This Tesla caused quite a buzz when it bummed a charge in a small town
An “Unidentified Electric Vehicle” (UEV) made front-page news in a small town paper in Montana when it charged from a public outlet on Main Street.
EV charging has gotten pretty easy these days, even when driving through less-populated areas.
But those of us who have been driving EVs for a long time, or who have driven them in places where routes are underdeveloped, remember having to bum charges in strange places from time to time.
Well, that happened to a couple, Chad Lauterbach and Allis Markham, as they stopped to grab some electrons from a public outlet in the town of Ekalaka, Montana, population 404. The, uh, “drama” was reported by the local paper, the Ekalaka Eagle, and then picked up by the Montana Free Press.
On the very front page, right beside stories about the upcoming pet parade and weekly cribbage meetup at the senior center, a large photo of a Tesla Model Y plugged into a public outlet appears with the caption “BORROWED VOLTS.” The caption refers to the Model Y as a “UEV (unidentified electric vehicle)” and states that this may be the first electric vehicle charger in town, but also muses about whether the UEV had paid for its illicit gains.
The couple, who are from Los Angeles, were actually in town for several days, volunteering at the annual Dino Shindig at the Carter County Museum. Markham is a museum taxidermist who was working on paleo-recreations for the museum. Montana has a rich paleontological history, with one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur fossils of any state in the US. They drove the Model Y instead of Markham’s ’89 Land Cruiser FJ62, since the latter gets ten miles per gallon.
On the way into town, the Model Y repeatedly warned that there wouldn’t be enough Supercharger availability to continue the trip. These are standard warnings when using Tesla’s in-car navigation, which automatically routes trips through the most convenient Supercharger locations.
They were staying at a farmhouse 20 miles outside of town, but were charging off a 120V outlet there, which meant a quick trip in and out of town would take a good ten hours or more of charging to compensate. Plus, moving the car along the dirt easement in the pasture that led to the farmhouse proved difficult – not because of the terrain, but because the cows weren’t interested in moving out of the way for a silent car.
The couple were offered an F-150 to get around, and thought they’d leave the Tesla at the farmhouse. But while in town, Lauterbach noticed a spare 14-50 outlet on Main Street, and decided to give charging from it a try, and use the Tesla to get around instead.
This outlet can deliver electricity about 5-6x faster than a normal US wall outlet, which means a recharge for a 40-mile roundtrip takes closer to one or two hours, instead of ten. And Lauterbach, who owns an IT company and has been driving a Tesla for two and a half years now, travels with a charging adapter kit which is, frankly, kind of overkill (and even includes a level 1 grounding adapter of his own design):
But when Lauterbach wanted to charge on Main Street, Markham warned that the locals might not take kindly to that, and might think that he’s “just some jerk from California, doing what jerks from California do.”
After a successful charge, Lauterbach went back the next day to charge again, but found the outlet had been shut off. A local in a Subaru noticed him and said he might want to check out the local paper, so he went across the street to find himself on the front page, being accused of the crime of electricity theft (he bought three copies).
Markham, feeling vindicated for her prophetic warning, walked over to the Southeast Electric Cooperative headquarters just a block away, and said she was “here to pay for the crimes of the UEV.” After everyone had a good laugh, the couple insisted on paying $60 for a few days of electricity use. They even got a receipt for it, which SECO said was their first-ever EV charging receipt:
It turns out that the outlet hadn’t been shut off as a response to Lauterbach’s “crimes,” but rather that it is only active a few weekends a year, typically used to help power events held on Main Street. So the couple said that their $60 could help pay for the electricity used to run the music at that weekend’s dinosaur festival dance.
After the encounter, SECO’s staff signed Lauterbach’s copy of the Ekalaka Eagle, seen in this article’s featured photo above. Staff said “we will need to get with the times!” and is now considering installing an electric car charger in town.
At Montana’s average 12c/kWh electricity prices, $60 is enough for about 1,700 miles of driving, using Tesla’s optimistic estimates. A single, 0-100% charge of a Model Y battery would cost about eight dollars at this rate. Lauterbach said the 3,000-mile trip from LA to Montana and back cost about $300 total in charging fees.
Electrek’s Take
When I saw this story, I loved it… because I’ve done something similar myself, and remember stories like these from the early days of EV ownership.
Early on in my EV journey, back in 2011, my dad and I took our Mini E up to Laguna Seca for Refuel Races, an EV track day. We had ours in a car trailer, but fellow Mini E driver Matt Walton followed behind us and drafted the trailer to help with range on the drive up. Then, at the motel, I wanted to make sure the Mini was topped off before the track day, and we found a spare outlet at the bottom of a light post, and got a little extra juice there.
Another Mini E owner once used an outlet next to a vending machine in front of a grocery store to get an extra couple miles on the way home.
This actually highlights one of the things that I like to point out about EVs. Even in a town with no EV charger and no EVs, Lauterbach was able to find a place to charge.
The fact is, electricity is everywhere, even in the absence of official “charging stations.” You’re always closer to a place that you can charge an electric car than you are to a place where you can fill up a gas car – because even gas stations run on electricity.
With a little preparation, it’s easy to tap into this electricity and find a place to fill up, pretty much no matter where you are in the world. Though Lauterbach’s preparation goes above and beyond – the list of 11 different adapter kits he told us he carries would make this article too long if we posted it here.
Gas car owners might occasionally worry about the cost of this (to the public, to the friends or family you’re staying with, etc.), but that’s because the high price of gasoline (which still isn’t high enough given the cost of pollution) is all they have to compare against.
Since EV charging is so much cheaper than gas, most won’t particularly mind once you show them the cost of charging from a standard wall outlet is maybe 20 cents an hour. Give them a bottle of cheap wine to compensate and everything will be okay. Or, as Lauterbach and Markham did, clean up some dinosaur bones, pay for the entertainment, and offer a few test rides to the locals to smooth things over.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
JackRabbit, the maker of pint-sized electric microbikes, is back with a new product designed to quickly recharge their batteries from pure, uncut photons mainlined into an e-bike directly from the sun. In true independent charging form, the Solar Charging Kit from JackRabbit keeps riders rolling even when there’s not a convenient AC outlet in sight.
Unveiled this week, the Solar Charging Kit consists of a single folding solar panel and a tiny voltage converter that is configured to output 42.0V, which is the exact voltage required by JackRabbit’s little e-bike batteries. There’s also an added USB-A and a USB-C charging port for powering other devices in addition to charging JackRabbit batteries.
“This Solar Charging Kit plugs directly into your bike,” explained the company, “letting you recharge without needing an outlet, but with a speed comparable to the charger that comes with the OG/OG2 (42V, 2A).”
That would mean the panel outputs around 80W of solar power, which the company says can recharge its batteries in just three hours. That fairly quick recharging speed is helped by the fact that JackRabbit’s batteries are a mere 151 Wh, or around a third of the size of most e-bike batteries.
If that sounds small, then you’re right – it is. But JackRabbit is all about going micro, offering barely 25 lb rideables that are easy to store and bring on adventures, even when they aren’t actually being ridden.
With small batteries that fit under the 160Wh limit for many airlines in the US, the batteries can be quickly charged and taken to the widest number of locations. And for riders that want to go further than a single 10-mile (16-km) battery will allow, extra batteries are small enough to fit a pants pocket. The company also offers much larger Rangebuster batteries, though they won’t pass by TSA and make it onto an airplane in your personal item.
It sounds like the Solar Chargking Kit should be able to charge up JackRabbit’s large RangeBuster batteries, though likely in more than three hours.
The $349 Solar Charging Kit is a bit pricier than building something similar yourself, but it’s also safer and more convenient than hacking together your own battery charger since it’s designed to work with JackRabbit’s batteries right out of the box.
Technically it’s only inteded for JackRabbit’s micro e-bikes (themselves technically seated scooters, even if they look and feel more like a typical bike), but it’d probably work for just about any 36V e-bike that requires 42.0V to charge.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen solar charging kits for electric bikes, and it’s a trend that is certainly appreciated by outdoors and camping enthusiasts, festival goers, or anyone who finds themself and their bike spending extended periods in the great, sunny outdoors.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Solar generated 11% of EU electricity in 2024, overtaking coal which fell below 10% for the first time, according to the European Electricity Review published today by think tank Ember.
EU gas generation declined for the fifth year in a row, and total fossil generation fell to a historic low.
“Fossil fuels are losing their grip on EU energy,” said Dr Chris Rosslowe, senior analyst and lead author of the report. “At the start of the European Green Deal in 2019, few thought the EU’s energy transition could be where it is today; wind and solar are pushing coal to the margins and forcing gas into structural decline.”
The European Electricity Review published today by global energy think tank Ember provides the first comprehensive overview of the EU power system in 2024. It analyzes full-year electricity generation and demand data for 2024 in all EU-27 countries to understand the region’s progress in transitioning from fossil fuels to clean electricity.
Wind and solar continue their meteoric rise in the EU
The EU power sector is undergoing a deep transformation spurred on by the European Green Deal. Solar generation (11%) overtook coal (10%) for the first time in 2024, as wind (17%) generated more electricity than gas (16%) for the second year in a row.
Strong solar growth, combined with a recovery of hydropower, pushed the share of renewables to nearly half of EU power generation (47%). Fossil fuels generated 29% of the EU’s electricity in 2024. In 2019, before the Green Deal, fossil fuels provided 39% of EU electricity, while renewables provided 34%.
Solar is growing in every EU country and more than half now have either no coal power or a share below 5% in their power mix. Coal has fallen from being the EU’s third-largest power source in 2019 to the sixth-largest in 2024, bringing the end into sight for the dirtiest fossil fuel. EU gas generation also declined for the fifth year in a row (-6%) despite a very small rebound in power demand (+1%).
The EU is reaping the benefits of reduced fossil fuel dependency
The surge in wind and solar generation has reduced the EU’s reliance on imported fossil fuels and its exposure to volatile prices since the energy crisis. Ember’s analysis found that without new wind and solar capacity added over the last five years, the EU would have imported an additional 92 billion cubic meters of fossil gas and 55 million tonnes of coal, costing €59 billion.
“While the EU’s electricity transition has moved faster than anyone expected in the last five years, further progress cannot be taken for granted,” continued Rosslowe. “Delivery needs to be accelerated particularly in the wind sector, which has faced unique challenges and a widening delivery gap. Between now and 2030, annual wind additions need to more than double compared to 2024 levels. However, the achievements of the past five years should instil confidence that, with continued drive and commitment, challenges can be overcome and a more secure energy future be achieved.”
Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe said: “This milestone is about more than just climate action; it is a cornerstone of European energy security and industrial competitiveness. Renewables are steadily pushing fossil fuels to the margins, with solar leading the way. We now need more flexibility to kick-in, making sure the energy system is adapting to new realities: more storage and more smart electrification in heating, transport and industries.”
Read more: China installed a record capacity of solar and wind in 2024 – in numbers
If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports10 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway