Let's take a look at how Tesla leads the electric vehicle segment by leaps and bounds.

I am a long-time follower of the progression of Tesla. I test drove the Tesla Model S several years ago and test drove the Tesla Model X over a year ago. I ordered the Tesla Model 3 on the first day possible and was delighted to get it on 28 May 2018, 2 years and 2 months later.

I have had five full electric cars since 2007, starting with a lead-acid-battery ZAP Xebra PK lead-acid-battery 3-wheel pickup, then two Nissan LEAFs, then the Chevrolet Bolt EV Premium and now the Tesla Model 3 Long-Range (TM3LR) BEV. My TM3LR’s VIN number is nearly 26,000.

My daughter and I recently drove my TM3LR on an easy round trip from Virginia to Texas using Autopilot most of the way. I have driven a huge number of cars since I am over 82 years of age and started driving on an Oklahoma farm at age 12. The TM3LR is the best car I have driven.

I have given many lectures on hybrid-electric cars(HEVs), plug-in hybrid-electric cars (PHEVs) and battery-electric cars (BEVs), have organized several local shows of them and have organized several local parade entries for BEVs. I have published several commentaries in The Roanoke Times in Virginia about BEVs; the latest is The electric vehicles revolution . I have followed closely the installation of charging stations for PHEVs and BEVs across the U.S. I have helped get such stations installed at several locations in my region and constantly admonish other locations to install them.

It is clear that Tesla is far ahead of other organizations in installing fast charging (480-volts-DC) charging stations ( Superchargers ) for Tesla cars and Tesla has installed a large number of 240-volts-AC charging stations for Tesla cars and all PHEVs and BEVs through its Charging Partner program . See below for maps of Tesla charging stations in the U.S.

I have read many online articles with titles such as:

A long-range BEV brand will survive long term only if a massive fast-charging (480-volts-DC) network spanning the U.S. in all directions is available for their BEVs to charge easily and pleasantly. Tesla has most of such a network ( Superchargers ) already and is rapidly adding to it:

In addition, a long-range BEV brand will survive long term only if a there are many hotels where BEVs can charge overnight while their drivers are sleeping. Tesla has a large network of Destination-Chargers (240-volts-AC charging stations) at many hotels across the U.S. and is constantly installing more:

I note that many of these articles have been written by Tesla stock-shorters or Internal-combustion-engine( ICE)-oriented people with vested interests in their predictions to be true. I think they are not considering much contrary evidence against their predictions:Note the gray graph symbols for Superchargers to open in 2018 and 2019. The Superchargers are at interesting sites such as shopping centers, hotels and even gasoline stations. They range from 4 to

Tesla is even working against its own interest by also installing at the same hotels standard 240-volts-AC charging stations that all PHEVs and BEVs can use. An example location is Courtyard Blacksburg in Blacksburg VA with two Tesla High Power Wall Connectors (up to 80A) and two Clipper Creek J1772s (up to 40A) available for patrons only.

Electrify America has started installing CHAdeMO (Asian) and CSS (European and American) 480-volts-DC fast charging stations across the U.S. , but the number planned is a small fraction of the number of Tesla:

Supercharging stations: The large symbols show the Electrify America charging-station locations open currently. An example is the location atwith one CHAdeMO station and four CCS stations.Of course, there are negative aspects of Tesla Inc. I do not discuss them here because Tesla stock-shorters and ICE-oriented people have done a good job at that. Those who are predicting the fall of Tesla should study the . Pulling SpaceX from predictable demise after the first three rocket-launching failures make Tesla’s success look like child’s play!

My summary of upcoming BEVs of other car companies indicates that only VW will have an array of BEVs that can compete with Tesla’s BEVs over the next few years. VW is the originator of Electrify America, so combining its upcoming BEVs with the planned Electrify American charging network probably will place VW as the closest competitor to Tesla, but far behind it.

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