I'm not an electrician but 2 hots with a ground is "standard" 240V. You need the common for certain devices, like a dryer or stove because some of the components run on 120V and the common allows the 120V items to run using hot, common, ground. There is absolutely no need for a common wire for an EVSE. I don't know about every EVSE in the world obviously, but I looked at many before I bought mine and none required a common wire.
As far as I know, you should use a 3/1 for a 14-50 plug and 2/1 wire for a 6-50 plug. This is why I went with the 6-50 plug. If you use 6-50 plug, you should be able to use 3 or 2 wire. If you use 14-50, you should only use 3 wire.
One thing people overlook is the breaker. Universally, every electrician I've spoken to has said to match your desired amperage to the breaker. So if your vehicle can only charge at 32A, you should install a 40A circuit. If you install a 50A circuit, it's far less likely to trip if a problem occurs.
Touching on battery recycling and lifetime. Companies are already being formed and studies are already coming out about how efficient battery recycling is in the very near future. The reality is, battery rebuilding/reconditioning is going to be a big business for the future. These batteries are designed to be able to swap cells. When a battery "goes bad" it's likely that it will only be a cell or a few cells. Dropping the battery, opening it up, removing the bad cells, popping in new cells, balancing the battery, and reinstalling is going to be a big business in the EV world within the next 10 years.
Let's just hope the dealers are open to allowing other shops work on these vehicles. Right to repair is a big subject and could be a big problem in the near future with EVs. With EVs theoretically needing less repairs, it wouldn't surprise me one bit for manufacturers to limit the amount of info available to the public so that dealership service departments stay busy and profitable.
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