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Comment by danso | Hacker News Reader

Jalopnik points out that the alleged driving "around in circles" at Milford isn't automatically nefarious, given the supercharger's geographic location:

> * Note that the Milford station is on an off-ramp and it isn't at all small. A single loop around the station is nearly a 1/3rd of a mile, and if you make a wrong turn (or even hunt for the charger) and make one turn around you're at 1/2 mile.*

http://jalopnik.com/tesla-claims-model-s-driving-logs-show-n...

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Notice there is a left turn right after the first row of parking spaces, which takes your directly to the charging station. You can also apparently take the 3rd entrance from the ramp and get there directly.

The red path depicts exactly what Musk claims: driving around in circles. Look at the final leg, going around the chargers. Even with that ridiculous path it's only 0.5 miles. That is disingenuous.

Not sure I understand you...for reference's sake, here's the location:

https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=41.24586,-73.009073&z=17

How direct of a path you take from the offramp depends on the signage, it's not unreasonable to think that the writer missed it.

And when you say: "Even with that ridiculous path it's only 0.5 miles."...you did read the OP right?

Musk uses this chart in which he says the reporter "circled" around for 0.6 miles:

http://www.teslamotors.com/sites/default/files/blog_images/s...

0.6 is very close to 0.5. This doesn't prove the reporter didn't do something nefarious...but the line between accidentally and purposefully taking a circuitous route here is not a wide margin.

I mean, if the reporter wanted to screw with Tesla -- and while ostensibly being unaware that he was tracked -- why wouldn't he just miss his exit a couple of times and get stranded on the side of the freeway? If you wanted maximum damning effect, that's what I would go for...driving around a McDonalds seems less efficient.

Read it again: even with that ridiculous path it doesn't add up to 0.6 miles. Emphasis on ridiculous. The path drawn in red is "circling", it even goes through the McDonalds drive-through lanes and against the flow at the end.

You'd have to do it on purpose - or be really, really, comically stupid, which would be kind of surprising for a NYT reporter.

Look at the map you just posted in satellite view: http://cl.ly/image/233B400Z2T3w

>You'd have to do it on purpose - or be really, really, comically stupid, which would be kind of surprising for a NYT reporter.

Or just want a soda.

Again...to call it a "ridiculous" path is begging the question. It only matters if it is a feasible path. Given the one-way flow-of-traffic as marked by Google, and the lack of information that we have on signage, no, it does not seem comically stupid.

What is comically stupid is that this NYT reporter, in an attempt to bring down Tesla, didn't realize that a far less detectable way to drain a car's battery (electric or gas) is just to leave the car on without moving and go watch a movie...even with non-GPS-enabled cars, it's possible to record the mileage of a vehicle by looking at its odometer. You'd think someone in the pocket of Big Oil would've driven enough gas-cars to realize that, right?

An EV doesn't spend much energy when idle. He could leave the heating on at max but that would show in the logs.

Yes but I think it's been well established that the reporter did not think he was being logged.

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