In the race to deploy electric vehicle (EV) chargers across the United States, Tesla is emerging as the frontrunner, securing federal grants and outpacing its competitors while maintaining cost efficiency, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Tesla has successfully secured the top position in bids to install chargers at approximately 18% of sites designated by states to receive federal funding for fast chargers. Data from EVAdoption, an EV and charging analytics firm, indicates that Tesla has received approximately $8.5 million out of the roughly $77 million disbursed so far.
See also: US awards $2.8 billion in grants to boost electric vehicle battery manufacturing
What sets Tesla apart is its remarkable efficiency in utilizing these funds. Earlier this year, Tesla applied for a grant from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TECQ), seeking as little as $30,000 per charger, a fraction of the maximum $150,000 allowed under the program. While Tesla did not ultimately receive funding from the agency, had they secured all the funding, they could have installed around 700 chargers, compared to the program’s actual outcome of just 170 chargers.
Tesla’s dominance becomes even more apparent when examining the statistics. Superchargers, a Tesla product, now account for approximately 60% of all fast chargers in the United States and Canada, according to the Department of Energy. This dominance has prompted other major automakers such as General Motors and Ford to adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) for their EVs, further cementing Tesla’s position as the primary player in North America’s rapidly expanding EV charging infrastructure.
