Tesla Supercharger network reaches 15,000 chargers — still one of its best assets

Tesla’s Supercharger network has reached 15,000 chargers — a new milestone for what is still one of the automaker’s best assets.

Over the last few years, Tesla has made several grand promises about expanding the Supercharger network, but it has been falling short.

The delay appeared to be at least partly related to the deployment of the new generation of the Supercharger technology, Supercharger V3, which itself saw several delays.

But now Tesla has launched the Supercharger V3 and picked up Supercharger installations around the world.

The automaker has deployed over 2,000 new Superchargers during the second half of the year, and it has pushed the total number of Supercharger stalls to over 15,000 (via Supercharge.info):

The automaker recently built its biggest Supercharger V3 station yet in Arizona to connect Los Angeles and Phoenix.

Several other new stations opening this month has increased the number to over 15,000 Superchargers installed at 1,716 locations around the world.

North America remains the market with the biggest Supercharger network presence:

The lead is also expected to increase, as Tesla is about to finally launch its Trans-Canadian Highway network, which has been under construction since last year. (Update: one day later, this route is now live)

While 15,000 Superchargers represent an impressive new milestone for Tesla, the automaker is still short of its goal to have 18,000 Superchargers installed by the end of 2018.

However, the new Supercharger V3, which can deliver a charge rate up to 250 kW, is expected to reduce the average charging session time and increase the overall capacity of the Supercharger network with fewer stalls.

As the recent holiday seasons showed, Tesla still needs to significantly increase capacity, since several statins on popular routes are seeing unacceptable wait times during high traffic seasons.

Electrek’s Take

I know that the missed milestones are disappointing, but I’d argue that the Supercharger Network is still one of Tesla’s biggest assets, and it will remain so for the foreseeable future.

No other automaker deployed a dedicated fast-charging network like it, and the solutions employed by other automakers, like Electrify America, have yet to prove themselves comparable to Tesla, especially when it comes to pricing.

Now with V3 being deployed and production ramping up at Gigafactory 2, I bet 2020 is going to be an exciting year for the Supercharger network.

It’s going to have to be, with the Model Y coming to market, because that will put an even bigger strain on Tesla’s infrastructure.