Tesla Supercharger

The Supercharger network was introduced on September 24, 2012, as the Tesla Model S entered production, with six sites in California, Nevada, and Arizona. As of January 2024^[update], Tesla operates a network of 6,000 Supercharger stations with nearly 55,000 connectors. The stations are primarily deployed in three regions: Asia Pacific (over 2,400), North America (over 2,300), and Europe (over 1,100). Newer Superchargers are capable of supplying up to 250 kW of power.

Usage is typically billed by the energy consumed during charging. Idle fees can be charged to customers who remain plugged in after charging has been completed to discourage loitering.

Version	Image	Max power	Features / Notes
V1		100 kW	Power output is reduced when another vehicle is plugged into the neighboring, paired charger.
V2		125 kW–150 kW	Power output is reduced when another vehicle is plugged into the neighboring, paired charger. Power output upgraded from original 120 kW via software updates.
Urban		72 kW	Smaller form factor, lower power device for urban installations.
V3		250 kW	Equipped with a thinner, lighter cable that uses liquid cooling. Some chargers in North America equipped with "Magic Dock" CCS adapter for charging non-Tesla vehicles.
V4		250 kW	Equipped with a longer cable and credit card reader for charging non-Tesla vehicles. North American chargers equipped with "Magic Dock" CCS adapter. Chargers currently limited to 250 kW but can support higher power output with future changes.

 

Tesla typically places Superchargers near major highways at locations with amenities for drivers, such as restrooms, restaurants, and shopping. Some sites also have solar canopies and Megapacks installed by Tesla Energy to offset energy use and provide drivers with protection from the elements.

 

The original V1 and V2 Tesla supercharging stations were built with a single charger equipment cabinet shared between two charge posts. Because of this arrangement, if two cars are connected, and both request the maximum power available (100 kW for V1 and 150 kW for V2), the charger will only deliver half the maximum power.

As an alternative to the Supercharger, in 2015, Tesla briefly implemented a battery swapping station at Harris Ranch in California. The Tesla battery station performed few swaps, with most Tesla owners preferring to recharge their vehicles' batteries instead.

"Urban" Supercharger posts were introduced in September 2017. These more compact posts have a maximum power delivery of 72 kW but do not share equipment with other posts, allowing the maximum power to be delivered. These more compact posts are primarily deployed in urban areas such as shopping malls, parking lots, and garages.

V3 stations were introduced in 2019 and could deliver up to 250 kW. For V3 stations, four posts share a 1,000 kW charger equipment cabinet, allowing each to deliver the maximum power regardless of nearby charging sessions. The V3 charge posts use a liquid-cooled cable which allows the cable to be thinner and lighter while delivering more power.

 

Tesla introduced mobile Supercharger stations in 2019 with several urban supercharger posts and a Tesla Megapack energy storage system mounted on a semi-trailer truck. These stations provide temporary stations for nearby events, expand capacity during peak travel seasons, or can be deployed when a station needs to be taken offline. The Megapack can charge up to 100 vehicles before being depleted.

V4 charging posts began to roll out in early 2023 and have longer cables for charging vehicles from other automakers. The charging posts have a credit card reader allowing non-Tesla owners to charge without downloading the Tesla app. They are also capable of supporting up to 615 kW of power delivery; however, they are currently software limited to 250 kW.

 

Connectors and interoperability

 

North America

Tesla began installing a "Magic Dock" at some locations in February 2023. The dock holds a NACS to CCS adapter. When a NACS-equipped vehicle driver uses the charger, they remove the NACS connector from the docked adapter. When a CCS-equipped vehicle driver reserves a charger via the Tesla mobile app, the Magic Dock releases the NACS to CCS adapter. The "magic" is that the adapter always remains captive – either locked in the dock on the charger (when the NACS connector is available to be used) or locked onto the NACS connector (when the CCS adapter is available to be used). The "Magic Dock" allows Tesla to share in the $7.5 billion U.S. federal government incentives to build out CCS-equipped charging infrastructure.

On Feb 29, 2024, certain Ford vehicles received access to the Tesla Supercharger network (V3 and newer) without MagicDocks. These vehicles use a customer-provided adapter.

Europe

 

In November 2018, under pressure from European regulators, Tesla announced that it would begin using the CCS2 charging standard, adding the inlets to new vehicles, offering adapters to existing vehicle owners and adding CCS2 connectors to Superchargers.

China

In China, Tesla equips its vehicles and Superchargers with the GB/T charging standard (an abbreviation of "GuoBiao/TuiJian", translated as "recommended national standard").

The average number of Tesla cars per Supercharger stall was 34 in 2016. As of September 2023, Tesla bids building its chargers at about half the cost of its competitors. Cost estimates per station range from US$100,000 in 2013 to US$270,000 in 2015, depending on the number of stalls and other circumstances. In a 2014 filing with the SEC, Tesla reported an "estimated useful life of 12 years".

Most car charging occurs at home or work, a situation that Tesla has compared to cell phone charging. As of 2014^[update], less than 10% of charging came from Superchargers.

For 2021, Tesla states the network had 99.96% uptime (at least 50% daily capacity) and its power was 100% renewable (through solar power on-site and through purchasing electricity which was matched to renewable generation.)

Costs

All charges accrued during supercharging are billed to the Tesla account the car is associated with or to the credit card on file for that account.

Unlimited free supercharging for life was offered as a promotion for Model S and Model X cars ordered prior to January 15, 2017, and between August 2, 2019 and May 26, 2020. Unlimited supercharging was also offered during specific periods for vehicles purchased with referral codes.

Additionally, Model S and Model X cars that were ordered between January 15, 2017, and November 2, 2018, received 400 kWh (about 1,000 miles or 1,600 km) of free Supercharging credits per year. After the credits are exhausted, supercharging is billed at normal price.

To date, there have been no free supercharging promotions offered to Model 3 and Model Y buyers.

As of January 2024^[update], Tesla operates a network of 6,000 Supercharger stations with nearly 55,000 connectors. The network is primarily deployed in three regions: Asia Pacific (over 2,400 stations), North America (over 2,300), and Europe (over 1,100).

In order to select the locations of future new fast charging points, Tesla asks people's opinions in a poll, in which anyone can vote after registration.

North America

 

 

The first Superchargers in the world opened in 2012 in the United States. Six stations were deployed along Interstate 5 in California, enabling trips from Los Angeles, California and San Francisco, California and two stations deployed along Interstate 95, enabling trips between Boston, Massachusetts and Washington, DC. By mid-July 2013, 15 stations were open across the United States. The stations were developed and mass constructed in cooperation with Black & Veatch.

Supercharging stations were available in Canada along Ontario Highway 401 and Quebec Autoroute 20 corridor between Toronto and Montreal by 2014.

The initial network was built in high-traffic corridors across North America, followed by networks in Europe and Asia in the second half of 2013. The first Supercharger corridor in the US opened with free access in October 2012. This corridor included six stations placed along routes connecting San Francisco, California, Lake Tahoe, Los Angeles, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada. A second corridor was opened in December 2012 along the Northeast megalopolis, connecting Washington, DC, Baltimore, Maryland, Philadelphia,, Pennsylvania, New York City and Boston, Massachusetts. This corridor includes three stations in highway rest areas, one in Delaware and two adjacent ones in Connecticut.

According to Musk, "...we expect all of the United States to be covered by the end of next year [2013]". He also said that early Tesla owners' use of the network would be free forever.

Europe

 

In early 2015, the first European Supercharger was upgraded with a 'solar canopy' (a carport with solar cells on the roof) in Køge, Denmark. According to the person responsible for Tesla's Superchargers in the Nordic countries, Christian Marcus, the 12-stall Supercharger in Køge has 300 m² (3,230 sq ft) solar cells with a projected annual production of about 40 MWh and is equipped with its own battery bank for temporary storage of excess production. Unlike most other European Supercharger stations, Tesla has bought the land on which the Køge Supercharger stands. On April 26, 2016, Kostomłoty became the first charger to open in Poland. Tesla opened a grid-connected 2-stall Supercharger at Nürburgring in 2019. There are a few privately operated Supercharger stations such as the one opened on April 27, 2016, in Zarechye, Russia, with 3 stalls.

In 2015, the European Supercharger network was planned to allow a Model S to drive from the North Cape (near Honningsvåg) in Norway to Istanbul, Turkey or Lisbon, Portugal. As of August 2023^[update], there are Supercharger stations in or near both Istanbul and Lisbon. The map of current and planned sites includes every European Union country except Malta and Cyprus, and represents all of the countries in the world in the top 10 of electric vehicle adoption rates.

Tesla started testing the charging of non-Tesla cars in the Netherlands in 2021 and in Norway in early 2022 on 15 large uncongested stations with CCS2. Tesla opened new stations for non-Tesla cars in several countries in 2022, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Many European governments give sizeable financial support for building new stations but require those to allow cars regardless of brand.

Asia-Pacific

Superchargers operate in China, where Shanghai has 1,000 chargers at 100 locations in late 2021, Beijing has 800, and Tibet is accessible. Superchargers are also available in Hong Kong and Macau.

Australia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand also have Superchargers.

Middle East

Superchargers are available in Israel, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. Qatar was expected to have its first Superchargers by the end of Q1 2024.

In the aftermath of the October 7 [2024] attacks, Elon Musk directed Tesla to offer free charging for its 22 supercharger stations in Israel for three weeks.

In November 2017, Tesla announced a higher-capacity Megacharger as part of the unveiling of a prototype for its Tesla Semi, a semi-trailer truck. These Megachargers provide 400 miles (644 km) of charge in 30 minutes to the Tesla Semis.

In November 2021, the first Megacharger was installed at the Gigafactory Nevada where the Tesla Semi is built. A second Megacharger was permitted for construction at a PepsiCo facility in Modesto, California, in late 2021.

The megawatt-class cable for the Megacharger supports three times the current density of the V3 Supercharger—35 amperes/mm² versus approximately 12 for the V3. The cable is also liquid-cooled to support 1000-amp charge rates at 1000 volts in the future.

• Charging station
• Electric vehicle charging network