Tesla To Double Down On EV Chargers By The End Of 2017
Tesla will double the number of its electric vehicle chargers this year. The Silicon Valley-based electric carmaker said Monday it would increase the number of chargers to more than 10,000 in 2017. The company is responding to complaints of long wait times and crowds at popular charging locations, the Wall Street Journal reports. The number of chargers will increase by 150% in North America and by 1,000 in California.
At the start of 2017, Tesla had more than 5,000 chargers at 790 supercharger stations around the world. These stations charge Tesla vehicles faster than conventional EV chargers and are provided for long-distance travel.
Tesla is expanding its auto production, which will include a $35K Model 3 sedan, Model S sedans and Model X SUVs. The company is targeting production of 500,000 vehicles next year. Comparatively, the company produced 84,000 in 2016.
California also will get 7,500 EV charging stations from Pacific Gas and Electric and hundreds of stations from Volkswagen subsidiary Electrify America. Electrify America will install 350 or more charging stations in San Francisco and San Jose.
