A good friend of mine recently made a bold move—he bought a Chevy Blazer EV out of the blue. This was surprising, given his limited exposure to electric vehicles (EVs). In fact, the only experience he’d had with an EV was riding as a passenger in my Tesla Model 3. While excited about his new purchase, he quickly found himself asking a lot of questions—mostly about charging, a key component of EV ownership that many new EV owners underestimate.
The Charging Question Begins
When he first told me about the purchase, I congratulated him, but I could sense that uncertainty in his voice. Sure enough, his next question was, “How do I charge this thing?” Like many people new to EVs, he wasn’t aware of the charging infrastructure challenges that non-Tesla owners can face. I walked him through the basics of home charging and finding public charging stations, but I could tell he wasn’t totally convinced this would be as seamless as filling up at a gas station.
Fast Charging Woes Close to Home
Fast forward to today, and I got a call from him as he was sitting at a public fast charger. He had been excited to get his Blazer EV out on the road, but this was the first time he needed to rely on a fast charger. The station was the only option nearby, and he was quickly realizing the convenience wasn’t quite what he had expected.
Out of the four chargers at the station, only two were functional, and a line of other EVs was already waiting for their turn. After 20 minutes of waiting and watching other cars ahead of him slowly charge, he realized the non-Tesla charging experience wasn’t as seamless as he’d hoped. As someone who’s accustomed to the Tesla Supercharger network, this wasn’t exactly news to me.
The Tesla Charging Advantage
One of the benefits of owning a Tesla is the robust Supercharger network, which has been growing rapidly and is generally known for its reliability. Tesla owners can rely on well-maintained, fast-charging stations that rarely experience issues like multiple chargers being out of service. Unfortunately, this level of convenience hasn’t quite reached other EV charging networks yet.
While companies like Electrify America, EVgo, and ChargePoint are working to expand the availability of fast chargers, the reality is that many of these stations suffer from poor maintenance, limited availability, or simply can’t match the scale and reliability that Tesla’s network offers.
The Growing Pains of Non-Tesla Charging Infrastructure
My friend’s experience underscores the growing pains facing the broader EV market, particularly for non-Tesla vehicles. As more people switch to EVs, the demand for reliable and accessible charging stations is skyrocketing. Unfortunately, the infrastructure simply hasn’t caught up yet. Inconsistent availability, broken chargers, and long wait times are all too common outside of Tesla’s well-oiled machine.
Patience is Key—For Now
As I wrapped up the call, I reassured my friend that things will improve. The demand for EVs is pushing charging networks to expand and upgrade. But for now, I warned him that owning a non-Tesla EV might require a bit more patience when it comes to charging, even in his own town.
While the future of EV infrastructure is bright, today’s non-Tesla EV owners—like my friend with his new Chevy Blazer EV—are still navigating some bumps in the road.