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Power Transportation

The Site of Hawaii's First Tesla Supercharger? Probably Larry Ellison's 3,400-Person Island (electrek.co) 31

Posted by EditorDavid from the aloha-Mr.-Ellison dept.
Electrek reports that 2021 will bring one of Tesla's fast-charging Supercharger to a state that's never had one before: Lanai Island, a former pineapple plantation that was almost entirely (98%) purchased by Oracle founder and Tesla board member Larry Ellison for $300 million in 2012, is the first in Hawaii to see a Supercharger permit filed by Tesla...

The 145-square-mile island doesn't have any traffic lights, only 30ish miles of paved roads and the 3,400 person population lives almost exclusively in the small Lana'i City. This would seem to indicate that the chargers would be of the Urban Supercharger variety and in likely service of Larry Ellison's Four Seasons Hotels, which rely on Model X vehicles to shuttle guests to and from the airport and around the island's luxury amenities.

Ellison plans to convert the island's power from diesel to solar/battery, and obviously Tesla's expertise here is likely to be tapped... Hawaii in general has been massively moving from its diesel generating past to solar power and plans to be 100% renewable before 2040.
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The Site of Hawaii's First Tesla Supercharger? Probably Larry Ellison's 3,400-Person Island More

The Site of Hawaii's First Tesla Supercharger? Probably Larry Ellison's 3,400-Person Island

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  • Sorta surprised they need it (Score:4, Funny)

    by NoNonAlphaCharsHere ( 2201864 ) on Sunday December 27, 2020 @10:21AM (#60869476)
    I'd have guessed you could charge a Tesla directly from Ellison's ego.

    • With all of that money, is he unable to find a stylist who can make him NOT look like a Bond villain?

      Meanwhile he's spending all this time on his private volcanic island, I assume while petting a white cat and murdering henchmen.

    • Long ago I decided Larry Ellison could go fuck himself.

      And then I realized I wouldn't be surprised if he married himself.

    • I'd have guessed you could charge a Tesla directly from Ellison's ego.

      That's how you end up with exploding batteries.

  • It's a small island. You could drive in circles for days and not need to charge.

    • For the amount of driving they do they could very well get by with and ordinary residential 220V/60A charger. A supercharger makes no sesne.

      Now if they had the idea of using the EVs for reserve electricity it might make sense, but you would be better off with a high-capacity battery storage for that.

  • Build a giant electric car demolition derby field.

  • That's a nice start. You're going to need them every 200 miles up to Tuktovaktuk, North West Territories, Canada in order for ICEs to be phased out. Then what to do about the ice roads?

    • Re:EVs not practical (Score:4, Informative)

      by Rei ( 128717 ) on Sunday December 27, 2020 @11:26AM (#60869582) Homepage

      Funny, I actually know a guy who's driven the Dempster Highway in an EV. No Superchargers or even wall chargers, but he was still able to charge.

      Even with EVs making up only 0,4% of Canada's fleet at present, there's already not only just "chargers" in the Yukon, but fast chargers (Carcross, Marsh Lake, Haines Junction, two in Whitehorse). Norway, which is higher but still in the upper-single-digits in terms of percentage of the total passenger fleet, has fast chargers even in the most remote, unpopulated areas within the Arctic Circle, at roughly 50-100km spacings there (far denser in the south where people actually live in meaningful quantities).

      I'm not sure what the conception of people like you is - that people will switch to EVs but nobody will bother building fast chargers where they want to go, even though said drivers are more than happy to pay to charge at them? I mean, really?

      And FYI, in countries like Norway, where in Q4 60% of all new vehicle sales are BEV, and 80% BEV+PHEV - and growing - take a wild guess about how easy it will be to find a gas station in a remote area 5 years from now. Gas stations were already on the decline before EVs started putting pressure on them.

      • I notice the local Canadian Tire now has chargers in it's parking lots. Having BEVs parked there for 30 minutes or less to get a charge probably makes them lots of money since once you plug in the C.T. store just begs to be browsed. C.T. are not fools and nether is Walmart, the know once a potential customer is near and has to wait, they have the draw to make money.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Rei ( 128717 )

          Yep, AC chargers are a great loss leader. Even if you don't even need to charge, it can be hard to turn down "free charging". If there's two restaurants, and I find them both equally tempting, but one has a charger at it and the other doesn't, guess which one I'm going to default to?

  • So they can charge their cars, but I wonder what they do for service? I know a guy who lives on Maui, and he had a damaged Model X. The closest service is on the main island, and it costs about $500 each way to ship the car there.

    Of course most of the other cars on the islands have similar problems. Anyone here from Hawaii know how they deal with it?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Rei ( 128717 )

      I don't think $500 will break the bank for Larry.

      That said, if it's only minor service, there's no reason you have to have Tesla do it. Certain components relating to computers and HV components are only available to Tesla-certified mechanics, but "general" parts can be ordered off their catalogue without certification, and of course, like any car you can order secondhand components. Only issue is if you're trying to repair a salvage title - you can do it, but Superchargers will refuse to charge salvaged ca

  • Why? (Score:1)

    by MoOsEb0y ( 2177 )
    No seriously. Why? The vast majority of the island consists of dirt roads requiring four wheel drive. And don't try and tell me an all wheel drive tesla could handle those roads with those shiny low profile magnesium rims. They'd crack the first time you hit against a rock sitting in a pothole.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Rei ( 128717 )

      I just dropped Google Streetview pins between Larry's 4-Seasons Hotel, the airport, and Lanai City. All two lane, perfectly fine paved roads. The road to Kaumalapau Harbour, likewise. Keomuku Highway to Shipwreck Beach is one lane and not in as good shape, but nothing like offroading.

      Don't get me wrong, I don't doubt you that there exist plenty of "offroading" conditions on Lanai. But I'm not sure how much that matters for Larry's hotel vehicle fleet.

  • "Lanai Island, a former pineapple plantation that was almost entirely (98%) purchased by Oracle founder and Tesla board member Larry Ellison for $300 million in 2012, is the first in Hawaii to see a Supercharger permit filed by Tesla..."

    As I know Elon, it will be built on the 2% that's NOT owned by Larry.

  • It seems like a really stupid spot in Hawaii to have the only supercharger. For Lanai’s needs, a 3MWh MegaPack and a dozen Tesla Wall Connectors would seem like much better solution. The Wall Connectors charge at just under 12kW, giving the Model X about 30 miles of range per hour.

    There are several other places in Hawaii that a Supercharger would see higher utilization as well as lead to additional car sales. HECO has a few DC Fast Chargers scattered about, but they are pretty expensive to use f

    • Where on any island of Hawaii can you drive 300+ miles before coming back to plug in at your home / hotel for the night? Maybe the big island? No, just checked google maps and even a complete circumnavigation of the coast of the big island is only 250 miles...

      • Speaking specifically of Oahu, the challenge for many people is living in a high-rise condo where getting an EV charger installed will cost you $5-10k, plus you end up getting stuck with a $10/month minimum “subscription” for the charging service... on top of high electricity rates. When I first got my EV, I needed to spend two hours in the morning at the mall, and again in the evening to get 100 miles of range. While the charging was free, and it was a nice routine to enjoy during lockdowns,

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