It doesn’t matter how you feel about Tesla, or the guy in charge of the company, there’s no denying how impressive the Tesla Supercharger Network is. The sheer scale of things is particularly impressive, and it looks like Tesla isn’t slowing down its expansion any time soon.
according to Q2 earnings call from Tesla (Opens in a new tab) It has built 247 new supercharging stations, for a total of 2,508 individual charging units. as such Inside electric vehicles (Opens in a new tab) He notes that the number of new locations is 8% less than this time last year, but the number of new chargers is 5% higher.
Overall, Tesla has 3,971 supercharger locations worldwide, with 36,165 individual chargers. That’s an average of 9.1 chargers per location, which is more than some competing charging networks can say, and that means there’s a much better chance of a free Supercharger bay when you arrive.
The only downside to this news is that Tesla doesn’t specify where to build the new Superchargers. in advance this month (Opens in a new tab) It was revealed that about half of the Supercharger network consists of Chinese and European chargers, with 1,200 and 800 locations.
By the end of last year, Tesla had about 1,200 Supercharger locations in the US, and its map (Opens in a new tab) He states that new locations are scheduled to open over the next year. So, it’s not as if Tesla’s home ground is lost to the automaker’s international ambitions.
But if you are looking for a supercharger, it is best to be near major cities, or near the east and west coasts of the country. This is where the highest concentration of supercharger sites appears to be. Because that’s where all people (and cars) tend to be.
Tesla leads the way
Regardless of geography, the expansion of the Supercharger network shows exactly how quickly we can adapt to the growing popularity of electric vehicles. Chargers may not have the same amount of time as gas stations, but that’s changing — and fast.
The prime example is that the number of supercharging stations and single chargers has increased by 34% since this time last year. Plus these chargers are slowly losing their exclusivity, and this growth will benefit all electric vehicle drivers — not just those who own Teslas.
The move to open Superchargers to non-Teslas has already begun in Europe and is expected to begin in the US before the end of the year. Tesla CEO Elon Musk claims that will be the case everywhere Superchargers are found.
Tesla is far from the only car charging network out there. Electrify America, which has 800 shipping locations in North America, has announced its plans to Increase this number to 1800 (Opens in a new tab) by 2026. This will provide more than 10,000 individual chargers for electric vehicle drivers across the United States and Canada.
Meanwhile, EVgo . has Partnership with General Motors (Opens in a new tab) To install 3250 chargers before the end of 2025. That doesn’t seem like much at first glance, but the original plan was to build a 2750 – which means it’s a marked improvement. Back in early 2020 ChargePoint too pledged 1 billion dollars (Opens in a new tab) To deploy new chargers at 4,000 locations along highways and in rural areas.
In other words, it’s a great time to drive an electric car, because it has become easier to find a place to plug it in and recharge it. Not to mention the fact that battery range seems to get better with each new generation of vehicles.
Change happens, but more can be done
Of course, there is still much that can be done. Move away from major cities and major highways, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure appears to be sorely missing.
look at me PlugShare . Map (Opens in a new tab) of electric vehicle chargers shows how difficult this is in some places. States like Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota have electric vehicle charging infrastructure, but there are still large areas in all three states without a single publicly available car charger.
Somehow I doubt they have the same problem with gas stations, and it shows that as much electric vehicle charging infrastructure has emerged, there is still a lot that needs to be done – even for basic access.
Charging speed is also something to worry about, as recharging times are not nearly as fast as filling a gas tank. But things are getting better very quickly. Some cars are capable of handling charging speeds of up to 350 kW, and Tesla itself is said to be upgrading its superchargers to handle even faster speeds.
Currently V3 Superchargers are above 250kW, while V2 Superchargers come in at 150kW. According to recent reports, Tesla is set to upgrade that top speed to 300kW in the near future, or if some 324kW rumors are to be believed. Not to mention the fact that upgraded V4 Superchargers are also supposed to be on the way.
It will take some time before we get to the point where charging is as ubiquitous and convenient as gas stations are today. But enough progress is being made to give us something to hope for.
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