Pilot CEO Adam Wright on EV charging: We think demand is going to push through

[@be-golf8374]

I have road tripped a lot in EVs of various types (Teslas, VWs, and now Rivian) and charged at over 300 fast chargers over the years. Earlier this year was my first stop at a Pilot fast charger and it was one of the best charging stops that I have had. Under a canopy, excellent convenience store, got full charing speed, windshield washer available. Perfect! Keep it up Pilot and I will be stopping at a LOT of your locations in the coming years.

[@davidmenasco5743]

The Network Architect Channel has a series of videos focused on the rollout of the Pilot and Flying J charging network. He's also looking at several other new charging networks. The EV charging rollout is impressive.

[@AlwaysLoveBears]

If only they didn't charge absurd prices at over $0.70 / kWh

[@the_average_backpacker]

Absolutely can't wait for broad adoption of the gas station model for fast charging and super charging stations. He's 100% spot on. So tired of charging in the back of a grocery store parking lot where there might not be restrooms or even a trashcan.

[@michael.sierra]

We need more CEOs like this one. I think the partnership with GM is a good one and I'm glad they're putting in 350kw chargers. Hopefully they keep up maintenance so they are reliable and I would definitely seek out a GM/Pilot charging location if I was on a road trip with my Chevy Bolt EV.

[@anthonyc8499]

the problem with Pilot's charging stations is that there's only 2 chargers with 4 cables. A single unit goes down with an error then half the stalls get wiped out.

[@davidmenasco5743]

​@@anthonyc8499The two chargers four stall approach is going to be their Achilles heel in the near future. Just a little bit more EV adoption, and those places will have big lines. Thank goodness a lot of other stations are also being installed across the country. At least it's a start.

[@kelviskelvis7140]

As a Pilot EV customer I will attest that Pilot locations do factor into my road trip route planing. Adam here pretty much has it correctly implemented. And speaking of Tesla, I hope Pilot can pick up opportunities that Tesla is now dropping.

[@daneflanigan]

This is a really smart CEO, I am curious on their plan for the California market.

[@danielcarroll3358]

@user-rv9uj6si6m His teachers in school. You should try it.

[@LydiaR418]

I'm surprised you are using your educa​tion to say something so ignorant. @user-rv9uj6si6m

[@PicaloOneill]

I just heard Warren talking about this guy... he holds him in very high regard... his bio says he likes to listen to audio books... they are great for road trips.... Im glad Mr. Wright got injured and didn't waste his talents on football (can you say that? 😂)

[@newscoulomb3705]

If anything, Pilot is underestimating the influx of customers they will see by adding EV charging stations. What these businesses haven't quite grasped is that EV charging is really an "If You Build It" scenario right now, and while Pilot's four, high-power charging stalls per location is a draw (especially the stations with full, pull-through stalls and canopies), they really need to double that number to create a compelling reason for EV owners to go out of their way. Pilot simply needs to look at Buc-ee's, which is seeing an influx of hundreds of new customers a day that they wouldn't have seen otherwise stopped at their locations because they've collocated dozens of EV charging stalls from several different charging providers at each travel plaza.

[@RahulPatel-r4r]

Very impressed with Adam Wright here and excellent interview by Becky as always. Pilot is on the right track for the future.

[@anthonyc8499]

I would love to ask Adam what's the dwell time difference between a gas car and EV. Is there a dollar difference in the spend levels inside the store for gas vs. electric.

[@wendellcrim8647]

Found EV charging at Pilot on I-90. Had a good lunch and got the car charged. I'll look forward to another Pilot for EV charging.

[@GarrettKoval]

I like this ceo.

[@arrowlogproductions2509]

I can’t wait for these stations to have NACS!

[@ontheroadwithralph1530]

Pilot's model is a good one, but the cost per kW for charging is FAR too high. I am willing to pay a small premium for the convenience and nice amenities, but not upwards of 50%.

[@newworldodor2641]

Flying J charger is under construction near my home in Indiana. Passed 2 already built and about to open in western Oklahoma.

[@blablah538]

350 kW to an 80% charge is something like 15 minutes for passenger cars with the largest batteries. For a semi truck you need way way way more power than that. For a semi truck on 350 kW charging for 30 minutes he’s probably talking about going 40 miles. You can tell he’s being elusive because he doesn’t talk about Miles per minute on charging. That’s the measure

[@AlessandroAnderson]

The great Adam Wright! ;)

[@Jaycee604]

Smart man👍🏿

[@DemPilafian]

Gas and diesel stations have historically been places to avoid like the plague. They are gross. Fossil fuel fumes are toxic and stinky. Electrification is an awesome opportunity to transform these little hell holes into something quite nice. This investment seems like a very smart move.

[@jaaklucas1329]

Smart guy.

[@zoner__]

Why is he wearing Nike and not Brooks?

[@truckershammock4250]

Tesla semi is ready and Pilot sounds ready.

[@MrProy33]

I can't wait to park in those spots with my ICE vehicle! Yay for covered spots.

[@user-ln7of9gs4s]

Fix your cramped parking lots for trucks and the diesel fuel islands. Look at the Pilot in Fort Worth Alliance. The only good Flying J /Pilot worth a damn is the new one in San Antonio, TX. Loves can show you a clean design. No one cares about the aisle width in the store, redo the outside layouts, they are terrible.

[@dwnrange7812]

Tesla’s given up on chargers so places like this will have to pick up the slack.

[@island97]

They haven't given up. They are focused on improving the current charging stations .

[@muskrat3291]

No, they have not given up on chargers.

[@dwnrange7812]

Focusing on improving the current chargers? They were already improved enough, light years ahead of the competition, and Elon fired the same people that made them the best

[@MrJinske]

Tesla has enough chargers already, this is the usa, we need more competitivn we need to focus on getting capitalism into ev charging. The big issue is that people don't road trip all the time. People over time will figure out range is not the issue, we need many more level 2 charging where people park, not for some imiginary/mythical road tripping lifestyle. I work for myself, 12 years now, and I road trip way more than most one of our evs has 52k miles in 2 years 3 months. Never an issue our road trips are 400 miles and that is easily covered in 1 stop

[@camrodger8638]

Partnering with GM is clearly partnering with the wrong system. Teslas NACS is the quality standard with the highest reliability.

[@hoodooking1133]

Pilot needs to give away a free truck and free trailer to the solo driver that buys the most fuel but rates are low because of crooked brokers and they are hiring people from other countries that can survive off $1 a week but it's not over capacity because loads are sitting with no one to deliver them. I use $10,000 per month at pilot on fuel and never got no appreciation they are making the truck stops more for cars than for truckers

[@rondrake3720]

Unlike Hunter, someone with real experience in energy!!’

[@MrJinske]

This guy sounds smart, but does not drive an ev, so he does not get how theybare used truckers are on the road all the time. Most ev drivers venture on avg less than 25 mikes from home for 90% of their driving. Level 2, more access points where people park, its just like celluar phone charging. Just because he talks calmly does not mean he gets it..

[@bobbyvee8941]

This makes crystal clear why Elon Musk fired the Tesla Energy (Supercharger) staff. They have definitely been asleep at the wheel!!

[@csf1757]

Please explain

[@charleshill7184]

@@csf1757 Tesla created their Supercharging network because they needed to to support their EVs. It was a chicken-and-the-egg problem. Tesla basically said "we're doing both", which is why they were such a success. They continued to expand to demonstrate a superior product w/99%+ uptime and that it was profitable to sell just fuel. Gas stations don't make money selling gasoline. That just barely keeps the lights on. They make money in all the extras when you go inside -- food, snacks, services. Tesla chargers are profitable JUST SELLING ELECTRONS! Add those to a business that knows how to sell the extras, like Pilot, and it'll greatly enhance profits for them. Tesla Energy is just ripe to be spun off as a separate entity and sold. Once NACS became the industry standard, and not by being designed by committee and mandated by law, but by sheer excellence and execution, the writing was on the wall. The Supercharging network accomplished what it set out to do -- kickstart the EV industry as a whole. As other players enter the market, the profit margin for building out stand-alone charging centers will get squeezed. Compare that to the other major areas that Tesla is in -- AI and automated driving -- and the opportunity cost associated with staying in the maturing charging market isn't worth it. AI and automated driving are rockets ready to take off and make trillions of dollars. Charging is now a maturing business, like a stock an old person buys to get a nice, safe, steady income stream because they don't want the risk.