Tesla's big vehicle price fluctuations and repair wait times are putting rental car companies at a loss both in the figurative and literal sense. Tesla has cut prices by 30% this year and those rental companies which bought at the peak are suffering.
My guy, not everywhere has fast charging readily available. Take for instance, Kauai which as of my last visit when I almost rented a Tesla had 0 superchargers. I know plenty about EV’s. You’re not guaranteed to be staying at a place that has charging, and if you do, they could be all taken up, and then you have to waste your time scoping it out to see if it’s open. Let’s also add that they probably want you bringing back a full charge like they do a full tank for an ICE vehicle. A 5 minute stop for gas before getting on a plane is nbd. Waiting 30 mins for a supercharger (or more if they’re all taken)(or even more for a slow charger) on the day you’re going to go wait in security, wait for the plane to board, wait on the runway, and then get on a plane for 5 hours is not something I am willing to do. When I go on vacation, I’m not trying to add chores to my day. It’s simply not practical for a rental car. Also, I like to rent cars for long trips. I have no desire to add 30 mins or more depending on how many stops I need to make to charge along the way. I want to spend the least amount of time in the car as possible. I work remote, and drive a hybrid. If I still was going to the office, I’d probably be in an EV by now. It was my plan 5 years ago, but I’m not driving every day, and it’s wasteful to just get rid of a fully functioning car that I barely drive to begin with.
My dude, Kauai’s road length is hilariously small. So you drive during the day, and charge overnight while you’re sleeping. Putting that aside, which would be foolish to do since that’s how daily EV ownership is experienced, you could park at a Level 2 EV charger and then go to the beach, go to lunch, go on a tour, live your vacation life. The fact of the matter is, unless you’re driving for 5 hours or more out of your precious vacation day, you aren’t going to run out of battery on Kauai.
Let’s also add that they probably want you bringing back a full charge like they do a full tank for an ICE vehicle
You’ve tipped your hand here by showing you don’t know what the rental experience is, which makes me question if you’ve ever considered renting one. All of the commercial companies want you to bring it back around 70%. Nobody charges to full, nobody wants an EV charged to full unless you’re planning to wring out every single mile it can do in a long stint of a road trip.
I drove from Santa Clara to San Francisco international after charging overnight in Santa Clara, reached the airport with more than enough state of charge. Took no extra time in my schedule, I went to dinner while the car charged, making it just as convenient as stopping at a gas station. Sure, it took more than 5 minutes, but I didn’t care because I was doing something else productive during that time.
Waiting 30 mins for a supercharger…
Something I’ve never done ever. Not once. Then again, I also don’t fill up ICE vehicles when I’m returning them because I actually have to stop at a gas station and pump gas rather than charging overnight. When I drive my own EV to the airport for a business trip, I arrive with more than enough to park for a week or two and drive home. No charging stops, none of the contrived nonsense you’ve attempted to make up to scare people.
I have no desire to add 30 mins or more depending on how many stops I need to make to charge along the way
That’s not a long trip by any measure. Driving the entire capacity of a modern EV on the highway is about 3 hours of actual driving time at full highway speed. If you’re renting a car for a 3 hour trip, then I’m just going to suggest you not bother owning a car in the first place and rent one when you need one.
I want to spend the least amount of time in the car as possible
Great. Same. Which is what I do. Apparently you seem to think you need to sit in your car while it charges, but simultaneously think that a charging stop gives you around 30 minutes of time to kill. Can you think of anything to do for 30 minutes after driving for 3-4 hours???
it’s wasteful to just get rid of a fully functioning car that I barely drive to begin with.
This is a separate point to everything else being discussed, and nobody’s debating this fact with you.
Look man, I’m not going to write another fucking essay here. Agree to disagree. You can like EVs, and also be aware of their flaws. A person can certainly do all the things you mentioned, but all of that takes way more effort than I’m willing to put in during my leisure time. I am not going to rent an EV any time soon, and none of your arguments have swayed me one bit.
So then you’re in the Electric Vehicles community to concern troll and spread bullshit. Got it. Maybe before talking out your ass, you should, like, actually own and use the thing. Just a suggestion. I’m not trying to sway you, I couldn’t care less what you do. I’m correcting the record for anybody that comes along in the future and sees the utter BS you’ve said here as a non EV owner, contrasted against what I’ve said here as an EV owner.
Honestly didn’t see what community this was, just the article, and was giving my honest feedback. EVs are great for a lot of things, I just think specifically for renting it’s not a great option. You clearly care more about this than I do about this with your sentence by sentence retort of every word I say. Believe it or not, some people might have different perspectives than you out in the world.
It has nothing to do with perspective and everything to do with you regurgitating lies we’ve all heard for over a decade now. Tired, hacky material. I don’t care what you drive, I care that you’re making up lies. You have no basis for comparison because you don’t live with an EV. I do, and I have for the past 6 years. I’ve made plenty road trips in the US in multiple brands, I’ve rented multiple brands, and I’ve test driven most EVs available on the US market.
My guy, not everywhere has fast charging readily available. Take for instance, Kauai which as of my last visit when I almost rented a Tesla had 0 superchargers. I know plenty about EV’s. You’re not guaranteed to be staying at a place that has charging, and if you do, they could be all taken up, and then you have to waste your time scoping it out to see if it’s open. Let’s also add that they probably want you bringing back a full charge like they do a full tank for an ICE vehicle. A 5 minute stop for gas before getting on a plane is nbd. Waiting 30 mins for a supercharger (or more if they’re all taken)(or even more for a slow charger) on the day you’re going to go wait in security, wait for the plane to board, wait on the runway, and then get on a plane for 5 hours is not something I am willing to do. When I go on vacation, I’m not trying to add chores to my day. It’s simply not practical for a rental car. Also, I like to rent cars for long trips. I have no desire to add 30 mins or more depending on how many stops I need to make to charge along the way. I want to spend the least amount of time in the car as possible. I work remote, and drive a hybrid. If I still was going to the office, I’d probably be in an EV by now. It was my plan 5 years ago, but I’m not driving every day, and it’s wasteful to just get rid of a fully functioning car that I barely drive to begin with.
My dude, Kauai’s road length is hilariously small. So you drive during the day, and charge overnight while you’re sleeping. Putting that aside, which would be foolish to do since that’s how daily EV ownership is experienced, you could park at a Level 2 EV charger and then go to the beach, go to lunch, go on a tour, live your vacation life. The fact of the matter is, unless you’re driving for 5 hours or more out of your precious vacation day, you aren’t going to run out of battery on Kauai.
You’ve tipped your hand here by showing you don’t know what the rental experience is, which makes me question if you’ve ever considered renting one. All of the commercial companies want you to bring it back around 70%. Nobody charges to full, nobody wants an EV charged to full unless you’re planning to wring out every single mile it can do in a long stint of a road trip.
I drove from Santa Clara to San Francisco international after charging overnight in Santa Clara, reached the airport with more than enough state of charge. Took no extra time in my schedule, I went to dinner while the car charged, making it just as convenient as stopping at a gas station. Sure, it took more than 5 minutes, but I didn’t care because I was doing something else productive during that time.
Something I’ve never done ever. Not once. Then again, I also don’t fill up ICE vehicles when I’m returning them because I actually have to stop at a gas station and pump gas rather than charging overnight. When I drive my own EV to the airport for a business trip, I arrive with more than enough to park for a week or two and drive home. No charging stops, none of the contrived nonsense you’ve attempted to make up to scare people.
That’s not a long trip by any measure. Driving the entire capacity of a modern EV on the highway is about 3 hours of actual driving time at full highway speed. If you’re renting a car for a 3 hour trip, then I’m just going to suggest you not bother owning a car in the first place and rent one when you need one.
Great. Same. Which is what I do. Apparently you seem to think you need to sit in your car while it charges, but simultaneously think that a charging stop gives you around 30 minutes of time to kill. Can you think of anything to do for 30 minutes after driving for 3-4 hours???
This is a separate point to everything else being discussed, and nobody’s debating this fact with you.
Look man, I’m not going to write another fucking essay here. Agree to disagree. You can like EVs, and also be aware of their flaws. A person can certainly do all the things you mentioned, but all of that takes way more effort than I’m willing to put in during my leisure time. I am not going to rent an EV any time soon, and none of your arguments have swayed me one bit.
So then you’re in the Electric Vehicles community to concern troll and spread bullshit. Got it. Maybe before talking out your ass, you should, like, actually own and use the thing. Just a suggestion. I’m not trying to sway you, I couldn’t care less what you do. I’m correcting the record for anybody that comes along in the future and sees the utter BS you’ve said here as a non EV owner, contrasted against what I’ve said here as an EV owner.
Honestly didn’t see what community this was, just the article, and was giving my honest feedback. EVs are great for a lot of things, I just think specifically for renting it’s not a great option. You clearly care more about this than I do about this with your sentence by sentence retort of every word I say. Believe it or not, some people might have different perspectives than you out in the world.
It has nothing to do with perspective and everything to do with you regurgitating lies we’ve all heard for over a decade now. Tired, hacky material. I don’t care what you drive, I care that you’re making up lies. You have no basis for comparison because you don’t live with an EV. I do, and I have for the past 6 years. I’ve made plenty road trips in the US in multiple brands, I’ve rented multiple brands, and I’ve test driven most EVs available on the US market.
Cool man. Good job
Yeah, for traveling to underdeveloped parts of the world, hybrid is the way to go.