Tesla’s solar powered super chargers hit the east coast

California isn’t the only state that’s getting access to Tesla’s solar-powered electric car chargers that can charge a Model S car in 30 minutes. According to the New York Times last week, Tesla has installed chargers at two spots on the East Coast, in Milford, Conn., and Wilmington, Del., enabling a Model S driver to go between Boston and Washington D.C.

Back in late September Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk unveiled the company’s first six fast chargers in California, and said in 2013 it wants to install many more charger stations throughout the U.S. as well as Europe and Asia. Within two years the U.S. will be covered in Superchargers, said Musk back in September. Musk has been talking about Tesla chargers since at least November 2011.

Tesla chargers

The idea behind Tesla’s charger buildout is that the market for electric cars is really new — not having enough chargers in cities is one of Tesla’s biggest barriers to becoming a more mainstream auto company. In that respect Tesla is becoming a more vertically integrated company, selling both cars and the fuel. SolarCity — the solar installer that Musk co-founded — is providing the solar charging technology.

Tesla is offering Model S drivers free charging at the chargers. The Superchargers can charge the Model S cars with 100 kilowatts of power and provide three hours of driving at 60 mph in about half an hour.


GigaOM