Tesla maintains one of the most well-regarded charging networks in the US. It’s good enough that most automakers are now switching over to the NACS connector just to gain access to Tesla’s Superchargers. Now, the company has announced a mysterious competition involving Superchargers, and we’re honestly just trying to figure out what the deal is.
The announcement was made via a Tweet on Tuesday evening by the official Tesla Charging account. It implored individuals to “Compete to win a charging prize by visiting the most Supercharging sites over the next two months.” The post noted that repeat visits don’t count, and that winners will be announced on March 31st.
The post was made with a video of adults and young children plugging charging connectors into EVs. Interestingly, some of the shots appear to show bulkier CCS connectors, with others obviously using the Tesla-developed NACS connector.
Compete to win a charging prize by visiting the most Supercharging sites over the next two months. Repeats don't count!
Winners will be announced on March 31st. pic.twitter.com/EVy6FEPXKY
— Tesla Charging (@TeslaCharging) February 13, 2024
So, what can we infer from the minimal information provided? By the inclusion of CCS connectors in the footage posted, we could speculate that perhaps the contest is not just limited to North America, but will include other markets like Europe as well. That’s purely a guess, though—Tesla may simply have poorly selected random shots from their video archive.
Alternatively, it could be simply showing that its “Magic Dock” Superchargers with CCS adapters will be a part of the contest. This could potentially mean that non-Tesla owners are able to compete, since Tesla has been opening up the Supercharger to vehicles of other makes.
The potential prize for the winner is unknown at this stage. However, the Tesla Charging account did respond to a query from @DriveTeslaca to indicate that it would be an “Easter egg.” The term normally refers to some hidden inside reference. Wikipedia has a long list of Easter eggs that have been found in Tesla’s vehicles, so the prize could simply be revealing a new one to the winning player.
It's an Easter egg 🤫
— Tesla Charging (@TeslaCharging) February 13, 2024
So, how do you enter this contest? It’s presently unclear. Some Tesla enthusiasts have made a game out of visiting as many unique Supercharger sites as possible, and have logged their own efforts manually. But in this case, it’s probably likely that Tesla will use its own back-end records to determine user accounts with the most unique Supercharger visits over the timeframe of the game.
Even still, the lack of detail is frustrating. When exactly did the game start? Will there be a leaderboard? Do you have to be a Tesla owner to compete, or can other vehicles do so as well? When does the game end, given the announcement will be made on March 31st? The day before, or otherwise? Also, what counts as a Supercharger? Is it whoever visits the most ports, or the most facilities?
There are regulations that apply to some contests that would force you to spell all this stuff out. As of yet, it appears Tesla hasn’t done that. Unfortunately, that has already had some predictable consequences.
https://twitter.com/0dteKyle/status/1757565865933840746
Normally, we’d do the whole journalist thing and email Tesla to get answers on all this. But Tesla doesn’t talk to the press, so no hope there. We’ll keep you updated as best we can, nonetheless.
But enough about the minutiae. You’re a proud Autopian, and you own a Tesla. You’re a rare breed, and you want to WIN. You’re not interested in the irony of an EV contest that will waste energy purely in pursuit of a meaningless goal. You’re entirely willing to flee your home on Valentine’s Day to chase victory, whatever the cost to your personal relationships.
So, how can we help you achieve this?
Ideally, you’ll want to plot the most efficient route that lets you visit as many Superchargers as possible. It’s also worth noting that you probably don’t need to do a full charge at each one. Indeed, you could probably just plug in, start a charging session, and then shut it down seconds or minutes later just to get that station checked off on your log. Sounds obvious, but I guarantee you there are plenty of n00bs out there that haven’t thought of that. You can have that tip for free.
Here’s the thing, though: overall, this is an incredibly complex problem that isn’t easy to solve. In computer science, it’s called the Travelling Salesman problem. There’s no simple equation to run that can plot the ideal course for you. You have to use other more frustrating methods to figure it out.
Really, your best bet is to spend tonight staring at the Supercharger map and figuring out routes by hand. I’d try and hit a cluster of close chargers for quick top-offs, before parking at a station to get your battery back to full. Then roadtrip out for a while and do the same again.
Just at a glance, too, it looks like east coasters could have the edge on this one, at least in terms of racking up early numbers. But in all likelihood, the top players will probably end up crossing the US over the next two months, so starting positions may not be that relevant.
Once you’ve got your route figured out, call your boss or your employees and tell them you’re not coming back ’til April. Then get out on the road and have at it. Send me your reports from the road. Godspeed.
Image credits: Tesla
Their fiscal quarter ends on 3/31. This is just a desperate attempt to use Supercharger transactions to shore up the revenue losses that have been occurring recently in order to post better numbers in fiscal results. Also, this is environmentally irresponsible to encourage millions of people to do a bunch of unnecessary driving. Pathetic.
Challenges like these from companies are alway about making more $$, fwiw.
No, its marketing. Who’s all talking about Tesla’s awesome charging network now? We are.
More awful crap from the T-Cult.
If it is global then China or the EU would be the places to go due to the high density of chargers. If it is North America then if you don’t live on the North East, don’t bother. The population and charger density is much higher there than anywhere else in NA.
Maybe the prize is a golden golf club and a horrible realization?
I hope it will just literally be an Easter egg.
Musk being Musk, it will almost certainly be fertilized.
Sounds like the right time for David to take a cross-country trip in the Leaf! (Assuming the contest is open to non-Teslas – unlikely) (and assuming David would be willing to forgo this year’s Moab challenge – really unlikely).
Winner to be announced March 32nd
Hey that’s the same day the Autopian opened for business, isn’t it??
See the world, one Denny’s parking lot at a time.
I wonder if this will result in even longer lines at their charging stations.
The contest itself has a Pokemon Go vibe.
A way to turn the inconvenience of charging into something people WANT to do. Brilliant.
What? 10 charging stops to make a road trip? is now…
10 charging stops for our road trip! Can we do more?
I road trip in a Tesla often with kids, and the battery usually outlasts my kid’s bladders. If you have kids, stopping every 2 hrs for 20-30 min is normal, and about what the battery needs. If you’re the piss jar type of road tripper, you’ll want an ICE.
I’m not sure what that has to do with my comment about turning the inconvenience of charging into a game…
But, yes I do have kids, yes we probably stop every 2-3 hours, and those stops take about 5 minutes at a roadside rest stop. Not sure what that has to do with charging but kids are indeed an inconvenience at times.
I misread your comment a little, but its still relevant. My overall point is that *my* kids take longer than charging 99% of the time, so I dont even notice an inconvenience vs using my gas car on long trips.
Too bad it doesn’t go into April, when I’m driving from New Hampshire to Florida and back. But even then, the amount of charging I’ll do pales in comparison to the typical Uber driver.
The typical uber driver probably hits up the same 2 or 3 charging stations; Tesla says repeats don’t count.
You expect clarity from Musk&Co? Ah ha ha ha ha haha ha! You must be smoking whatever Elon was smoking when he came up with this idea.
This is the influencer scam where the prize is exposure. All those sweet, sweet clicks as this goes on. Pour one out for the mice about to die for the glory of Elon.
It’s illegal in most if not all jurisdictions in the US to require a purchase in order to win something, or at least it used to be. Would just showing up with a cell phone to record the visit be enough to win?
That’s if it is a drawing/giveaway. Rules for contests are different.
Ah – gotcha.
Also, Tesla doesn’t care, they’ll just make shit up and then Musk will call it oppression and whatever federal or state agency is in charge will just shrivel up and go away.
They’re in Texas now, so any relevant regulation has long since been decimated and the state AG is busy with his own legal issues and whatever he can do to his thumb on the scales for other Republicans and his fist through the ambitions of refugees.*
*While every country has the right to control the number of people who enter it and to enforce those limits if needed, countries don’t have the moral right to be assholes to the people trying to get in, especially if said country has both historical and current involvement in the reasons why they feel compelled to leave in the first place.
Regarding your asterisk: far too many Americans don’t grok the connection between the term Banana Republic and the firm United Fruit—nor do they have any clue about the direct line from those to the situation today at our southern border
—not sure if that history even rhymes, but the scansion sure is familiar!
If we take the tweet as the conditions of entry, they need only “visit” the charging site. There’s also still some Tesla drivers that get free charging.
More frequent L3 charging degrades batteries faster — maybe the prize is a new replacement.
that claim was debunked, surprisingly, there no discernible difference to slow charging
True — I do recall that debunking. (Hard to believe if it holds up with some of the really high charging speeds that are available with a few chargers/cars, though.)
Model X and Y are very egg shaped so perhaps the prize is one of those.