Everyone who has read at least a couple of articles about owning an electric car knows that the best way to charge an EV is generally at home, overnight, with a Level 1 or Level 2 charger. It’s usually the cheapest method, considering the charger comes with the car, and energy prices should be lower than those of public DC fast chargers. But that doesn't work for every driver and every situation. Sometimes you need to get a quick top-up.
Either you’re on a road trip or you don’t have a charger at home—as is the case for a lot of owners, according to this recent study from S&P Global Mobility—a DC fast charger is the solution. But, as the video embedded at the top of this page shows, the experience might be less than stellar. In fact, it can suck big time, especially if you don’t have all the different charging providers’ smartphone apps installed and set up on your smartphone. In a new video from The Wall Street Journal, we see tech columnist Joanna Stern’s many attempts at recharging a Rivian R1T at 126 Non-Tesla DC fast charging stalls in 30 Los Angeles County location