07 - I just wouldn't go, I mean, at that point.
01:09 - So the charge port is in the same place
01:11 they've always been in Teslas,
01:12 which is the driver's side rear.
01:14 But they did a study all around the country
01:16 at all the superchargers,
01:17 and which ones would there be an opportunity
01:19 to pull a vehicle up, a truck up,
01:21 while trailering something,
01:22 and still access that charger?
01:25 And that's an interesting analysis.
01:26 - That was apparently simpler for them
01:28 than adding more charge ports.
01:29 I know that was an early suggestion,
01:31 charge ports in each corner,
01:32 that makes sense, you can pull right into your spot
01:35 and charge however you see fit.
01:36 So anecdotally, we've heard from Tesla
01:38 that whenever they install a new supercharger
01:40 in a location, sales in that area go up.
01:42 So it would seem to me to make a ton of sense
01:44 to add superchargers in rural areas,
01:46 and I can totally see Tesla doing that.
01:47 - The question is, you know,
01:49 if you build those superchargers, will they come?
01:51 - I don't think rural buyers
01:53 are a huge disadvantage with charging.
01:55 I think if anything, they have an advantage
01:57 that urban buyers don't have,
01:58 in that they typically have the space
02:01 to install their own.
02:02 - Yeah, they're probably not living in apartments, right?
02:05 In those areas, you may have homes
02:07 and power available in your garage,
02:09 in your driveway or whatever,
02:10 so that may work better.
02:12 - Sure. - Yeah.
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