Love Tesla or hate it, Elon Musk is doing something right. In the extremely tough automotive world, coming out with a highly successful sedan – outselling any other in its price category – is already an amazing feat, but being an electric vehicle (EV) means the company is in an entirely different ball park.
The 100th Supercharger is now open
With 86 Supercharger stations in North America, the rest divided into 14 in Europe and (most importantly) two in China, the 100th Supercharger is hailed as a milestone for the company. Indeed, the rapid expansion of Tesla’s global Supercharger network is making it possible for Model S owners to drive long-distance, across the U.S. for free, and for life. Elon Musk revealed last year at the battery swapping event that it would take the same time for two Model S to swap out their batteries as one Audi sedan would take to gas up. You can read our original story here.
To put things into perspective, a stop at a Supercharger means a Model S can juice up for another 180 miles of range in as little as 20 minutes. The truly disruptive part is that its owner won’t have to pay anything, ever. Simply, plug it in, check emails, have a coffee or tea, go to the restroom, and you’re on your way again. At this pace, Model S drivers won’t have to drive for more than 100 miles at a time, or more, depending on their battery capacity.
The Supercharger network
The network now allows road trips from one stretch of America to the other, from coast to coast, North and South and even international routes, Mexico from the U.S. so far. Tesla recently revealed that Model S drivers have already charged enough at Superchargers to circle the globe 573 times. We’re sure it’s a matter of time before a Model S actually circles the globe.
Speaking of our globe, there is a new dynamic network map of Superchargers available. Here are two pictures showing the progress of Superchargers installation from 2014 to 2015.
As you can see, the company is well on its way to establishing a coherent network of chargers. While we might lament that the chargers only work with a Tesla, if future plans work, a more affordable one will be on its way in a few years, making owning one of the coolest EV ever a closer reality for many. In the meantime, it’s funny to think this not-so-little Californian startup achieved what many more established carmakers and in the petroleum industry couldn’t do.
