With Tesla’s plans to launch the Model 3 looking to be on track for its customer delivery window starting at the very tail of 2017 or at the tip 2018, the California-based EV maker wants to also ensure that future owners, as well as current ones, will have to worry less about finding a spot to charge up.
Central to the argument against electric cars is the time they take to replenish their energy reserves, a process that’s in order of magnitudes longer than the filling of liquid fuel into the tanks of today’s internal combustion engined cars.
The other is convenience, as filling stations are common in nearly every developed part of the world. Not so for charging stations, or in Tesla’s lingo, their proprietary Superchargers. An expansion plan is underway to double the number of charging locations by the time the Model 3 hits the streets.
Without detailing where exactly these expansions will be concentrated, Tesla says that the growth of the charging infrastructure will result in over 10,000 Superchargers and 15,000 Destination Charging connectors around the world. Unsurprisingly, California alone should see more than 1,000 Superchargers added to their list.
Tesla plans to build these primarily along busy travel routes, with the company envisioning a large rest stop-style ‘stations’ with what looks to be rows of solar powered parking bays with Supercharger connectors, a site that should be able to accommodate dozens of cars in need of a top up, and even conveniences such as F&B on offer to the road weary traveller.
Of course, Tesla has previously stated that, as the entry-level product in their portfolio, access to the Supercharger network won’t come as standard for Model 3 owners unless specified as a package or would require the owner to purchase credits for use, while it came by default in the more expensive Model S and Model X.
