Alternative energy automakers can be as brilliant as they want, but one of the largest and most challenging obstacles it faces is a lack of infrastructure in the market.
In order to solve the challenges of a limited charging network, Tesla has gone ahead to develop their own. This week, Tesla has announced the launch of its "Supercharger" stations designed for the quick charging of EVs across the state of California. In just about half an hour, these Superchargers are capable of loading the Tesla Model S battery pack with energy equivalent to a 150-mile range. Without question, the latest Tesla Superchargers are faster than any other charging equipment currently available in the market.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said, "Tesla's Supercharger network is a game changer for electric vehicles, providing long distance travel that has a level of convenience equivalent to gasoline cars for all practical purposes. However, by making electric long distance travel at no cost, an impossibility for gasoline cars, Tesla is demonstrating just how fundamentally better electric transport can be."
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A long project in the making, Tesla worked with California-based Solar City to develop charging stations that charged via solar panels, allowing charging at zero cost. Multiple Supercharger stations were built in secret and are scattered across California and there are even stations reaching as far as Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe. Now, Elon Musk said, "We are giving Model S the ability to drive almost anywhere for free on pure sunlight."
In fact, these solar panel charging stations are so effective, Tesla claims that the amount of power absorbed is greater than the amount of energy used to charge Tesla vehicles over the course of a year. Rather than draw energy from the grid, the Superchargers are actually giving a small percentage of energy to the grid.
However, despite the technical breakthroughs and the astounding charge performance, the Tesla Supercharger possesses one critical downfall -- its charge port is only compatible with the large 85 kWh battery and 60 kWh battery found in the Tesla Model S. The Supercharger is incompatible with any other car brand.
Available exclusively along the west coast for now, Tesla intends to launch a nationwide rollout and even an expansion to Europe and Asia as early as the second half of 2013.
