A single solitary sentence in Tesla’s announcement about doubling the Supercharger network could have a significant impact for urban-dwelling prospective electric car owners. Those who live in “multi-unit-dwellings”, like apartment or condominium complexes, usually have a hard time finding charging. Typically the landlord or home owners association puts up barriers to installing a charging station
, and most will give up on their quest for an electric car.
What did Tesla say? “In addition, many sites will be built further off the highway to allow local Tesla drivers to charge quickly when needed, with the goal of making charging ubiquitous in urban centers.”
So far Tesla has located the Supercharger stations primarily along highway corridors. The goal is facilitating long distance travel, and many Tesla vehicle owners take Road Trips with their electric car.
This statement signals a change in policy. Some Supercharger stations will be located elsewhere, not along major highways, but in urban centers. The stations along highways are seen here as servicing people taking long trips. By contrast, supercharger stations located away from highways, in urban centers, will service “local Tesla drivers” for their local travel.
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This is the clear solution for urban dwellers who do not have a regular place to park and charge: well-sited charging locations (existing gas stations are obviously already well-located, so partner with them) that can charge an EV really quickly. Tesla is at 130KW and say they can go to about 400KW. With that kind of juice, a charg fill-up would not take that much longer than a gas fill-up.