Have you seen Chudley – aka the Magatard? He is an AI generated gestalt of Trump True Believers. The few who remain. Chudley says things are going great! Look at the stock market! Gas prices would have been much higher than they are now if Harris had become president and – besides – we can’t let Iran get a nuke. Also, we have to win the AI race with China – and data centers are a big part of that. Why are you so worried about Flock cameras? It’s never been safer out there!
Chudley has a friend. He is not an AI generated gestalt but he is of a piece. He is Chris Tsui and he is very excited about the new electric Porsche Cayenne’s ability to “fast charge” from 10 percent to 80 percent in “just 16 minutes.” Here is how he describes the process:
“I rolled up to this (high-voltage DC fast charger) with 13 percent left in the battery and a phone with the Ivy app already installed, credit card info loaded and ready to go. Getting the charge going was relatively painless. The Cayenne has a Tesla-style NACS port for DC fast-charging, and this charger uses CCS, but Porsche supplied an adapter that popped right onto the plug and worked as advertised.”
Did you catch the “relatively painless” part?
Is filling a gas tank ever painful? Does it require elaborate, multiple steps? Using a commercial “fast” charger often does, as Tsui tacitly admits. I have personally dealt with “relatively painless” multiple times. The pains – in the ass – include discovering the “fast” charger you had planned to use (it is necessary to plan these stops, a pain the EV Chudleys rarely talk about) isn’t working. Or that it won’t work for you. As Tsui explains, it is often necessary to have an app on your phone in order to get the charger to work. But what if you do not want to have this app on your phone? Or do not have a phone? Yes, there are still people who haven’t got one – or who prefer not to carry the thing around with them everywhere they go. You cannot pay cash, of course. That would be too painless. Also too anonymous and also too uncontrollable. Credit cards – without the app – sometimes work and sometimes don’t. Have you ever had problem getting a gas pump to accept your credit card?
If you have found a working “fast” charger and your credit card works, now you have to wrestle with the power cord and plug. These have been clumsily fashioned to resemble gas pump nozzles but the cable is much thicker and heavier and the “nozzle” can be difficult to plug into the EV’s receptacle. Depending on the EV, you might need an adaptor. Or you might not be able to get it plugged in at all. Assuming you successfully get through all of the “relatively painless” stuff, now comes the best part.
The “just 16 minutes” wait to get back to 80 percent fully charged.
Doesn’t it smack of Chudley’s gas is a lot less expensive now than it would have been if Harris had won? Doesn’t it make you want to smack yourself in the head with a hammer? Or – better – smack Chudley in the head with one?
Sixteen minutes would be ridiculously long to get fully charged – in the same way that $4.15 for a gallon of regular unleaded isn’t gooder (as Chudley might put it) than paying $5 or $6 for it if Harris had won. It’s just less bad. The distinction ought to matter. Not to Chudley, though – because we’re dealing with what in a religious context would be considered apologetics, only without the scholarship. Take note of the deception inherent in the “just 16 minutes” to go from “10 percent to 80 percent” apologetics. What has Chudley left out? What is it that he does not want you to see?
If it takes “just 16 minutes” to go from “10 percent to 80 percent” charge, how long does it take to get to 100 percent? That is to say, the equivalent of a full tank of gas that takes about three minutes to pump? Well, it takes a lot longer – because it is necessary slow down the rate at which charge is transferred at a high-voltage DC “fast” charger, to tamp down the risk of a fire arising from heat build up and to avoid damaging the (very expensive) EV battery. What happens is that once 80 percent is reached, the “fast” charge becomes a trickle charge. It will typically take at least another 15-20 minutes at that rate to fully charge the battery.
If you don’t have the additional time to wait, you can leave with 80 percent charge after “just 16 minutes.” The thing is, you’ll have to stop for a charge again, sooner – because you drove away with the EC equivalent of about three quarters of a tank. Since most EVs don’t go very far even when fully charged – about 250-300-ish miles is typical – that means you have 20 percent less than that, which means about 200-240 miles, which is a lot less far.
Even leaving that aside, a 16 minute wait to get to 80 percent is beyond ridiculous when you can get to full in about three minutes – and without “relatively painless” hassles.
But – as Chudley says – we’ve got to win the EV race with China!
. . .
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Eric you are beating a strawman. Jalopnik is a woke publication marketing wokeists values.
These fast chargers could be interesting in Europe and parts of Asia if electricity prices remain low enough. If EU would just open nordstream, start mining coal, and restart the NPP’s they might have been able to support a large scale EV rollout.
But the high power chargers at gas stations are much more expensive so I avoid them. My MG4 has 64kwh and goes about 250 miles. Unless it is completely empty I can trickle charge it overnight. It is very quiet and very quick off the line and has no turbo lag, making it an exceptional city car. When I can charge it off of solar my energy costs approach zero.
Even if you charge an EV using a home grid charger, many power companies are being forced to lower rates during the midday sun. Charge your Tesla M3 from the grid at home, and a 100 miles of transport will cost you a few dollars instead of 25-$50. The savings are potentially thousands of dollars ever year.
But the better Libertarian use case for EV’s is autarky. Many suburban homes and practically every Ranchette / small farm has ample space for solar panels which could be used to charge an EV. This kind of independence from oil companies, MIC and big government is very valuable, and any “Libertarian” worth his salt should recognize this.
One other consideration is that if you stay withing range of your house, you will never have to deal with all the chocolate flavored diversity when tank up at the local 7-11.