It may well be fine for some but, for instance, millions of people live in terraced property with no chance of access to a charging point at home so where do they go to charge up?
Parking space induction.....everywhere...even at work!
Many Yanks only charge at their workplace. And, many companies who provide company cars are happy to build charging stations and pay for Teslas or other EVs, as it saves them tons of money in gasoline expenses and helps with the whole “Buy American” that many US companies demand when providing monies for company cars. In fact, I bought my first car...Honda Prelude...from a guy who had to get rid, because the company required him to have an “American Big Three”company car.
We have the Chevy Volt (Opel Ampera over there) and just plug it in the regular garage plug outlet. However, in the airport employee lot (and passenger lot), the City has chargepoints to “fuel up” your car while you are away on a trip. Only problem is......NOT ENOUGH FOR ALL THE EVs!!!
The future is here, and in the next 3 years, people are going to be amazed at the “center of the market” EVs that major manufacturers are going to bring to market. Also, with the emissions standards outlined by European governments, the ICE is on its deathbed for the consumer market. What Musk has done with the roll out of the Semi and Midsize truck is try to extend that death knell up the kerb weight scale! From here, it is all about battery density, useful life and recharge time. SuperChargers, and truck MegaChargers take care of that problem!
Tesla just installed 12 SuperChargers in the outlot of my local supermarket. It is about 1/2 mile off a major highway and in the middle of a middle class commercial and housing area. That build out is continuing, growing by 100% in the next year. Proven technology and infrastructure build out all already in place, so from here it is simply production scale and continuous tech improvement that makes this market pick up speed and reach critical mass. The Model 3 is Tesla’s attempt to help create that critical mass. I have a reservation and mid-2018 delivery projection, however, I’m still unsure whether I will pull the trigger or wait to see what BMW, Audi, Mercedes, VW, Ford, GM, Honda, Subaru, etc, etc, etc...bring to the market in the next few years.
If it was available today, I would buy a hybrid/EV Subaru WRX or full EV (with real world range) Honda. Have always bought these two manufacturers, because IME they have been bulletproof. Had my last Honda for 14 years (‘94-‘08) without ever causing me an issue, and I currently have a 2008 WRX that is still fantastic to drive! Whether I take delivery of the Tesla 3 and give the WRX to my son next summer or not is still TBD!
Interesting times in the EV consumer space, with an excellent opportunity to start picking up used vehicles starting today! Resale values are very low for everything except the very top end EVs, so there will be an interesting chance for people to sample the tech and easy of use, if they so choose.
The future is Blue, but it is also EV!!!