system

Ironically, just the other day I saw some Teslas on the ‘SuperChargers’ in Oshkosh. Never having seen any there, I engaged the drivers in a Q & A to which they were happy to oblige.

I watched as a driver backed his ride into the charging station. My first question was, “How do you pay for the recharge?” A: The car communicates it’s ID to Tesla and you have an established account … kinda like an Apple account.

Q2: “How long does it take to charge up?” A2: " The charge rate varies during the recharge but a typical charge is about 30 minutes." For reasons I couldn’t fathom, one driver says they rate the recharge in miles per hour which made no sense to me but ?? He further stated that there’s an APP so you can see how the car is doing while you’re off shopping or ? I asked, “Could someone yank the plug out of the car?” A: “Once the car is locked, the plug is – likewise – locked to the car.”

Q3: “How far can you drive?” A3: “You ‘tell’ the car where you’re going and it decides your route so you can pass a recharging station IF the drive isn’t local.” I then asked what if a charging station isn’t available. A: They come with a 110VAC plug BUT … “the charge rate is borderline dismal and useless.”

Q4: I then asked the BIG question … “How is this thing gonna do in the dead of winter in Oshkosh?” A4: “THAT is the $64,000 question. IF it won’t work, I can work from home.” Great, I thought.

One driver of a pre-2017 car told me that those vehicles get free recharging for life. I then asked, “How long is the battery pack good for?” He said they think 200,000 miles? The next natural question … “How much will a new pack cost?” A: $20,000 !! YIKES !!!

And THIS is gonna save the planet, I thought. To be fair, one driver – a Navy musician from Great Lakes said – “IF you know anyone with a Tesla, take a drive. You’ll be amazed at the smoothness. Better still, try to get one to drive.” Fair enough, I thought, but if I’m always worried about the state of charge and how far it is to the next Supercharging station, what good is that. Utility transcends smoothness in MY mind.

SO … apparently the Uber flying machines are gonna have the same problem. And on today’s AOPA Today video, they’re saying that there are now 155 companies trying to build such machines. Maybe all those Light Sport companies have changed direction and are now building flying UberMobiles ??

Meanwhile, a snowbird pilot I know mentioned that he had averaged 65mph heading back from Texas. He mentioned that Prius’ were passing him at 80mph. Moral of the story for Uber … look into HYBRID !!