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Comment by blhack | Hacker News Reader

The piece of the puzzle that Ford doesn't currently have is charging stations.

Tesla building its supercharger network was a brilliant move because it means that Teslas are comparable to most petrol-fuel vehicles (as far as where you can go), and everybody else isn't.

If I buy a Ford, can I drive it to see my family in Northern Minnesota[1]? Because I know that I can take a tesla.

That's a really big deal.

I know there are 3rd parties in the US trying to compete with tesla's superchargers (a very close friend of mine was an engineer at probably the largest one until they went bankrupt), but as far as I can tell they're nowhere close to Tesla.

[1]Originally I said North Dakota, but it looks like even Tesla doesn't have chargers there yet. BOO! Well luckily I have plenty of family in Northern Minnesota too!

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You may want to clarify the non-sequitur there. Yes, Ford doesn't have it's own network of "chargers" (300+ mile recharge in 5 minutes or less), but you know there's a solid network available; in the few places where chargers are lacking, you can easily take extra power units with you (disposably cheap at that).

That said, Tesla is pursuing the angle of enabling customers to install their own charging station requiring negligible maintenance, and no supply; charing networks are only needed for longer trips which most customers don't need. That is a game-changer for many industries.

It is a response to this:

>Ford has all the infrastructure that Tesla is attempting to build now

Charging and batteries are literally just partnering and investment issues.

Can you expand on what you mean by "you can easily take extra power units with you (disposably cheap at that)." ?

Fill a $10 gas can with gasoline, throw it in the back of the pickup.

And Tesla doesn't have a fully viable charging network either? What's the point? Outside SV and major cities, it's a pain in the ass to own a tesla.

As for the charging stations, that's an investment that ford would have to make to stay viable, which they would do

Big gap in Northwest Nevada/Southeast Oregon too, although quite remote, a fun place to drive. I'll stick with my ICE for now.

There's a big gap in those parts for gasoline, too. Once a few years back I camped out near Fields Station waiting for the store to open 'cause I didn't have enough gas in my Jeep to make it to Burns.

Good point, I bring an extra gas can in the bed of the truck but I ended up getting a few gallons in Frenchglen from the store, probably could have made it with the extra I had but didn't want to chance it. It's a lot cheaper and easier to bring extra gas then a spare battery!

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