The Biden administration wants to see at least 500,000 electric vehicle chargers on U.S. roads by 2030, and announced a slate of initiatives on Wednesday to help make that a reality, including commitments from companies that build and operate charging networks like Tesla, GM, Ford, ChargePoint and others.
All of the companies stand to reap the benefits of federal funding if their planned charging infrastructure projects meet new federal standards, which were also revealed on Wednesday.
As part of this effort, on Wednesday, President Biden praised a commitment from Tesla to open thousands of its chargers to electric vehicles made by other manufacturers. Until now in the U.S., Tesla Supercharging stations have been accessible primarily to drivers of the company’s own cars.
The president wrote on Twitter, “In building our EV charging network, we have to ensure that as many chargers work for as many drivers as possible.To that end, @elonmusk will open a big part of @Tesla‘s network up to all drivers. That’s a big deal, and it’ll make a big difference.”
Tesla specifically agreed to make at least 7,500 of its publicly accessible chargers in the U.S. available for use by any compatible EV by the end of 2024. That total will include at least 3,500 of Tesla’s 250-kilowatt Superchargers located along key highway corridors, as well as the slower Level 2 destination chargers that the automaker provides at locations like hotels and restaurants.
Biden’s nod is meaningful in part because the Tesla, Twitter and SpaceX CEO has previously expressed opposition towards the president and his policies, and accused Biden of ignoring his companies.
Tesla also agreed to triple the number of Superchargers in its U.S. network, with new chargers that will be made in Buffalo, N.Y., the official said. The company has been assembling some of its charging equipment at a facility in Buffalo that was originally intended as a solar panel factory.
Tesla has intended to open up its charging network…
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