I was in Bergen, Norway, two years ago as I was getting ready to board a cruise ship for 30 days as one of its featured speakers. The cruise line is headquartered in Norway, so you might be able to guess which one it was. Being flown over there to speak on the ship was exciting, but not as exciting as to see so many Tesla automobiles in and around Bergen.
In talking with a few locals, one of the things I learned was that the entire country of Norway was on a mission to eliminate all gas-drive vehicles -- not just automobiles -- by the year 2025. That was two years ago and they were saying they had a seven-year goal of eliminating all gasoline-powered cars, trucks, trains, airplanes, everything that used fossil fuels as their power source.
Wow!
I wonder if Norway has told all the airlines that fly into the country. Oh, yes. What about the cruise lines that include Norway as they show their guests the wonders of Scandinavia? And then there are the lines that showcase the Norwegian Fjords. I’ve spoken on a couple of those cruises, and they are amazing. So will the cruise lines be banned from Norway if they are still using fossil fuels?
Getting back to Boise, I’ve been surprised recently to see a few Tesla automobiles being driven around the city.
The style of the Tesla (or more correctly, the Tesla models, as there are four of them) is not as distinctive as, let’s say, a Mercedes Benz “C” Class or a Miata. It is the distinctive “T” logo on the front grille area and on the rear that identifies the car for the causal looker. They are stylish, yet subtle in their designs.
Given that they are all-electric, how far can one drive in and around Boise and how do you re-charge the batteries?
The Tesla website has the following image to illustrate the stats for the Model S. So if all you are doing is driving around town in Boise, you probably won’t have to charge the batteries for quite a while. As you look at the numbers below, it is interesting to think of how conversations might start changing from talking about MPG (Miles Per Gallon) and size of gas tank in the cars we’ve always known to MPC (Miles Per Charge) and TTC (Time To Charge) for the all-electric vehicles.
Tesla claims to have over 25,000 Superchargers all over the world along major routes, presumably more likely to be in the areas where there will be Teslas. I doubt there are charging stations in the middle of Brazil or in Tanzania, but if they find that there are Teslas there, you can be sure that charging stations will be installed.
You don’t have to find a charging station in order to re-charge the batteries in your Tesla. There are adapter kits that can plug into a standard 110-120-Volt outlet and there is a kit that uses a 220-240-Volt outlet. So, just like many of the current hybrid cars that plug into your garage outlet, your Tesla can also do that, with the proper adapter kit.
There are actually two main types of charging stations of the 25,000+ chargers boasted by Tesla. And there are some of them here in Boise. I did a Google search for “where are Tesla charging stations,” and because Google knows my location (Boise), it brought up a listing of stations along with this map.
There are Supercharger stations, and Tesla currently has about 2,500 of them with over 25,000 superchargers, that “deliver energy rapidly, and gradually slow down as the battery fills.” (tesla.com/supercharger). The other main type (except for charging at home) are the Destination Charging stations, typically located at “popular hotels, restaurants and resorts.” (tesla.com/destination-charging)
Watch for a follow-up article on Tesla and their international network of charging stations.