Tesla's Supercharger Network Is Growing Faster Than Ever
Alex Healey
· 3 min read
Tesla’s
global Supercharger network has been growing at an impressive pace, with almost 50% more charging stations available now, compared to this time last year.The growth rate isn’t slowing down either. In fact, Tesla is increasing its efforts to ramp up the Supercharger network in preparation for a dramatic increase in usage over the next few months.
The main reason for such aggressive expansion is the increasing popularity and
affordability of electric cars
, and Tesla’s decision to open up its charging network to other types of EVs.
Why is Tesla’s Supercharger network growing so fast
One reason for the quick expansion of Tesla’s Supercharger network is the increasing popularity of electric vehicles.
Despite the ongoing semiconductor chip shortage, 2021 has been a
bumper year for electric car makers
, with sales far exceeding the previous peak in 2018. In addition to this, Tesla recently confirmed plans to open up its Supercharger network to other electric cars by the end of this year.
Elektrek
suggests Tesla’s reasons for this are not completely altruistic, as one of the pre-conditions to receiving federal funding is making charging networks available to more than one make of EV.Tesla also plans to charge non-Tesla owners more to use the stations, but with range anxiety a real issue for many EV drivers, it is still welcome news.
Supercharger stations are already very busy in some markets, so the planned expansion seeks to reduce wait times before the volume of traffic further increases.
MORE: Tesla Adds Wi-Fi While Driving and More
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How can other EV drivers use Tesla’s charging network?
Tesla wants drivers of rival EVs to download the Tesla app in order to gain access to its charging stations.
In North America they will also have to use an adapter, because Teslas use a non-standard proprietary plug.
Despite this, Tesla expects drivers of other electric cars will be compelled to use its network, because Tesla has the most public charging stations, and they offer the
best charging experience
.Where are these new charging stations being built?
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Tesla puts a lot of thought into the best places to build EV charging stations. The car maker is known to be exploring new routes, but the main focus appears to be adding capacity to large cities.
This makes sense, as the majority of electric cars are currently owned by urbanites.
Electrek has looked at job listings for "Charging Infrastructure Design Managers," a role which involves the management of new Supercharger stations.
Based on the locations of these job postings, we can infer that Phoenix, Denver, Albuquerque, Oklahoma City, Austin, Dallas, and Houston will all be receiving new Supercharger stations.
Tesla has also announced that Los Angeles, one of Tesla’s most popular markets, will see its Supercharger network double in size over the coming months.
To understand the scale of Tesla’s planned network of charging stations, check out this map on Tesla’s
website
, which shows existing Supercharger sites, as well as confirmed locations for future ones.It’s still small fry compared to the number of gas stations, but a clear indication that Tesla’s mission statement "to bring compelling mass market electric cars to market as soon as possible," is more than just words.
