Troy Nergaard

California is charging forward with its electrification efforts, but even with one of the most advanced and equipped grids, it’s still not prepared. A new study found that California will need to spend somewhere between $6 and $20 billion to improve the grid — a big and varied estimate. Nonetheless, it points to the amount of work that needs to be done. By 2035: about half of the feeders will be overloaded. Unsurprisingly, there’s some discrepancy. Locations with heavy home charging will experience more pressure, but business districts will experience less. Investing to upgrade electric grids is non-negotiable. But there’s more we can do. That includes selling energy back to the grid, encouraging and incentivizing EV owners to charge during off-peak times and to build up public charging infrastructure. That’s something ParkMyFleet is dedicated to working towards. For mass adoption to take hold, we have to ensure that fleets have ample and convenient places to charge and that we can work in tandem with the grid’s capabilities. #electricgrid #EVs #electricvehicles #EVgrid #electricvehiclegrid #california #californiaEVs #californiagrid https://lnkd.in/edhqDwMY

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Don't miss EV industry expert and fellow influencer James Carter discussing Tesla's Charging network, its future, and how the EV industry will respond on Electrify Expo's Industry day, May 31, in Long Beach, CA. Industry day is the EV industry's leading networking and informational event for EV pros, investors and stakeholders. EVinfo.net's take is that the EV industry will be just fine, regardless of what moves Tesla makes on its charging network. Others like bp pulse, ChargePoint, Blink Charging, EVgo, Electrify America, Shell Recharge or others will step up to the plate. Why? because charging is profitable, according to Stable Auto. See how BP Recharge is already moving into Tesla's territory: https://lnkd.in/duAyCuXN Carter will give the keynote and be on a panel at the Electrify Expo Long Beach Industry Day speaking on the topic: "Is Tesla's Charging Network the Answer to the Country's Infrastructure Problem?" with Tom Bowen of Qmerit and Laycee S. (Miss GoElectric), and moderated by Emily Dreibelbis of PCMag. Thanks to Malory Van Guilder, Allie Potter, and Electrify Expo/ Electrify News Founder and CEO BJ Birtwell. For 25% off tickets use code: EE24MSGO25 or use this link: https://lnkd.in/gPcBSATT

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A recent announcement that Tesla is investing over $500 million to expand its Supercharger network, even after the abrupt dismissal of the entire EV charging team, paints a complex picture of the electric vehicle industry's future. This bold move signals Tesla's ongoing commitment to overcoming one of the biggest hurdles in EV adoption—range anxiety. But, what does this mean for the broader EV charging landscape? The Importance of a Robust Charging Infrastructure Range anxiety remains a significant barrier to EV adoption. The fear that a vehicle won't have sufficient range to reach the next charging point continues to deter potential EV buyers. Tesla's investment in fast-charging infrastructure aims to alleviate these fears, but the paradox of expanding rapidly while cutting the very team responsible for this growth raises questions about the strategy's sustainability and effectiveness. Opportunities for Other Players in the EV Charging Market Tesla's decision to streamline operations and focus on a smaller team to push forward their charging infrastructure could inadvertently open doors for other companies to fill gaps and even innovate beyond Tesla’s strategy. Companies like BP and others in the EV charging industry might see this as a perfect opportunity to expand their networks and enhance their services, capitalizing on the void left by Tesla's staffing reductions. The Role of Slow EV Charging: A Sustainable Solution While Tesla's focus remains on fast charging, it's important not to overlook the role that slow charging plays in a sustainable EV ecosystem. Slow charging, typically done overnight at home or during extended periods at the workplace, is crucial for managing energy demand and ensuring grid stability. It represents a cost-efficient, practical solution for daily EV charging needs. Evtrip.net, specializing in slow EV charging solutions, highlights how this method can integrate seamlessly into consumers' lives, offering a more dependable and accessible charging option. By prioritizing slow charging, we can not only meet the immediate needs of EV users but also build a more resilient and adaptable charging infrastructure. Towards a More Integrated EV Future Tesla's strategy to expand its Supercharger network underscores the industry's recognition of the need for robust infrastructure to support growing EV adoption. However, for a truly sustainable and consumer-friendly EV future, the focus should also intensify on integrating slow charging solutions that cater to daily usage patterns and help balance the grid. As the EV market continues to evolve, the dual approach of enhancing fast charging for long-distance travel and promoting slow charging for everyday use will likely be key to addressing the broader challenges of energy management and vehicle integration. #EVCharging #SustainableDriving #Tesla #ElectricVehicles #evtrip

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The EV slowdown in pass car is just a hiccup, the transition is inevitable, and commercial EVs are being adopted well ahead of projections. There is now no real technological or cost barrier to Scope 3 reductions.... https://lnkd.in/emM8twCU

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The idea that adopting NACS (now more properly referred to as SAE J3400) was going to solve all the problems of public EV charging reliability was always far-fetched, and I was surprised at the time that so many people bought into it. Now that Tesla appears to be releasing its creation into the wild, reliability and interoperability issues may become more important than ever. Here's an excerpt from my article about interoperability specialist EcoG, based on an interview with CEO Joerg Heuer. You'll find the full article in the new issue of CHARGED Electric Vehicles Magazine.

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My first time using the new v4 Tesla Supercharger stations. • longer cords • faster charging • built-in adapter (works with non-Tesla EVs) And a new aesthetic, which I find both sleeker and more prominent (maybe because they are taller). What’s interesting to me: these new units seem to be going out for more rural installations. I wonder if it’s because new builds get priorities over retrofits? #EVs #electrification #superchargers

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Elektrek reports: "Tesla releases update to remove steering wheel nag, shuts down sunglasses loophole," with improved camera-based #driver #monitoring. We need to call this update for what it is. Tesla's improvements to its #DMS amount to no more than polishing a turd. Elektrek continues: "This enhancement is available on vehicles equipped with a #cabincamera and only when the cabin camera has clear and continuous visibility of the driver’s eyes (e.g. the camera is not occluded, there is sufficient cabin illumination, and the driver is looking forward at the road ahead and not wearing sunglasses, a hat with a low brim, or other objects covering the eyes). A DMS needs to work at all times and under all lighting conditions to effectively perform the supervisory role for #FSD and #Autopilot. To not work in low light, or simply if the driver is wearing sunglasses, means it works unless it doesn't. That amounts to a hardware defect which cannot be resolved with changes to the software. This is the game Tesla is currently playing with #NHTSA. Coming regulatory changes mean Tesla is out of time for its woeful DMS. Tesla DMS came last in a recent #IIHS #automation #safeguards ranking (Ford Motor Company's DMS was ranked first) but coming harmonization of regulatory requirements across the U.S., Europe, and China through the 5-star #NCAP test will force Tesla's hand regarding properly functioning DMS in the near term. At a minimum, Tesla needs to implement DMS with 940nm optical path, add “Owl & Lizard” movement detection, work properly with sunglasses, and provide measures of #distraction and #drowsiness. Euro NCAP - For Safer Cars, Vans & Trucks is set to announce its 2026 DMS test protocols later this year and could add metrics for #cognitivedistraction and #impaired driving. Ironically it is Tesla FSD/Autopilot crashes that provide regulators with the data of what functions a DMS performing a supervisory role for partial automation most need to fulfil. NHTSA issued an #ANPRM for impaired driving in November. It is likely to follow that up with clear rulemaking for minimum DMS performance requirements in the next 12 months. The industry should not expect those requirement to be lame. FMVSS 127 for AEB was a major #safety advance. #Automakers should prepare now for the same step-change for DMS in the U.S. too. The latest edition of Semicast's report "#ADAS & #Automotive Vision-based Driver Monitoring Systems" is published. Significant segmentation of the DMS/OMS market is provided. This is summarized as follows:   - by movement detection into "Owl-only" and "Owl & Lizard" detection - by feature set - by processor type - by CMOS image sensor location - by CMOS image sensor resolution - by driver and occupant monitoring - by front-seat and whole-cabin monitoring   Message me for a copy of the sales brochure for the study. My inbox is open. https://lnkd.in/eWNvfQSm

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Wednesday news – #WhatsEmerging 🚘 🦾✨ Easy access to driverless taxis? Waymo dumps its waitlist and opens up its San Francisco robotaxi service to everyone The self-driving car-service said that anyone can download the app and then immediately hail one of its robotaxis in San Francisco. Its established a waitlist, had almost 300,000 people sign up with a few hundred currently waiting to use the service. Waymo has not yet expanded its driverless commercial operations to San Francisco freeways or communities in the greater Peninsula, although the company is testing in those areas. Thoughts? Are enough laws in place to have driverless cars so soon? Does AI have an advantage in making trips more hospitable? Waymo Google #DriverlessCars #SanFrancisco https://lnkd.in/ezZXvEsX

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It seems like Tesla prefers to be the 1st-time solution provider for challenging problems, swiftly transitioning from one big question to the next. "A decade ago, when the entire #EV value chain was in its infancy, it was reasonable for Tesla to invest its own capital in deploying chargers, ... But today, there are so many stand-alone companies in EV charging ... More chargers are also set to be deployed by automakers themselves ... So there is really no need for Tesla to spend money on what is fundamentally a low-margin commodity business: selling #electricity to drivers.” “If everything at Tesla were going perfectly, these additional expenses would not be a big deal. But given that Musk is aggressively trying to cut costs at the company, the #Supercharger division is a logical area to look at.” 🤔

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This is honestly shocking. It feels like Musk is dismantling the pillars of Tesla’s product ecosystem to pursue robotaxis. The Supercharger network is the core reason why Teslas vehicles are the most effective replacement for a gas vehicle. Without support the Tesla user experience (and all EVs that are about to get access) will fall apart. The latest Tesla layoffs don’t feel like a well thought out strategy for brand and product development. Tesla is the reason for EV success in North America and now the world, but with other brands making strides in EVs these decisions make it feel like Musk has grown bored with leading on Tesla’s core mission to accelerate clean energy transportation. But EV success is not a given. There’s still a lot of work to do to convince the general public on EVs. How do these latest moves help Tesla or EVs as a whole in the long run? It’s not adding up. Tesla has been built through the work of thousands of employees and on the buy in of millions of customers. If it’s truly about the mission the board should prioritize that to maintain and continue to grow what Tesla has become. It’s mission is about more than an individual. #tesla #teslasupercharger #superchargers #evcharging #electriccars #electricvehicles #superchargernetwork #energy #automotive #chargingstations #charginginfrastructure

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Great news today in the EV space. 🚗 ⚡ Volkswagen invests up to $5 billion in Rivian. With major OEMs like Volkswagen struggling to innovate in building efficient EV platforms, and startups like Rivian requiring large amount of capital and manufacturing to reach large-scale low-cost production, this seems like a great win for all. https://lnkd.in/gxhXrNnt #rivian #ev #volkswagen

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Automakers are shocked bringing the adoption of J3400 NACS now into question, utilities have no points of contact on sites that are in process, and the industry is about to be flooded with huge talent but can it absorb everyone? All of these topics and more in my video today…

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So what has gone wrong for Rivian, Lucid Motors, Nikola Corporation and other EV startups? How about product delays, questionable distribution strategy, bad timing, terrible risk assessment/risk management, irrational initial BEV uptake forecasts, to name just a few reasons. Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Tesla, others all committed similar, serious mistakes. Only Toyota Motor Corporation seems to have avoided the industry-wide overreaction and irrational exuberance. How did their "high-priced talent" miss ALL of this, while plenty of others saw it coming for years now :) :) Stellantis, Group Lotus, Nissan Motor Corporation, Volkswagen Group, BMW Group, Mercedes-Benz AG #automotive #automotiveindustry #sales #innovation #ecommerce #branding #ai #ev #electricvehicles #technology #business #leadership #disruptor

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When Tesla laid off the entire team working on its Superchargers, some took it as a bad omen for the charging industry overall. Why would Tesla, which arguably dominated the EV-charging landscape and built nearly 6,000 Supercharging stations around the world in 2023 alone, pull the plug on this part of its business? Especially in an election year when Republicans are attacking electric vehicles, the team’s disintegration could be seen as a sign that the EV revolution isn’t really working. “But that’s not the reality of it,” says Hooman Shahidi, cofounder and CEO of EVPassport. For Fast Company, I explored how this news is actually a chance to rethink EV charging—both what it looks like and our behavior around it. It's a chance to get away from the gas station mindset that Superchargers keep drivers in, to focus on Level 1 and Level 2 chargers, and to open room for more competition and innovation. What are your thoughts on this moment for the EV charging landscape?

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Just one more post while I'm on a roll. I ran some quick numbers on battery energy storage in California that just happens to be mobile on 4-wheels. The numbers I could find were: 900k EVs registered in California in 2022, ~450k EVs sold in CA in 2023, ~100k EVs sold in Q1 of 2024. I'll just call it 1.5 million EVs currently in California assuming some number of the recent sales replaced existing registered EVs. Assuming an average 70 kWh battery pack size, that's approximately 105 GWh of capacity sitting in people's EVs. If everyone with an EV is willing to spend 10% of their capacity for grid peak shaving each day, that's a bit over 10 GWh of capacity that could be added to the grid in California right now if bi-directional charging were available. That capacity number is just increasing as more EVs hit the road.

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Tesla has several V4 Supercharger posts installed in the U.S. but apparently the touch screen/payment reader hasn't been activated on many of them. This one that I tested in Rockland, ME won federal funding through the #NEVI Formula program, so the touch screen and regular card payment option was required from day one (opened April 3rd, 2024). The full session overview is below via Plug & Play EV but here's a closer look at the payment terminal and touchscreen performance: ⏱ Payment authorized within 10 seconds, up to full power within 46 seconds. Still the fastest activation time I've seen for a CPO (ChargePoint is usually close). 📲 Limited menu options. Can change language and possibly dive into charging data sub-menus, but the latter threw me a "Data Verification Error" when I tried. No screen guidance re. CCS adapter release or app start. ⚡ Power display and time/cost clear. $0.51/kWh (for non-members), max power was 97 kW for around 16 kWh in a 10-minute session. 😎 Partially protected from the sun/inclement weather by the side-mounted location and charge cable/connector holster position. What do you think... satisfyingly minimalist design or too bare bones for new users? #Tesla #TeslaSuperchargers #evcharging

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We all have a lot of different needs when it comes to our vehicles. For some, it’s the daily commute, for others, it's long journeys on the open road. At this point, there’s less concern about whether electric vehicles can do the day-to-day drives as charging technology and infrastructure are improving. What about those long-distance trips? I was so excited when I came across this EV road trip planner from The Chronicle. It helps drivers compare trips for popular electric models, but the same idea can be applied to any EV you want. Keep in mind consumption and charging curves when ensuring you arrive at your destination with some battery left. Range worries can be a thing of the past, it’s possible to have hassle-free road trips in your new electric ride! (Imagine yourself hitting the road on an electric two-wheeler like the Ryvid Anthem 👀) #EV #RoadTripPlanner #RangeAnxietyResolved #ElectricVehicles #SustainableTransportation#Ryvid

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