Tesla Supercharger
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A Tesla Supercharger is a 480-volt
direct current Direct current (DC) is one-directional flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through semiconductors, insulators, or even ...
fast-charging technology built by American vehicle manufacturer
Tesla, Inc. Tesla, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Tesla designs and manufactures electric vehicles (electric cars and trucks), battery energy storage from home to grid- ...
for
electric car An electric car, battery electric car, or all-electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using only energy stored in batteries. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quie ...
s. The Supercharger network was introduced on September 24, 2012, with six Supercharger stations. , Tesla operates 40,432 Superchargers in 4,470 stations worldwide, an average of over 9 chargers per station. There are 1,772 stations in North America, 1,801 in the Asia/Pacific region, and 897 in Europe. Supercharger stalls have a connector to supply
electrical power Electric power is the rate at which electrical energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt, one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with other SI units: thousands, millions and billions o ...
at maximums of 72  kW, 150 kW or 250 kW.
Tesla Model S The Tesla Model S is a Battery electric vehicle, battery-powered liftback car serving as the flagship model of Tesla, Inc. The Model S features a dual-motor, all-wheel drive layout, although earlier versions of the Model S featured a rear-moto ...
was the first car to be able to use the network, followed by the
Tesla Model X The Tesla Model X is a Battery electric vehicle, battery electric Mid-size crossover SUV#Luxury, mid-size luxury crossover SUV produced by Tesla, Inc. since 2015. Developed from the full-size car, full-sized sedan platform of the Tesla Model S, ...
,
Tesla Model 3 The Tesla Model 3 is a compact executive sedan that is battery powered and produced by Tesla. Limited production of the Model 3 began in mid-2017, with the first production vehicle rolling off the assembly line on July 7, 2017. The officia ...
, and
Tesla Model Y The Tesla Model Y is a battery electric compact crossover manufactured by Tesla, Inc. Unveiled in March 2019, it started production at its Fremont plant in January 2020, and started deliveries on March 13, 2020. The Model Y is based on the ...
. Some Tesla cars have free supercharging for life, some have 100400kWh free per year, some have a single 100400kWh credit, and some have a monetary credit. Any charges are automatically billed to the Tesla account the car is associated with or to the credit card on file for that account. Usage is typically billed by energy consumed, although stations in jurisdictions that prohibit billing-by-consumption instead bill by time spent charging. An idle fee may be charged (depending on the percent occupancy of the Supercharger station) for continuing to be plugged into the Supercharger after charging has been completed. Tesla has taken steps to focus use of the Superchargers on making longer journeys. In late 2017, Tesla restricted commercial, ride-hailing service,
taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...
, and government usage of the public Supercharger network, requiring paying on a pay-per-use basis. In addition to the Superchargers, Tesla also has Tesla destination chargers, which are located places that a driver may stop for reasons other than charging, such as hotels, restaurants, and shopping centers. These chargers are slower (typically maximum of 22 kW or 11.5 kW for newer vehicles in the US) than Superchargers, and are intended to charge cars over several hours. , Tesla has distributed 23,963 destination chargers worldwide. Destination chargers are usually subsidized by the business that operates them as a free amenity to customers.


Supercharger technology

;Notes The original V1 and V2 Tesla supercharging stations charge with up to 150 kW of power distributed between two cars with a maximum of 150 kW per car, depending on the version. On the original 85kWh Model S, they take about 20 minutes to charge to 50%, 40 minutes to 80%, and 75 minutes to 100%. The charging stations provide high-power direct-current (DC) charging power directly to the battery, bypassing the internal charging power supply. In September 2017, Tesla announced the availability of urban Superchargers. The urban Superchargers are more compact than the standard Supercharger stalls, and will be primarily deployed in urban areas such as mall parking lots and garages. Compared to the standard Superchargers, urban Superchargers have a maximum power delivery of 72kW. Instead of 150kW distributed between two vehicles at a Supercharger A/B stall pair, each Urban Supercharger stall provides dedicated 72kW capacity. A few of the Tesla supercharging stations use solar panels to offset energy use and provide shade. As of March 2020, the network is exclusive to Model S, Model X, Model 3, and Model Y cars. Supercharging hardware is standard on all Model X, Model 3, and Model Y cars, and is standard on Model S cars equipped with a battery of 70kWh or greater, and optional (with a one-time payment of ) on Model S vehicles equipped with a 60kWh battery. The original Roadster is not equipped to charge from the Superchargers, but Tesla states that all future Tesla cars will include the ability. Tesla makes V3 superchargers at
Giga New York Gigafactory New York (also known as Giga New York or Gigafactory 2) is a photovoltaic (PV) cell factory leased by Tesla in Riverbend, Buffalo, New York. The factory, owned by the State of New York, was built on brownfield land remediated from ...
. Tesla first opened V3 stations in 2019, and they can provide up to 15 miles per minute (depending on circumstances). A 1 MW charge box supplies 4 stalls at up to 250 kW each, and can have a 575 kW battery storage. However the grid input is limited to around 350 kW. However, as the car battery is also limited by a charge curve, cars will not use the peak charge rate for the entire duration of battery charging. For this reason, increasing the peak charge rate from 150 kW to 250 kW does not have a 1:1 proportional decrease in the time needed to reach full charge. In the European market, Tesla had been using the standardized IEC 62196
Type 2 connector The IEC 62196-2 Type 2 connector (often referred to as Mennekes for the company that designed it) is used for charging electric vehicles, mainly within Europe, as it was declared standard by the EU. Based on widespread red IEC 60309 three phase p ...
for Model S and Model X cars and Superchargers. Tesla announced in November 2018 that it was updating all Superchargers in the EU to add CCS/Combo2 connectors, as an additional connector to the existing DC Type 2 connector. In the same announcement it was stated that this CCS/Combo2 connector will be the connector used for the Model 3 due the following year. This brings complete compatibility with the legislated charging standard for EU public charging. Existing Model S and X cars will be given the option of an adapter for CCS/Combo2 that allows those cars to use the EU standard public infrastructure as well. There will remain an incompatibility with imported US Tesla cars (that all use a Tesla proprietary connector). In 2017, Tesla was the only automobile manufacturer offering
direct current Direct current (DC) is one-directional flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through semiconductors, insulators, or even ...
(DC) charging based on the IEC 62196-2 specification. Other manufacturers also use the IEC 62196-3
Combined Charging System The Combined Charging System (CCS) is a standard for charging electric vehicles. It can use or connectors to provide power at up to . These two connectors are extensions of the IEC 62196 Type 1 and Type 2 connectors, with two additional di ...
(CCS) charging standard. Other CCS charging networks can charge some Tesla cars faster than the Tesla V3 superchargers, depending on conditions. Tesla has indicated on multiple occasions that they were interested in having discussions with other auto manufacturers about sharing the Supercharger network, however no agreements have been completed or made public to date. Tesla published specifications for its 1000 volt "North American Charging Standard (NACS)" in December 2022 hoping to attract other auto manufacturers, and extending the
format war A format war is a competition between similar but mutually incompatible technical standards that compete for the same market, such as for data storage devices and recording formats for electronic media. It is often characterized by political an ...
with CharIN's CCS standard. In late 2019, on a busy Thanksgiving weekend in San Luis Obispo, California, Tesla deployed a mobile Supercharger set-up on a flatbed trailer, offering additional charging capacity powered by a
Tesla Megapack The Tesla Megapack is large-scale rechargeable lithium-ion battery stationary energy storage product, intended for use at battery storage power stations, manufactured by Tesla Energy, the clean energy subsidiary of Tesla, Inc. Launched in 2019, ...
energy storage system.


Supercharging network

Tesla Supercharger stations allow Tesla vehicles to be fast-charged and are often located near restaurants with restrooms and other commerce areas. Tesla is in discussions to possibly open the network for usage by other EVs in Scandinavia. The average number of Tesla cars per Supercharger stall was 34 in 2016. Cost estimates per station range from US$100,000 in 2013 to US$270,000 in 2015, depending on the number of stalls and other circumstances. Tesla estimates that station equipment lasts 12 years. Most car charging occurs at home or work, a situation that Tesla has compared to cell phone charging. , less than 10% of charging came from Superchargers. In the month of July 2019, Tesla delivered 72 GWh through Superchargers. Most Supercharger stations are owned by Tesla, but some are owned by
fleet operator Fleet vehicles are groups of motor vehicles owned or leased by a business, government agency, or other organization rather than by an individual or family. Typical examples include vehicles operated by car rental companies, taxicab companies, ...
s to charge their Tesla cars, such as taxis. These charger stalls are limited to 60 kW. In December 2017, Tesla changed its terms of service so that any vehicles being used as taxis or for commercial, ride-share, or government purposes were effectively banned from using Superchargers. This ban only applies to vehicles bought after December 15, 2017. Other charging options would be provided for these vehicles. For 2021, Tesla states the network had 99.96% uptime (at least 50% daily capacity) and its power was 100% renewable (through solar power on-site and through purchasing electricity which was matched to renewable generation.)


History of Supercharger Incentives

Unlimited supercharging for life is free for all Model S and Model X cars that were ordered before January 15, 2017, or between August 2, 2019 and May 26, 2020, or for vehicles that were purchased using a referral code during certain periods. Model S and Model X cars that were ordered between January 15, 2017, and November 2, 2018, received 400 kWh (about ) of free Supercharging credits per year. Once those credits are used, supercharging has a fee. Between May 2017 and September 18, 2018, Tesla allowed existing owners to give free unlimited supercharging for life to up to five friends if the friend purchased a new Tesla and used their referral code. Tesla also offered all existing Tesla owners who purchased a new Model S, Model X or Performance Model 3 for themselves with free unlimited supercharging for life on those cars. From time to time, Tesla has offered 1,000 or 2,000 miles of free supercharging as an incentive to purchase a new Tesla car. Other than the above caveats, Tesla Model S and Model X cars purchased between November 2, 2018, and August 2, 2019, and all Model 3 and Model Y cars purchased at any time do not receive any supercharging credits. Some jurisdictions require charging operators to bill users by time, not by kWh delivered, and Tesla uses 60 kW sections to bill for different power levels.


Idle fees

Since December 16, 2016, any car that remains connected to a Supercharger for more than 5 minutes after hitting the car's set charge limit may incur additional 'idle' fees. In the United States, there is no additional fee if the Supercharger station is less than half full, a fee of $0.50 per minute if the station is at least 50% full, and a fee of $1.00 per minute when the station is 100% full. Any incurred fees must be paid by the time of the next service visit.


Change over time

In October 2014, there were 119 standard Tesla Supercharger stations operating in the United States, 76 in Europe, and 26 in Asia. The number of Supercharger stations worldwide grew to 280 by the end of 2014; 584 by the end of 2015; and 1,045 by the end of 2017. By December 2014, two stations were solar powered. A solar-assisted Supercharger was opened in
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
in 2017. , Tesla had plans to expand the network to 15,000 stalls. , Tesla operates 16,103 Superchargers in 1,826 stations worldwide; these include 908 stations in the U.S., 98 in Canada, 16 in Mexico, 520 in Europe, and 398 in the Asia/Pacific region. Tesla announced in November 2020 it has deployed 20,000 Supercharger stalls. Six months later (May 2021), Tesla expanded to 25,000 Supercharger stalls and 30,000 Supercharger stalls a year later (November 2021).


North America

2012 saw six initial Supercharger stations around the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, located at strategic points on the
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
-to-
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
and
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
-to-
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
highway corridors. By mid-July 2013, 15 stations were open across the United States, with the number expected to nearly double by the end of the summer. The stations were developed and mass constructed in cooperation with
Black & Veatch Black & Veatch (BV) is the largest engineering firm in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Founded in 1915 in Kansas City, Missouri it is now headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas It is a global engineering, procurement, construction ( EPC) and ...
. Supercharging stations were available in Canada along
Ontario Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a Controlled-access highway, controlled-access 400-series high ...
and
Quebec Autoroute 20 Autoroute 20 is a Quebec Autoroute, following the Saint Lawrence River through one of the more densely populated parts of Canada, with its central section forming the main route of the Trans-Canada Highway from the A-25 interchange to the A-8 ...
corridor between
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
and
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
by 2014. The initial network was built in high-traffic corridors across North America, followed by networks in Europe and Asia in the second half of 2013. The first Supercharger corridor in the US opened with free access in October 2012. This corridor included six stations placed along routes connecting San Francisco,
Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...
, Los Angeles, and
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
. A second corridor was opened in December 2012 along the
Northeast megalopolis The Northeast megalopolis, also known as the Northeast Corridor, Acela Corridor, Boston–Washington corridor, or BosWash, is the world's largest megalopolis in terms of economic output and the second most populous megalopolis in the United St ...
, connecting Washington, DC,
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,
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, New York City and Boston. This corridor includes three stations in highway rest areas, one in
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
and two adjacent ones in
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
. At some stations, the electricity is paid by local business to attract customers. According to Musk, "...we expect all of the United States to be covered by the end of next year 013. He also said that early Tesla owners' use of the network would be free forever. Most of the southern
Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean o ...
was covered at the end of 2019. File:Charging Tesla Model S 01.jpg,
Tesla Model S The Tesla Model S is a Battery electric vehicle, battery-powered liftback car serving as the flagship model of Tesla, Inc. The Model S features a dual-motor, all-wheel drive layout, although earlier versions of the Model S featured a rear-moto ...
charging at the Supercharger network station in
Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...
,
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
File:Tesla charging port-1 (11975422406).jpg, Illuminated charge port on a
Model S The Tesla Model S is a battery-powered liftback car serving as the flagship model of Tesla, Inc. The Model S features a dual-motor, all-wheel drive layout, although earlier versions of the Model S featured a rear-motor and rear-wheel drive l ...
File:Tesla Model 3 Charging (35418233244).jpg,
Tesla Model 3 The Tesla Model 3 is a compact executive sedan that is battery powered and produced by Tesla. Limited production of the Model 3 began in mid-2017, with the first production vehicle rolling off the assembly line on July 7, 2017. The officia ...
using Mobile Charger 2.0 File:Tesla charging station with solar collector trimmed.jpeg, Tesla Supercharger network rapid charging station in
Lebec, California Lebec is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in southwestern Kern County, California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,468. Geography Lebec is located in Castac Valley between the San Emigdio and Tehachapi Mounta ...
. The rooftop of the carport has a solar collector manufactured by
SolarCity SolarCity Corporation was a publicly traded company headquartered in Fremont, California that sold and installed solar energy generation systems as well as other related products and services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers ...
feeding energy into the grid.


Europe

In early 2015, the first European Supercharger was upgraded with a 'solar canopy' (a carport with solar cells on the roof) in
Køge Køge (, older spelling ''Kjøge'') is a seaport on the coast of Køge Bugt (''Bay of Køge'') 39 km southwest of Copenhagen. It is the principal town and seat of Køge Municipality, Region Sjælland, Denmark. In 2022, the urban area had a ...
, Denmark. According to the person responsible for Tesla's Superchargers in the
Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...
, Christian Marcus, the 12-stall Supercharger in Køge has solar cells with a projected annual production of about 40MWh and is equipped with its own battery bank for temporary storage of excess production. Unlike most other European Supercharger stations, Tesla has bought the land on which the Køge Supercharger stands. On April 26, 2016, Kostomłoty became the first charger to open in Poland. Tesla opened a grid-connected 2-stall Supercharger at
Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...
in 2019. There are a few privately operated Supercharger stations such as the one opened on April 27, 2016, in Zarechye, Russia, with 3 stalls. The European Supercharger network is planned to allow a Model S to drive from the North Cape (nea
Honningsvåg
in Norway to
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
or
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
. , the Supercharger closest to Istanbul is the one in
Plovdiv Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...
(
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
), and the one nearest to Lisbon is
Alcácer do Sal Alcácer do Sal () is a municipality in Portugal, located in Setúbal District. The population in 2011 was 13,046, in an area of 1499.87 km2. History Earliest settlement There has been human settlement in the area for more than 40,000 ye ...
. The map of current and planned sites includes every European Union country except
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
and
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
, and represents all of the countries in the world in the top 10 of electric vehicle adoption rates. Tesla started testing the charging of non-Tesla cars in Netherlands in 2021, and in Norway in early 2022 on 15 large uncongested stations. Tesla opened up many uncongested stations for non-Tesla cars in several countries during 2022, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom. Tesla cars have priority. File:Tesla-type-2-model-s-charge-port-inlet-0996.jpg, Type 2 compatible inlet implementing a
three-phase Three-phase electric power (abbreviated 3φ) is a common type of alternating current used in electricity generation, Electric power transmission, transmission, and Electric power distribution, distribution. It is a type of polyphase system empl ...
AC charging and DC Supercharging on European Tesla Model S and Model X; a notch/teardrop-shaped keying planned for unprotected domestic charging was reused in 2019 for Supercharging} File:Tesla logo at Supercharger Station - Germany - A9 - 2014.jpg, Tesla logo at a Supercharger station in Germany


Asia-Pacific

Superchargers operate in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, where Shanghai has 1,000 chargers at 100 locations in late 2021, Beijing has 800, and Tibet is accessible.
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
,
Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
,
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, and
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
also have Superchargers. Tesla contracts
Infigen Energy Infigen Energy (Infigen), operating under this name since 29 April 2009, is a developer, owner and operator of renewable energy generation assets in Australia. Infigen's wind farm portfolio has an installed capacity of 557 MW. Most of Infigen's ...
to supply electricity for its Australian Superchargers. , Hong Kong had the highest density of Tesla Superchargers in the world, with eight stations with a total of 54 Supercharger stalls, allowing most Model S owners to have a Supercharger within 20 minutes' drive. In 2016, Tesla also announced plans to deploy a nationwide network of Superchargers in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. No deployments as of 2021.


Large Supercharger stations

A minimum of 40 stalls at a location is required to be listed below.


Battery-swap proposal

A "Tesla station" was a planned second version of the Supercharger that, as of 2013, would provide Tesla owners with extremely-fast battery pack swaps as well as fast-recharge for
Tesla Model S The Tesla Model S is a Battery electric vehicle, battery-powered liftback car serving as the flagship model of Tesla, Inc. The Model S features a dual-motor, all-wheel drive layout, although earlier versions of the Model S featured a rear-moto ...
and Model X vehicles. However, the company's plans changed and battery swapping is no longer a significant part of Tesla's charging infrastructure plans. By December 2014, 18 months after the announcement, no battery swapping stations had yet opened to the public. That same month, the company announced a revision to their much-delayed plans. A single battery-swap station would be opened in California as a pilot project, where only invited Model S owners could do battery swaps by appointment, to assess technical and economic aspects of the service.
Demand In economics, demand is the quantity of a good that consumers are willing and able to purchase at various prices during a given time. The relationship between price and quantity demand is also called the demand curve. Demand for a specific item ...
for the priced service—which was expected to take three minutes (instead of the 90-second time demonstrated in 2013)—would be used to determine whether the company would fully commercialize battery swapping stations more generally. The original plan in the June 2013 company announcement explicitly indicated that the company would eventually upgrade all existing Tesla Supercharger stations to become Tesla stations, which would offer the battery-pack swap for the Model S in addition to the fast recharge capability that each facility initially opened with. By June 2015, the company had indicated that battery swapping capabilities was no longer a significant part of Tesla's plans for on-road energy replacement for their vehicles.


History

In June 2013, Tesla announced the goal to deploy a
battery swapping A battery swapping (or switching) station allow electric vehicles to exchange a discharged battery pack for a charged one as an alternative to plugging the vehicle into a charging station. Battery swapping is common in electric forklift applicatio ...
station in each of its existing supercharging stations, to be renamed ''Tesla stations''. At an event at Tesla's design studio in Los Angeles, CEO
Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The Bori ...
demonstrated a battery swap operation with the Tesla Model S, which took just over 90 seconds each for the two cars participating in the demo. The swapping operation took less than half the time needed to refill a gasoline-powered car used for comparison purposes during the event. The Tesla Model S was designed from the beginning to support fast battery swapping, with Tesla publicly discussing the capability as early as March 2009. By December 2014, no battery-swapping stations had been opened to the public. On 19 December, Tesla announced revised plans. They would now build only a single battery-swapping station, and institute a "Battery Swap Pilot Program" at that selected station in
Harris Ranch Harris Ranch, or the Harris Cattle Ranch, feedlot is California's largest beef producer, producing of beef per year in 2010. It is located alongside Interstate 5 at its intersection with State Route 198 east of Coalinga, in the San Joaquin ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
in order to "assess demand." Only invited Model S owners would be able to participate in the pilot battery swaps. The company stated they would "evaluate relative demand from customers ... to assess whether it merits the engineering resources and investment necessary" for the upgrade of additional first-generation Supercharger stations. In June 2015, Tesla announced that of 200 invitations sent out to try the pilot pack-swap station, only approximately five tried it. Tesla then invited all California Model S owners to try it out, but expected a low usage rate. A survey showed that most users were not interested.


Deployment

The first Tesla Station with battery-swapping capability was planned to be piloted in
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
late in 2013, but this was subsequently delayed. Elon Musk said at an event in February 2014 that a few battery swap stations will open in the next few months along the route between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and that the initial stations will be studied before deciding to build any more. In mid-2013 each swapping station was projected to cost and have approximately 50 batteries available without requiring reservations. Elon Musk said the battery swapping service would be offered for the price of about of gasoline at the current local rate, around to at June 2013 prices. Owners may pick up their own battery pack fully charged on the return trip for no extra payment. Tesla will also offer the option to keep the pack received on the swap and pay the price difference if the battery received is newer; or to receive the original pack back from Tesla for a transport fee. The billing will be handled via customer credit card on file with Tesla. Pricing had not been determined .


Regulatory issues

The
California Air Resources Board The California Air Resources Board (CARB or ARB) is the "clean air agency" of the government of California. Established in 1967 when then-governor Ronald Reagan signed the Mulford-Carrell Act, combining the Bureau of Air Sanitation and the Motor ...
staff considered modifying the
Zero Emission Vehicle A zero-emission vehicle, or ZEV, is a vehicle that does not emit exhaust gas or other pollutants from the onboard source of power. The California definition also adds that this includes under any and all possible operational modes and conditions ...
(ZEV) regulation to exclude battery swapping as a "fast refueling" technology; this change would deny Tesla some of the ZEV credits that the manufacturer might otherwise receive when the battery-swapping station is placed in service in California. After criticism from several motoring manufacturers, this proposal was withdrawn.


Tesla Megacharger

Tesla announced a higher-capacity "Megacharger" along with the unveiling of a prototype for its
Tesla Semi The Tesla Semi is a battery electric vehicle, battery electric Truck classification#Class 8, Class 8 Semi-trailer truck, semi-truck by Tesla, Inc. The truck is powered by three motors, and is claimed by Tesla to have approximately three times ...
, a
semi-trailer truck A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer ...
, in November 2017. Trucks would use the Tesla Megacharger Network to charge. The solar-assisted Megacharger Network stations would charge the semi trucks with of charge in 30 minutes, out of the total capacity of in the battery pack. To accomplish this, analysts estimated it would likely have a charge output level of over one megawatt. The first Megacharger was installed at
Giga Nevada Gigafactory Nevada (also known as Giga Nevada or Gigafactory 1) is a lithium-ion battery and electric vehicle component factory in Storey County, Nevada, US. The facility, located east of Reno, is owned and operated by Tesla, Inc., and suppl ...
in November 2021. A second Megacharger was permitted for construction at a Pepsi facility in Modesto, California, in late 2021. Tesla publicly released additional details of the Megacharger and its cable at the delivery event for the first
Tesla Semi The Tesla Semi is a battery electric vehicle, battery electric Truck classification#Class 8, Class 8 Semi-trailer truck, semi-truck by Tesla, Inc. The truck is powered by three motors, and is claimed by Tesla to have approximately three times ...
s in December 2022. The new megawatt-class cable for the V4 charger will support three times the current density of the existing 2021/2022 superchargers (v3)—35 amps/mm2 vs. approximately 12 for the v3 superchargers—and the cable will be liquid-cooled to support 1000 amp charge rates at 1000 volts. The upcoming
Tesla Cybertruck The Tesla Cybertruck is an upcoming battery electric light-duty truck announced by Tesla, Inc. in 2019. Three models have been announced, with EPA range estimates of and an estimated time of 2.9–6.5 seconds, depending on the model. T ...
will also be able to support v4 chargers when the Cybertruck is released in 2023. Dan Priestly, Tesla Semi Program manager, also indicated that the v4 charger technology would be "coming to our Superchargers" in 2023.


Controversy

In Germany, most of the superchargers do not use a certified DC electricity meter and thus don't comply with German law. The retrofitting of the meters is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.


See also

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Charging station A charging station, also known as a charge point or electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), is a piece of equipment that supplies electrical power for charging plug-in electric vehicles (including electric cars, electric trucks, electric ...
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Electric vehicle charging network An electric vehicle charging network is an infrastructure system of charging stations to recharge electric vehicles. Many government, car manufacturers, and charging infrastructure providers sought to create networks. the largest fast-charging ...
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Electrify America Electrify America is an electric vehicle Charging station, DC fast charging station network in the United States, with more than 788 charging locations and over 3,531 individual charging units . It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group of America, ...
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Supercharger In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...


References


External links

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Video of battery swap
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Charts of Supercharger stations over time
{{Electric vehicles Automotive technologies Charging stations
Supercharger In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. The current categorisation is that a supercharger is a form of forced induct ...
Commercial machines