Joe Biden Convinces Tesla To Open Charging Network to All EVs In Bid to Meet Goal of 500K Chargers by 2030

Friday, February 17, 2023, 07:36:35 AM

The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) will allow EVs manufactured by other automakers to use portions of its US charging network, in an expedited move to meet the ambitious goal of providing 500,000 EV chargers to American drivers by 2030.

Currently, there are about 130,000 EV chargers across the US that EV drivers can use to charge their vehicles. When president Joe Biden earmarked $7.5 billion towards a federal program to electrify the country’s roads, and boost the number of charging stations to 500,000 before 2030, he likely realized the task is perhaps too ambitious. So, on Wednesday, the White House announced that Tesla will open 3,500 superchargers and 4,000 slow chargers to all EVs, regardless of manufacturer, by late 2024.

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. https://t.co/hb6pyVhtbg
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 15, 2023

A White House official cited by Reuters said that Tesla would be eligible for a piece of the federal subsidy that can be used towards retrofitting its existing fleet of charging stations to make them compatible with other vehicles with a federally backed charging standard. Tesla currently has 17,711 superchargers, amounting to approximately 60% of all fast chargers in the US, and about 10,000 destination chargers that can charge vehicles overnight.

Indeed, the move is beneficial for Tesla in terms of potentially becoming the main charging network for all EVs, but could also erode away at the automaker’s competitive advantage, which gives Tesla’s drivers exclusive access to the largest network of superchargers in the US. Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously alluded that he won’t impede non-Tesla drivers’ access to this charging network, and has already granted access to some superchargers in Australia and Europe.

Moreover, the generous government subsidies that are at stake suggest that Tesla either gets on board with the federal government’s plan or risk losing business to rival charging companies such as EVgo Inc. and ChargePoint Holdings Inc.

“The amount of money involved in the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program provides a strong incentive for Tesla to adapt its strategy to include the installation of CCS ports,” explained Union of Concerned Scientists senior vehicles analyst Sam Houston, as cited by Reuters.

Information for this briefing was found via Reuters and the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.