Supercharger network is ever expanding. Congestion in major metro areas is a huge problem, with owners frequently being forced to wait for charging stations to open up. While Superchargers are relatively pervasive in suburban areas, Tesla announced this week that it was going to make a big push to expand its charging network into city centers, starting with Boston and Chicago. This is all part of the automaker's grand plan to
double the size of the networkthis year.
With the release of the
Model 3, congestion will only become an even bigger problem if Tesla doesn't respond. Currently, most owners can charge for free at Superchargers, meaning there's little incentive to look for stations elsewhere. Also, since Tesla's grid beat out many others, its charging stations are often in prime locations, forcing others to charge at less than ideal locations. Until now, Tesla has focused on relieving range anxiety by building most of its stations along highways and at places like hotels and restaurants.
These new Superchargers will be different than the current design. The towers are slimmer than before, meaning they take up less space in places where real estate is already at a premium. They also deliver 72 kilowatts of dedicated power to each car, so charge times won't be affected if more than one car is charging in the same location. Tesla says owners can expect charge times of 45 to 50 minutes.
Look for more rollouts later on this year.
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