Boston and Chicago are the first cities that Tesla is intending to expand the Supercharger network to, as part of a plan to install its fast-charging stations into dense urban areas.
The company has stated that locations such as supermarkets, shopping centers, and downtown districts were chosen in order to enable customers to charge their vehicles while buying groceries, eating, or having a drink.
In order to adapt to the higher density of buildings that can be found in urban areas, Tesla has modified its Superchargers in order to occupy less space. Furthermore, the carmaker has also redesigned the architecture of the stations, enabling them to deliver 72 kilowatts of dedicated power to each vehicle, in order to reduce charging time to 45 to 50 minutes.
This is a great prospect for owners of electric vehicles or those who are thinking of acquiring one but are put off by their operational ranges. Tesla is installing charging systems in cities in order to make their vehicles more dependable and more useful, but also in order to increase their sales.
Vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Bolt may have been designed for urban areas, unfortunately, many consider electric vehicles to be the least useful in cities. This is due to the fact that, while their exclusive use would reduce pollution, making it more practical to own an EV in urban areas this would lead to a rise in the number of vehicles. Most cities are already facing serious traffic problems, and an increased number of vehicles would make things even worse.
In order to make owning electric vehicles truly practical, cities would be required to invest large amounts of money in order to upgrade their power grids. This would allow companies such as Tesla to install charging stations in far more places. However, this does mean that both the companies, as well as local councils would have to keep in mind that the main places where these changes should be made are near houses and apartment buildings.
The Supercharger system could potentially give cars another hundred miles to drive after a 20-minute charge, and Tesla has stated that the speed of the recharge will increase in the future. Unfortunately, the system has been limited to suburban regions and areas that are near big interstates, until now.
The low number of Superchargers may have made sense in the past, but with the release of the affordable Model 3 coming up, more will be required in order to cater to the needs of the increasing number of EV owners.
The first urban Superchargers have just opened in Chicago and Boston, with more to come in the near future.
Tesla has developed a great plan that will not only enable them to sell more vehicles but also set an example for the entire industry.
