I’m Trapped With My In-Laws at a West Virginia Farm Because My Tesla Cybertruck is Going to Take 6 Days to Charge Enough to Make it to the Closest Supercharger

I spent 8 months in the redwood forests away from any charging station and using only a 110 volt circuit to charge my Model 3. I had no problem getting a full charge and averaged 5 miles in charge per hour. I most days I drove about 100 miles and occasionally about 160.

I had a hard time believing he way the article as it was written.

Like this issue had anything to do with the cybertruck.

You ever think you're in laws are trapped or the giant douchebag?

This doesn't pass the sniff test. There are tons of superchargers in VA and NC well below Charleston from anywhere in WV. Not to mention Level 2 chargers if in a pinch.

Every Tesla owner knows on day one that level one charging is abysmally slow. That's just EV 101. This is click bait, overtly sensational, or just stupid. Any prudent Tesla owner going to a destination where charging is an unknown arrives with enough SOC to reach another L2 charger. Or, carries an extension cord and enough dogbone adapters to convert to some other commonly found 220V outlet (like a 30A dryer outlet) for use in a pinch.

no the moral of the story is not: "many parts of the USA, especially rural America, might not be ready for EVs."

the moral of the story is get someone qualified to put in a circuit.

and 32A at 237V is only 7.5kWh charging which is lame. i think the 14-50 can do 48A which would be 11.5kWh (50% faster), but you'd likely need 6 gauge wire (disclaimer: i'm not an electrician).

This is a just silly. EV’s just don’t charge fast on 120v. He expect to have access to a 220v line and didn’t. This is like arriving with virtually no gas and finding none on the farm. 5is is not the fault of the vehicle.

Get rid of the EV if you plan on driving maximum distance!

He shoulda bought a gas powered Chevy.

I've told my Model Y to charge below the plug's rating (which you can do in 1A increments) because at my dad's 200 year old farm house, 24A is too much, but 18A is fine. I wonder if he had told the Cybertruck to charge below 32A if he could have charged over night.

Would have been easier just to set the charge rate in the car down to 24A (appropriate for 10 AWG copper wire).

Instead, he continued with the NEC violations. You can't put a NEMA 14-50 on a 60A circuit breaker, and you need 6 AWG wire (if THHN in conduit and the breaker and 14-60 receptable are rated for 75C terminations, otherwise you need 4 AWG copper wire. On a 50A circuit breaker, you need 8 AWG if THHN and you can qualify for the 75C terminations, otherwise 6 AWG.

Nice, now John can visit often without having to worry about supercharging.

The real news here is that DIY wiring of a NEMA 14-50 outlet for EV charging isn't really that big a deal. I've done it myself at two houses. Of course you have to know what you're doing. Make sure the outlet is properly grounded, and do the wiring from the outlet towards the panel, with the circuit breaker off, or install the breaker as the last step. Even better is to shut off the main breaker when working in the panel to reduce the risk of shock.

Nothing wrong with the truck, just the plug.

If you live in a farm, you will know how to change that plug out in 10 mins and obviously an outlet is not their “complete electrical systems.”

Stop writing hit pieces you know nothing about.

Just tow the truck to a charger or get a diesel generator on the truck bed to provide you with energy as you go....
You knew your limitations owning that truck, there is no need for the drama or complaints, face your and your truck limitations...!..

Tesla, a big magnet for losers.

The voltage drop of 50' of 10AWG wire at 50' is less than 2.2% and 8AWG is 1.5%. There is no way the gauge of wire was the issue because electrical systems should be able to work at tolerance of up to 10% drop.

6 hours at 18 per hour is only 108 miles. He will need 4 times that to get to his fully charged state.

Tesla owners don’t strike me as being very practical people.

People still run out of gas.

As long as he doesn't burn down the in laws farm. He is using 8 gauge wire which is only rated for 40 amps under continuous load which in best case derates to 32 amps and depending on distance and conduit could be derated to as 28 amps. Then a 50 amp plug and protects it with a 60 amp breaker. What a disaster waiting to happen.

Should have used 6 gauge worst case or 4 gauge ideally, with 50 amp breaker and 50 amp plug.

But, who cares its the inlaws farm.

I find it really hard to believe that people still haven't learned to plan ahead! It would also help to Know what you're buying before you buy it.

The original post does not say Charleston, South Carolina. If the original post was corrected then this article should correct it too. There are dozens of Superchargers between WV and Charleston, SC, so that charger cannot be possibly the closest one.

Tesla are so cool.

You can limit the charging rate (current) to the plug and circuit you have (10 gauge). If you have a good (industrial strength 10-50 plug) you can charge at 40A - i.e. 9.6 kW/hour. If you do not trust your plug and/or wire you can limit the charge current to 32A which will still be 7.68 kWh times faster than ~6x faster than 12A 110V.

My 82kWh Model 3 battery usually got 1-2kWh charge per hour, which would be 3 to 8 miles per hour. I’ve had situations where I discharged the battery close to 10% to 20% and it took two days (over the weekend) to fully charge the battery ymbavk to 80%. That requires 10 to 12 amps through the breaker. The EV knows nothing about the gushed of wire on the back of the breaker box.

Plus, are you telling me there is nowhere on this farm that has a 240v outlet that would charge the truck in about 1/3rd the time? Based on the specs:

Base RWD version: 84.6 kWh
Cyberbeast model: 122.4 kWh
Extender pack: 47 kWh

I can believe 4 days to full charge of 169.4 kWh for a Cyberbeast model with Extender pack. But I’d be looking for a 240v outlet somewhere close by.

So hang on, why couldn't he backtrack the way he came? Was the drive there and back uphill in both directions?

The six day claim is absurd and inconsistent with physics; the other figures are equally flawed.

It is also unlikely that the CT detected a wire gage difference.

But, as with any technology, you plan ahead.

Arrive at a new destination closer to fully charged. Have the ability to use other outlets (240/30 from a dryer).

In aviation we learn to have enough to make the destination, then go to an alternate, and then 45 minutes past that. In IT we have contingency planning.

And in motoring we need the same. With all cars, a spare tire, auto club or fix-a-flat. A jerrycan of gas. A mobile charger.

The only thing the Cybertruck driver did right here was bringing the 120/15 and mobile charger. And I doubt there wasn't an EV park or farm with 240/30 or better nearby.

Sounds like father in law or his electrician didn’t do their homework when installing the charger. EV is the future but there will be a few bumps on the way. We bought an EV, had the home charger installed, and haven’t paid a penny for gas for two years. If you charge at night the electricity is even cheaper.

Someone might want to tell this guy he's an idiot. You do NOT use a 60A breaker on a 14-50 receptacle or use 8awg Romex on a 50A or 60A circuit. The receptacle needs to be installed using a 50A breaker and 6awg Romex. Then his charging needs to be limited to 40A MAX.