Solar shade canopy charges the car
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Raymond Terrace has become a favourite stop on our trips north. Plenty of amenities such as food outlets, and plenty of Tesla superchargers. The parking spots are nicely shaded, and that shade is from solar panels that of course help to charge the cars. It seems like such as simple solution to fuel up and provide shade at the same time.
After having some lunch in the shopping centre, we returned to the car, to do some work and admin on our laptops, plugged into the car’s USB ports, indirectly charging from the solar panels. Did I mention the solar panels?
FSD
We drove on mostly FSD (Full Self Driving) from visiting family in nearby Thornton. As we approached the superchargers, it offered us the option of parking at a charger. It did it perfectly, without correction. Very impressive. We just hopped out, plugged in, and walked over to the shops for lunch.
Charging
We left Norah Head this morning with 30% battery, visited family in Thornton, then arrived at the chargers with 10%, close to the navigation’s prediction. I knew we’d be stopping here for lunch anyway, so I didn’t have to make a special trip to a “fuel station” on the way. The v4 supercharger shows the delivered energy on its little LCD, also shown by the car screen and app. None of that really matters – we can just unplug and drive off. I kept an eye on the other charging bays to ensure that they weren’t near full, while we lingered, past 90%.
Related Posts
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- Raymond Terrace before, for a direct-to-boot grocery pickup: Direct-to-boot groceries in Raymond Terrace 19 May 2025
- What FSD version 14 was like when it arrived: FSD version 14 first impressions 5 Jul 2026
- The love/hate of driving on FSD all day: Bright to Holbrook, with FSD interventions 10 Sep 2026
- The Central Coast days that came before it: Northern Central Coast 12 Sep 2026
- Coming north through Bankstown three days earlier: Bankstown Superchargers 11 Sep 2026
- The next leg, north to Thrumster: Over 200 km streak self driving, all the way to charger carpark 14 Sep 2026
- And the last stop of the day, at Urunga: Just plug in, because you never know. 14 Sep 2026
- And the morning after that, at Valla Beach: Valla Beach and The Big Thong 15 Sep 2026
- And the Big Banana after that: Banana fritter and a Tesla test drive 15 Sep 2026
- And Byron Bay at the end of that day: Please turn off your engine while parked 15 Sep 2026
- And the week that followed, plugged in at the cabin: Cabin with an EV charger 17 Sep 2026
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