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In Preparation For Model 3, Tesla Plans To Double the Size of Its Supercharger Network This Year (fortune.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the bigger-the-better dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Fortune: Tesla says it will double the number of electric vehicle chargers in its network this year as the automaker prepares for the production of its mass-market vehicle the Model 3. The plan, announced Monday in a blog post on the company's website, will grow its global network of Superchargers from more than 5,400 today to more than 10,000 by the end of the year. Tesla, which had previously announced in its annual shareholder letter plans to double the network in North America, did not disclose the cost of such an ambitious expansion. Many sites will soon enter construction to open in advance of the summer travel season, according to Tesla. The company says it will add charging locations within city centers as well as highway sites this year. The goal is to make "charging ubiquitous in urban centers," Tesla says in its blog post. The company says it will build larger sites along busy travel routes to accommodate several dozen Teslas simultaneously. These larger sites will also have customer service centers.

9 of 177 comments (clear)

  1. Okay, but... by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It would be nice if Tesla included charging for other vehicles. There are only so many sites on major routes where you can connect a megawatt or two of chargers to the grid, and Tesla has been fighting other networks to get them.

    It would just kind of suck if all the best spots were Tesla only. I say that as someone who plans to buy a Model 3.

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    1. Re:Okay, but... by Cyberax · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Right now there are NO cars on the market that are capable of accepting full Tesla supercharger power. Tesla did say that they're open in future to collaborating with other automakers, though other automakers don't seem to share that desire.

    2. Re:Okay, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      Tesla did one big thing : it freed their supercharger patents. The proverbial ball is in the other vehicle's camp.

      The EV charging landscape is currently a mess. It differs continent from continent, maker from maker.

    3. Re:Okay, but... by DrXym · · Score: 4, Insightful
      In Europe they will be compelled to because the bloc has take the sensible decision to mandate a charging standard (CCS type 2) and require that all stations charge all vehicles on a non-discriminatory basis through common payment methods. i.e. it works like a petrol station. It doesn't stop stations offering other charge formats but with a common standard those other formats will die out over time, e.g. chademo is basically just the Nissan Leaf at this point and will probably die with it.

      The US should do similar to put an end to all of these competing charging formats and vertical markets. It's not like Tesla will lose out because they stand to profit regardless of which vehicle is charging at their stations.

    4. Re:Okay, but... by DrXym · · Score: 3, Informative
      CCS has standards for rates up to 120Kw already and 350Kw in the works. A Hyundai Ioniq (for example) can already charge at 120Kw so yes you could charge another vehicle at the same rate as a Tesla. Oddly the Bolt has a 50Kw limit but that's nothing to do with the underlying standards.

      Most other vehicles have lower capacity batteries so perhaps the pattern of charging and usage has been different up until now. Tesla owners might drive longer distances or prefer to charge at a station once a week whereas someone in a Leaf might be driving shorter distances and charging from home.

      I expect that pattern will change in time. EVs like the Ioniq, Bolt and 2nd gen Leaf all have increased ranges and therefore the need for rapid charging will increase. Maybe the Bolt will get a software update or hardware revision for a faster charging rate. I expect that charging stations will receive iterative upgrades over time.

    5. Re:Okay, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      Apparently it has only been enacted in Germany until now, but other countries are likely to follow. Europe is standardising on CCS/Mennekes connectors and at some point, all charging stations will have to be compatible.

    6. Re:Okay, but... by dunkelfalke · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It has worked extremly well. The majority of gadgets nowadays - and not just phones - use micro-USB for charging.

      --
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  2. Re:Sigh by Rei · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Global network.

    10,000 chargers.

    That's one every 5750 (ish) square miles.

    Well done.

    Did you seriously just divide Earth's total land area by the number of chargers? Great to know that I can pop over to a Tesla supercharger when I'm in the middle of Antarctica, Greenland or the Sahara.

    Tesla Superchargers are only found in:
      * The US (not including Alaska)
      * Southern Canada (and not all of southern Canada)
      * Europe
      * Israel
      * UAE
      * Southeast coastal Australia (plus one in the west, and a couple in NZ)
      * Japan
      * South Korea
      * East China

    In the US, Superchargers are spaced 50-100 miles apart along all but a handful of interstates (the latter to be added by the expansion), as well as smaller highways in more densely populated areas (many more to be added by the coming expansion). Which is more than enough to drive cross country. Note that we're only talking about superchargers; there are also many more slower chargers in place.

    Comparing it to gas stations is a stupid comparison, firstly because there are vastly more cars on the road, and thus vastly more gas stations needed. But beyond that is the more basic point: EVs don't do most of their charging at superchargers. Gas vehicles must fill up at gas stations. EVs overwhelmingly don't fill up at superchargers. Superchargers are for trips.

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  3. Re:More Vehicle compatbility by Hodr · · Score: 3, Informative

    You miss the point of a fast charge station. If I were a Tesla owner I might be a bit pissed if every time I went to fill all of the stations were tied up with Bolt owners taking 2 hours to charge.