Public News

This Public News section of our website is a blog visible to the public and our members. It describes club events and news relevant to Tesla and electric vehicle owners living in or visiting Florida. The blog has a Comments feature that we made available to the public for a couple of months. Unfortunately, we were inundated with spam and inappropriate comments. As a result, we are forced to limit comments to our membership. Non-members can still view our news articles and the remarks submitted by our members, but we regret that they won’t be permitted to leave their own comments.

  • October 21, 2017 11:05 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    As we previously reported, the media stated that the West Melbourne Supercharger would be going in at the Hammock Landing shopping center. West Melbourne to get Space Coast's first Tesla Supercharger station. Here's a vicinity map:

    Members of the Tesla Motors Club have recently posted photos of the Supercharger equipment being installed in the parking lot of Hammock Landing.


    This photo shows the conduits going in for the Supercharger cabinets and the switchgear.



    This photo show the conduits going in for the 8 Supercharger charging terminals.



    Three of the eight charging terminals, switch gear loaded on flatbed, cinder block enclosure on right to house Supercharger cabinets and switch gear.



    Construction coming along nicely with 8 charging terminals installed.


    Four Supercharger cabinets and two switch gear cabinets installed in partially constructed cinder block enclosure.

    UPDATE AS OF NOVEMBER 27:

    It appears that the Tesla contractor has completed their work and that all that remains is to install the utility power transformer  on the concrete pad and install the meter in the meter cabinet.


    UPDATE: As of December 12, 2017

    This Supercharger Station is now operational.





  • September 26, 2017 5:06 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)


    To celebrate the opening of the Sarasota Supercharger Station we had a club meet-up and dinner at the nearby Stonewood Grill & Tavern.  This Supercharger Station, with 20 charging stalls is not only the largest in Florida, it is the largest on the east coast of the USA. You would have to travel to the Albany, New York area to find a similar station this size.

    This event, which was open to the public, was originally scheduled earlier in the month, but due to Hurricane Irma we re-scheduled it to September 22nd.  We had an excellent turnout and pretty much filled the restaurant's private room.  Here's some photos of our group.











  • September 15, 2017 10:23 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Welcome to Sarasota, an EV-friendly community.


    Welcome to Sarasota, and EV-friendly community! So far, this is the largest Supercharger Station on the east coast of the USA. You would have to travel up to the Albany, NY area to find another this size.

    Click Here for short Facebook video


  • September 11, 2017 11:53 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    New Urban type Superchargers

    Tesla updated their "Coming Soon" Supercharger map and it now lists 17 new Supercharger Stations for 2018 for Florida.

    1. Jacksonville, FL
    2. Gainesville, FL
    3. Celebration, FL
    4. Tampa, FL - Wesley Chapel
    5. Tampa, FL - Clearwater
    6. Tampa, FL - Hyde Park
    7. Lakeland, FL
    8. Yeehaw Junction, FL
    9. Delray Beach, FL
    10. North Naples, FL
    11. Weston, FL
    12. Riverside Park, FL
    13. Pembroke Pines, FL
    14. Hollywood, FL
    15. Miami Beach, FL - Bal Harbour
    16. Miami Beach, FL - South Beach
    17. Miami, FL - Coral Gables

    In addition, the map continues to show 10 "Coming Soon" Supercharger Stations for 2017 for Florida.  They are:

    1. Altamont Springs, FL
    2. Orlando, FL
    3. West Melbourne, FL
    4. Fort Myers, FL
    5. West Palm Beach, FL
    6. Boca Raton, FL
    7. Plantation, FL
    8. Aventura, FL
    9. Miami, FL - Wynwood
    10. Miami, FL - Brickell
    Suspected New Supercharger Locations

    We are virtually certain that the Miami, FL - Coral Gables Supercharger for 2018 is currently being installed in the parking lot at the new Coral Gables Service Center under construction at 3851 Bird Road, Coral Gables. 


    Coral Gables Service Center under construction will have a Supercharger Station collocated there in the parking lot.

    It has been reported in the media that the West Melbourne Supercharger for 2017 will be going in the The Hammock Landing shopping center, located west of Interstate 95 on the north side of Palm Bay Road.

    We believe that the Aventura Supercharger for 2017 will be going in the new Parking Garage that was recently built as part of the new expansion at Aventura Mall.


    Rendering of new expansion of Aventura Mall. We believe that a Supercharger Station may be located in the parking garage on the right.

    The Altamonte Springs Growth Management Director confirms that the "Coming Soon" Altamonte Springs Supercharger Station for 2017 was requested by Tesla to be located in the Renaissance Centre shopping center near Whole Foods at SR 436 & E. Altamonte Dr., Altamonte Springs.  However, while expected to be approved, it hasn't been approved yet due to landscaping delay.

    We suspect that some of these new locations will be expansions of existing Supercharger Stations.  The new Ft. Myers, West Palm Beach and Plantation entries on the list are likely candidates for expansion of existing locations.

    Urban Superchargers

    A number of the "Coming Soon" Supercharger Stations appear to be located in urban settings.  Tesla has just come out with a new Urban type Supercharger design. They have a new post design that occupies less space and is easier to install, making them ideal for dense, highly populated areas. To increase efficiency and support a high volume of cars, these Superchargers have a new architecture that delivers a rapid 72 kilowatts of dedicated power to each car.


    New Urban Supercharger Design

    Please keep on the look-out for signs of construction of these new "Coming Soon" locations.  If you see a likely candidate for a Supercharger at these locations, please takes some photos and send them to me at lfchanin@verizon.net.

  • September 04, 2017 12:48 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    One of our club members has discovered the location of the "Coming Soon: "Miami" Service Center at 3851 Bird Road, Coral Gables. 

    Vicinity map:


    This location is the site of the new Gables Auto Vault, which provides luxury car storage. We believe that the Tesla Service Center will occupy the first two floors of the structure, with possible Tesla vehicle storage on the third floor. 

    Artist rendering of Gables Auto Vault which is currently under construction


    Actual construction site.



  • August 22, 2017 2:09 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)


    For folks in Northeast Florida:

    When: Wednesday, September 13, 2017 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 

    Where: 

    Intuition Ale Works

    929 E Bay Street

    Jacksonville, FL 32202

    To register, click link:

    North Florida Drive Electric Rally 2017



  • August 20, 2017 1:37 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    National Drive Electric Week

    Below is a list of the current locations in Florida that are having National Drive Electric Events next month.

    We encourage you to participate in or attend nearby events.


    National Drive Electric Week Event Date
    Destin Sep 15, 2017
    Dunedin Sep 09, 2017
    Estero Sep 16, 2017
    Jacksonville Sep 13, 2017
    Orlando Sep 12, 2017
    Orlando Sep 09, 2017
    Sarasota Sep 09, 2017
    Satellite Beach Sep 16, 2017
    West Palm Beach Sep 09, 2017


    Larry Chanin

    President, Florida Tesla Enthusiasts

    Website: teslaownersflorida.org

    Facebook: Florida Tesla Enthusiasts


  • August 07, 2017 12:00 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    A club member has found the location of the "Coming Soon" "Miami" Service Center. It is located at 3851 Bird Road, Coral Gables, at the corner of Bird Road and 38th Ct.  

    It will be located in a development that also houses the Gables Auto Vault. Another club member has been informed that Tesla will have the first two floors for service needs and possibly the third floor for vehicle storage.

     

    Here's a vicinity map:



  • August 03, 2017 2:50 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Javier Verdura, Director, Product Design at Tesla

    On July 21, 2017 we were pleased to host Javier Verdura, Director, Product Design at Tesla. He provided an informative presentation on Tesla, the future of energy and mobility and covered a wide gamut of Tesla topics, as well as responding to a number of questions. The event took place at the conference center at the beautiful Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando.

    This event had the highest attendance of any event in the club’s more than 5-year history with about 130 members, guests and Tesla representatives in attendance. Admission was free. 

    We had about 130 members, guests and Tesla representatives in attendance. 

    For those wishing to spend the night or the weekend at Universal, we arranged for group rates at both Loews Royal Pacific and Loews Sapphire Falls Resorts, both on Universal grounds and walking distance from the conference center.

    Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando

    Hosting a Tesla executive is a very exciting and long-awaited club event. This type of event ranked number one on our Event Preference Survey. We were particularly fortunate and appreciative to have someone with Javier’s stature to fly out here from California to spend time with us.

    Javier belongs to the inner circle of the elite design team at Tesla and meets regularly with Elon Musk to brief him on design developments. He reports directly to Franz von Holzhausen, Tesla’s Chief Designer.

    In his career of over 25 years, Javier has been recognized by winning the design industry’s most prestigious awards and his name appears on more than 130 patents. Since joining Tesla, he has been involved in a variety of projects, from vehicle components, to the design of the Superchargers, and most recently he’s led the design of Tesla’s ground breaking Solar Roof and Powerwall.

    Following Javier’s informative presentation, Jillian Percella, Tesla’s regional Marketing Manager, and I read some questions forwarded in advance for Javier and he took additional questions from the audience.


    Jillian Percella, Tesla Regional Marketing Manager; Larry Chanin, President Florida Tesla Enthusiasts & Javier Verdura, Tesla Director, Product Design

    After the Q&A session we had an informal Club Chat with Tesla. During the chat we had club member experts along with Tesla representatives taking questions. To lubricate the chat, we had a free beer and wine bar during this segment of the program.

    Club members Nick Howe & Matt Pressman; Tesla reps; Bill Madden, District General Manager, Gus Cobeaga, Regional Service Manager and Eric Fields, Orlando Store Manager

    Participating in the chat was club member Matt Pressman. Matt is co-founder and president of EVANNEX, a family business specializing in aftermarket Tesla accessories. Matt is a prolific reporter of Tesla news and writes for Teslarati, CleanTechnica and InsideEVs. You can follow his work on the EVANNEX Blog.

    Club member Nick Howe was also on the Chat. Nick is the Vice President, of Florida Tesla Enthusiasts. He is the author of “Owning Model S”, and is well known in the Tesla community. Nick produces the popular “News from the Frunk” YouTube video channel which has over 3500 subscribers.

    The cocktail reception facilitated informal chats between Tesla representative and club members.

    Club members Nick Howe & Matt Pressman, along with Tesla reps Gus Cobeaga and Eric Fields chat with attendees.

    Javier Vendura, on left, chats with attendees during the cocktail reception.

    Tesla sent a large contingent of representatives to assist. Here are most of them. 

    Participating from Tesla on the Chat were Bill Madden, District General Manager, North Florida, Gus Cobeaga, Regional Service Manager, Florida, and Eric Fields, Store Manager – Tesla Orlando.

    Following the Club Chat we had a cocktail reception with a cash bar and hors d’oeuvres. During the reception the Tesla participants were available for additional conversations. In addition, the following Tesla representative were also in attendance to chat with attendees:

     Cinthya Chavez, Store Manager – Tesla Sarasota

     Ron Vyas, Store Manager – Tesla International Plaza

     Ryan Youngquist, Store Manager – Tesla Jacksonville

     Yolie Brito, Store Manager – Tesla Naples

     Morgan Derner, Associate Store Manager – Tesla International Plaza

     Kamin Atchley, Assistant Service Manager – Tesla Orlando

     Mark Willard, Owner Advisor – Tesla Nashville

     Adam Cain, Owner Advisor – Tesla Orlando

     Jerad Grimes, Owner Advisor – Tesla Jacksonville

     Keena Blum, Customer Experience Specialist – Tesla Orlando

     Troy Johnson, Customer Experience Specialist – Tesla Orlando


    Larry Chanin
    President, Florida Tesla Enthusiasts
    Email: lfchanin@gmail.com

Florida Tesla Enthusiasts, Inc. is an enthusiast club and 501(c) 7 non-profit organization. It is registered with the Florida Department of State and is also registered to do business in Florida as Tesla Owners Florida.

The use of the trademarked name "Tesla" in our club names is strictly for the nominative purposes of description and identification as granted by the Lanham Act for fair use of trademarks. Its use is in no way intended to imply any business affiliation with Tesla or its subsidiaries.

Our club is an official partner of the Tesla Owners Club Program. While it is recognized and sanctioned by Tesla through the program, Florida Tesla Enthusiasts, a/k/a Tesla Owners Club of Florida, is an independent enthusiast organization and is not affiliated with Tesla or its subsidiaries. TESLA, MODEL S, MODEL X, MODEL 3, POWERWALL and the “TESLA,” “T” and “TESLA and T Flag” designs, and certain other marks, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Tesla Motors, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

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