Owners of electric vehicles will have more options on commutes and road trips, focusing less on range anxiety by the end of next year.
The top seller of EVs, Tesla (TSLA) is expected to make 7,500 chargers available to all owners of EVs by the end of 2024, the White House said on Tuesday, as EV drivers will be able to use Tesla's Supercharger and Destination Charger network.
The Biden administration has been working on electrifying the U.S. and providing more charging locations to encourage Americans to switch to cars with fewer emissions.
The White House seeks to have 500,000 electric vehicle chargers operating throughout the U.S. by 2030 and also increase the number of EVs sold to consist of 50% of new car sales in seven years.
The White House also set new standards to ensure that the charging networks for EVs are easy to find and reliable for all drivers.
“No matter what EV you drive, we want to make sure that you will be able to plug in, know the price you’re going to be paying and charge up in a predictable, user-friendly experience,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.
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Billions Allocated For EV Charging
The administration's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated $7.5 billion to EV charging, $10 billion to clean transportation and over $7 billion to EV battery components, critical minerals, and materials.
The new standards require that EV chargers that are constructed via funding from the infrastructure law are to be made in the U.S. and would take effect right away. Another requirement is that 55% of the cost of the components in a charging network need to arise from the U.S. by July 2024.
Tesla's move now allows the company to seek federal grants to add to the nationwide charging network. The infrastructure law prohibits subsidies for chargers that will only work with one brand.
Musk has long held out that Tesla's charging network is superior than its competitors, but in 2021 he caved and agreed to a pilot project in the Netherlands that opened up its chargers to drivers of other brands of EVs.
In Europe, the governments have mandated that all charging cable connectors must be standardized.
Aside from Tesla, other auto companies such as General Motors (GM), Hertz HTZ, BP BP, EVgo and Pilot also plan to build thousands of public charging ports within the next two years. The charging locations will be paid for from private funds and federal money from the infrastructure law, “putting the nation’s EV charging goals even closer within reach,″ the White House said.
Tesla will open up its charging stations, which will include at least 3,500 new and existing 250 kW Superchargers along highway corridors and Level 2 Destination Charging at hotels and restaurants in urban and rural locations, the White House said.
The change of heart from Tesla is good for the EV industry, but there are "pluses and minuses to $TSLA op.ening the [charging] network, with the benefits of helping improve charging availability and fueling EV adoption likely offsetting any increase in competition...a positive for overall EV adoption as it expands charging options," Stifel wrote in a research note.
Shares of Tesla rose by 2.38% on Wednesday, but has fallen by 30.67% during the past year.
GM, Mercedes-Benz, Electrify America Provide More Charging Networks
Several other auto companies are partnering with companies who build charging networks, adding thousands of other options for EV drivers.
Pilot, General Motors, and EVgo are working together to create a network of 2,000 high power 350 kW fast chargers at Pilot and Flying J travel centers. The first 200 chargers will be ready for drivers to use later in 2023.
TravelCenters of America and Electrify America will also have EV charging at Travel Centers of America and Petro locations and plan to installing 1,000 EV chargers at 200 locations along major highways over the next five years.
Mercedes-Benz DDAIF, ChargePoint, and MN8 Energy will install 400 charging hubs with over 2,500 publicly accessible DC fast charging ports in the U.S. and Canada.
