Tesla CEO Elon Musk is making some audacious promises again for the company’s network of electric fast chargers, known as Superchargers. This time, he’s aiming for 100 percent Tesla Supercharger coverage in Europe by next year.
In response to a question on Twitter, Musk said Tesla’s Supercharger coverage will extend to 100 percent of Europe in 2019. “From Ireland to Kiev, from Norway to Turkey,” Musk wrote.
A look at Tesla’s Supercharger map shows a high concentration of the fast chargers in Western Europe. Countries like Albania, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Serbia and Moldova don’t have any Superchargers.
Yes. Supercharger coverage will extend to 100% of Europe next year. From Ireland to Kiev, from Norway to Turkey. https://t.co/7FQZgLCTVJ
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 26, 2018
Musk also laid out plans to focus on cities, specifically to work with landlords to add home charging units at apartment buildings.
Join 10k+ tech and VC leaders for growth and connections at Disrupt 2025
Netflix, Box, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, Vinod Khosla — just some of the 250+ heavy hitters leading 200+ sessions designed to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech. Grab your ticket before doors open to save up to $444.
Join 10k+ tech and VC leaders for growth and connections at Disrupt 2025
Netflix, Box, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, Vinod Khosla — just some of the 250+ heavy hitters leading 200+ sessions designed to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss a chance to learn from the top voices in tech. Grab your ticket before doors open to save up to $444.
We are dramatically increasing Tesla Superchargers within cities & working with landlords to add home charging to apartment buildings
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 26, 2018
Musk then went further, this time in response to a Twitter follower who noticed that Superchargers planned for San Antonio and Austin in 2018 had yet to be completed. The billionaire entrepreneur said “all major highways in Texas will have Superchargers, all the way to Brownsville and across Mexico.”
Definitely. All major highways in Texas will have Superchargers, all the way to Brownsville & across Mexico.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 26, 2018
He even laid out plans, although less specific, to add Superchargers to Africa in 2020. There are no Superchargers on the African continent.
Tesla’s Supercharger network was launched in 2012 in an effort to encourage owners of its electric vehicles to travel longer distances. A Supercharger adds up to 170 miles of range in about 30 minutes (although TechCrunch has experienced slightly longer charge times depending on location).
Musk has made bold promises for the company’s Supercharger network before. And while the company has made substantial progress and investment in its Supercharger network, it’s still nowhere near its previously promised target.
In April 2017, Tesla said it would double its global network of Superchargers from more than 5,400 to more than 10,000 by the end of the year. It fell short of that goal, with about 8,250 Superchargers.
Earlier this year, Musk laid out plans to have 18,000 superchargers globally by the end 2018. As of December 27, Tesla has 11,583 Superchargers (within 1,386 Supercharger stations) globally.
