A Cybertruck owner, John Rogers, says he almost had to spend 6 days trapped at his in-laws’ farm in West Virginia after his Cybertruck experienced an issue with charging.
John says he made the 406-mile trip to his in-laws’ place without too many issues. However, when he got to the farm, his father-in-law had prepared a NEMA 14-50 outlet to charge his Cybertruck; however, the plug did not work, and he had to shift to a 110-volt outlet.
Using the 110-volt outlet, the Cybertruck was only charging at 1 to 2 miles per hour, which means he would need to spend more than 6 days charging before John could make it to the nearest supercharger station.
John shared his uncomfortable experience on the Cybertruck Owners Only group on Facebook.
Here is what he wrote…
“The Tesla Cybertruck did make the 406-mile road trip, but I almost got stranded. The truck did awesome; FSD did 95% or more of the driving and did lane changes, turns, and well-managed rural West Virginia roads. Only one turn went wrong because Google Maps had it bad.
Then I arrived at my in-laws, and my father-in-law had a 14-50 plug that he made ready for me to charge the Cybertruck. I plugged it in, and the truck wouldn’t accept the charge.
I was worried as the battery had less than 100 miles left, and the closest Supercharger was in Charleston, South Carolina.
Then I go to Google to figure out why. The Cybertruck must have an 8-gauge electrical wire between the breaker and the outlet, but the outlet was wired with a 10-gauge wire. So, I switched to a 110-volt outlet.
Using 110v only got me 1-2 miles per hour, so to get to a full charge would take over 6 days. That means I’m trapped at the in-laws until I figure this out. Plus, I need to be at 100% to make it to the first Supercharger when we make the trek back home on Saturday. YIKES!”
At this point, John seems unhappy with the whole situation; however, the Cybertruck owner decided to completely replace his in-laws' electrical system to be able to leave the farm sooner.
John replaced the electrical wire using a thicker 8-gauge cable, upgraded to a 60 amp breaker, bought a new NEMA 14-50 plug, and says he was able to get faster charging speeds.
Here is what he wrote…
“So off to The Home Depot, we go. We buy 50’ of 8/3 wire, a 60 amp breaker, and a 14-50 outlet and box. Then, we wired the new circuit back out on the farm.
Now, I’m getting 18 miles per hour, which allows me to leave the farm, see my parents, and return home.
The moral of the story is that many parts of the USA, especially rural America, might not be ready for EVs.”
Below his post, John provided several pictures. The first picture is a screenshot from his Tesla app showing his Cybertruck charging at 12 amps at 114-volt and adding only 2 miles an hour.
The second picture shows the breaker wired with the thicker 8-gauge wire. The third picture shows the new NEMA 14-50 plug, and finally, the fourth picture shows his truck charging at 32 amps and 237 volts.
At this higher speed, John was adding 18 miles an hour, and his charging time to full went down to merely 6 hours.
From 6 days to 6 hours is certainly a big improvement, and John appears very happy that he will finally be able to leave his in-laws’ place.
Overall, it’s interesting that John decided to redo the entire electrical wiring rather than spend more time at his in-laws’ farm. Please let me know what you think about the whole situation in the comments.
Share your ideas by clicking the red “Add new comment” button below. Also, visit our site, torquenews.com/Tesla, regularly for the latest updates.
Image: Screenshot from Kim Java YouTube channel
For more information, check out: I Took My Cybertruck in for Service for a Cracked Sidview Mirror, but Tesla Gave Me a Surprise High-Voltage Battery Pack Replacement
Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and the evolution of the EV space daily for several years. He covers everything about Tesla, from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.
Comments
I think you might have meant…
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I think you might have meant the nearest supercharger was in Charleston, West Virginia, not Charleston, South Carolina. I don't believe you would travel across the whole states of Virginia and North Carolina without finding a supercharger in one of those states🤣
The title is misleading. The…
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The title is misleading. The original post stated that the Cybertruck had around 100 miles of range and would take six days to fully charge (likely from 0%), not to reach the nearest supercharger. The closest supercharger was reported to be in Charleston, WV, with the most remote point having this supercharger as the nearest one being about 80 miles away. Why did the author choose to alter the original post in a way that misleads readers? Most likely because clicks are valued more than accuracy.
Misleading?? More like can…
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In reply to The title is misleading. The… by AlGru (not verified)
Misleading?? More like can't add.
12 amps * 114v = 1.35 KWhr
32 amp * 237v = 7.6 KWhr
48 amp * 237v = 11.4KWhr
100 KW battery from zero
1.35 KWhr = 74 hrs or 3 days not 6
7.6 KWhr = 13 hrs not 6 hrs
11.4KWhr = 8.77 hrs
Also a charger could careless an 8 or 10 Guage wire in the walls. The breaker might but not the charger.
Thanks for the math, I was…
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In reply to Misleading?? More like can… by Coles (not verified)
Thanks for the math, I was just going to post that. The breaker wouldn't care about the wire, only the amperage that was flowing, which might be reduced due to the resistance in the undersized wire. The wire itself might care, or more accurately, the insulation that would be dripping off. But if he was only pushing 32A, it was probably the resistance that was the issue.
Yes. If the draw was too…
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In reply to Misleading?? More like can… by Coles (not verified)
Yes. If the draw was too much it would trip the breaker.
Your may point is great,…
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In reply to Misleading?? More like can… by Coles (not verified)
Your may point is great, your math is much closer to reality, though the wire size can matter. With my Nissan Leaf, it will refuse to charge with a too-small or too-long extension cord - i.e. if the voltage drop is too much. The charger will show a blinking fault or just refuse to engage if extremely low voltage. I can imagine a Cybertruck to be picky about this as well. That real story is that the f-i-l is not an electrician and truck driver knows how to Google and get help from a Facebook Group, among other points too demeaning to mention...
A charger could easily…
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In reply to Misleading?? More like can… by Coles (not verified)
A charger could easily measure that resistance of the cable and refuse to charge if it's too high. Measure the voltage with zero load, draw 10A, measure the voltage again. That's the resistance of the cable and thus the gauge of the wire. Knowing the resistance and amperage to be drawn would tell you the power being dissipated in the cable and how much it would heat up. If that amount of power loss was dangerous, you can bet your bippy that the charger would refuse to charge.
The only thing I can imagine…
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In reply to Misleading?? More like can… by Coles (not verified)
The only thing I can imagine is truck checking for voltage drop comparing to nominal 240V and limiting the current it uses to limit voltage drop and circuit overload.
I'm also sure there are no…
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In reply to Misleading?? More like can… by Coles (not verified)
I'm also sure there are no public level 2 chargers that would be any bearer to him than the nearest supercharger. /s
Completely agree with your…
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In reply to The title is misleading. The… by AlGru (not verified)
Completely agree with your post. Why didn’t the owner charge before he went to the farm, he would have had no issues then. Relying on someone who doesn’t know the requirements for safe charging seems irresponsible.
Getting tired of hearing about the ignorance of EV owners. This ISN’T difficult people. Just use some common sense which leads to proper planning… PPPPPP
Why didn't he charge it…
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In reply to Completely agree with your… by Jason (not verified)
Why didn't he charge it beforehand? The guy owns a Cybertruck, we're not talking about the brightest light in the marquee here.
I too disagree with the…
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In reply to Completely agree with your… by Jason (not verified)
I too disagree with the author.
We have cyber trucks and other vehicles all over WV charging stations at MCDS . As well as other locations.
Just want to put down his in laws for living on a farm.
Could be that you didn't…
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In reply to The title is misleading. The… by AlGru (not verified)
Could be that you didn't peruse his messages carefully enough. He claimed the nearest supercharger to be located in Charleston, SOUTH CAROLINA, not West Virginia. Way further than the your assumed 80 miles.
There are hundreds of…
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In reply to Could be that you didn't… by David Hart (not verified)
There are hundreds of chargers within 100 miles of anywhere in west virginia. This story is fake!
The quote is for Charleston…
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In reply to The title is misleading. The… by AlGru (not verified)
The quote is for Charleston South Carolina. That was completely wrong. Assuming the author meant West Virginia I notice on Tesla's site destination chargers as well in convenient locations.
The article is complete B.S.
The owner, not the author,…
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In reply to The title is misleading. The… by AlGru (not verified)
The owner, not the author, said the nearest charger was in Charleston SC, not WV. Obviously the owner got it wrong, and so did you.
Should donated money charity…
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Should donated money charity expensive a## price trash!
Either this story is fake or…
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In reply to Should donated money charity… by Nonyabusn (not verified)
Either this story is fake or he's just dumb. No one drives out of their way to a place with no charging.
The only stupid thing about…
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In reply to Either this story is fake or… by Devin Serpa (not verified)
The only stupid thing about this story is the guy that bought the cyber truck.
The only stupid thing about…
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In reply to Either this story is fake or… by Devin Serpa (not verified)
The only stupid thing about this story is the guy that bought the cyber truck.
Should have bought a real…
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Should have bought a real truck.
I live in rural Idaho, 90…
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I live in rural Idaho, 90 miles from the nearest Supercharger, and I've been driving a Tesla Model Y for 3-1/2 years. It is quite clearly the GIL and the Cybertruck owner who are not ready for rural life. I knew how many amps my Model Y would draw and what gauge wire was needed to wire my 14-50 outlet before I ordered the vehicle. I also found all the nearby level 2 charging options, including the 14-50 outlets at many RV parks & campgrounds, on
PlugShare. Using 10ga wire for a 240V circuit says they simply didn't do their homework.
So, the tesla app allows you…
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So, the tesla app allows you to lower the charge amperage. Don't see why 10 guage wouldn't work at a slightly lower amperage setting.
I.e. Wouldn't be able to charge at 220v 50amp rate but shouldnt have any issues charging at 25 or 30 amps over 10awg. Still much faster than standard 110v.
10 gauge wire hood for 20…
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In reply to So, the tesla app allows you… by Deeznuts (not verified)
10 gauge wire hood for 20 amps.
Max continuous draw is 16 amps per NEC.
Just set charge to 16 amps or less in the Tesla app..
At that rate he should be able to go from zero to one hundred percent in 24 hrs.
You don't need 200 percent to get to nearest charger.
Who is the idiot who wired it with 20 gauge wire?
What other electrical safety hazards are in his home?
Hack: get towed in maximum…
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Hack: get towed in maximum regenerative breaking mode. Works great for my wife's EV Kia Niro behind my V8 Suburban.
HAR - No clue how to figure…
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HAR - No clue how to figure out your charging needs, in advance, in WEST VIRGINIA???
Not surprising!!
;-]
If he were smart enough, he…
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If he were smart enough, he can charge at any Dryer or Stove outlet. He won’t need to wait 6 days.
Sounds to me that the…
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Plug or Outlet?
Sounds to me that the original 14-50 outlet / plug (??) was the trouble. Or is the charger somehow aware it wasn't getting the expected amount of current (because of the 10g wire?
I'd think the charger would just drop back to a lower amount (amps) of current draw, with a slightly longer time needed for charging.
The article shows how…
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The article shows how spoiled people are. Anyone considering a life of waiting for days (with inlaws) while your $50k electric vehicle charges, doesn't realize how far we have come. As recently as the 90s, I drove my family of 5 to see a sick relative in the snow with no heat. Times were tuff, suck it up. I won't cry for anyone who has a newer car.
Wouldn't drive that POS if I…
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Wouldn't drive that POS if I was gifted one. Looks like a DeLorean with several chromosomal abnormalities!
Pagination