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I don't know why it took me this long to articulate this thought, but Tesla's charging model is ultimately a trap for themselves:
They rely on other folks to provide services near their charging sites. That's clever, BUT it means they do not make any money from those services.
And that's precisely what keeps gas stations in business. They compete with one another to such an extent that the fuel is sold barely above cost, and the store/car wash/cafe is where they /actually/ make money.
@TechConnectify Above cost enough that the oil companies make hundreds of billions – At least in the UK, forecourts are often run by the oil companies. But your point stands, Tesla doesn’t generate any of the energy it sells.
@mdonkin Are they actually run by those companies, or are they franchised?
Here in the US, the name on the pumps means very little. That's just who the owners are buying their gas from.
@TechConnectify Oh. I don’t know. Maybe. We also have some supermarkets that sell petrol, but I suspect that’s really more about getting customers in.
Mostly franchised. MFG and EuroGarages are the big players - EG just bought ASDA (Wallmart UK)
@TechConnectify @mdonkin No, most of them are owned by either owned by EG Group, who own Asda, a supermarket chain formerly owned by Walmart, or MFG, who own Morrisons, another supermarket chain.
EG Group is also the 4th largest owner of convenience stores in the USA, mostly gas station stores.
@mdonkin @TechConnectify several of the SCs I visit on the road trip to my parents have on site solar and power storage… So I don’t think that’s quite right that they don’t generate any of the power they sell.