It just became a lot easier to drive electric cars in California thanks to work by Tesla to open its fast charging network to other electric vehicle brands.
On X, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a change to the Tesla electric charging network that will allow non-Telsa vehicles to gain access to the company’s fast “superchargers.”
“Huge news for California drivers – the Tesla supercharging network is opening to non-Tesla vehicles! This adds thousands of fast chargers to California’s EV charging network, bringing us to more than 105,000 public EV chargers – including 10,000 fast chargers – and counting,” Newsom wrote on X.
In an official statement by the Governor’s office, the California government asserts that now there is one fast electric charging station available to residents for every five gas stations in the state.
The governor’s office bragged that a 2020 executive order by Newsom for car sales to reach zero emissions by 2035 has been driving a rise in electric vehicle sales and charger expansion.
“105,000 public or shared private electric vehicle chargers have been installed throughout California, which is on top of over 500,000 at-home chargers. The state also recently approved a $1.9 billion plan to build a bigger, better charging network,” said the Governor’s office.
EV advocates hope that the expanded availability of chargers will help increase the adoption rates of electric vehicles among customers, which have been recently lagging behind expectations.
American EV industry leader Tesla has had to make several price cuts to its line of EVs in recent months in the US and across the world. Recently, Tesla CEO Elon Musk promised investors he would accelerate plans to roll out more affordable vehicles after disappointing Q1 earnings results.
In February, Jason Isaac, founder and CEO of the American Energy Institute asserted that Americans are increasingly uninterested in electric vehicles.
“Fewer drivers are interested in electric vehicles today than ever before, according to a new survey. This is further confirmed by Hertz’s recent announcement that it is selling 20,000 electric cars in its fleet,” Isaac said.
Isaac would cite the major reason for this disinterest in the consumer base as related to having to find EV chargers.
“The most obvious reason for consumer disenchantment is the hassle of charging EVs. Few drivers are willing to plan their lives around finding a charging station and waiting around for their battery to top up,” said Isaac.
However, EV charging is just one of the factors that cause customers to fear buying electric vehicles. Customers also worry about the costs of an EV compared to a traditional gas or hybrid vehicle.
Another factor to consider is the limited range many electric vehicles have on their battery life compared to internal combustion engine vehicles.
In his piece for The Hill, Isaac pointed out how this becomes a bigger problem in colder weather.
“During the nation’s recent Arctic blast, motorists found that getting a full charge took even longer. In frigid weather, fragile EV batteries are forced to drain their own power to maintain warmth,” Isaac said.
It remains to be seen if this increased availability of electric chargers can change recent California consumer sentiment around the EV market.
