Musk Promises Triple The Superchargers, Transcontinental EV Trips

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Tow truck delivers Model S to charging station

Tesla “will triple its network of superchargers for electrical vehicles by the end of next month,” Elon Musk told Reuters.

Musk, who has a fixation on the Big American Road Trip (which is not what I would do in an EV), said “vehicles will be able to travel from Los Angeles to New York using just the expanded supercharger network,” Reuters writes.

According to Tesla, currently there are 9 Superchargers, a number that would grow to 27. Six of the charging stations are in California. One is in Delaware, two (well, one northbound, one southbound at Milford Travel Plaza on I95…) are in Delaware. It would take at least 15 transcontinental superchargers , for a coast-to-coast trip with a high pucker factor.

I’d rather take the red-eye.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Wmba Wmba on May 30, 2013

    This is totally ridiculous on so many levels, it makes my head hurt. What sane individual would want to cross the US in an EV? None with any commonsense whatsoever. About as bright an idea as rowing a boat across the Atlantic when cheap flights are available. Some perverted idea of adventure takes over, even when Hertz will rent you a perfect solution.

    • See 1 previous
    • KixStart KixStart on May 30, 2013

      @oldfatandrich Not at all. Most of the families hereabouts have at least one car per driver. An EV that's a decent value proposition would make a great deal of sense, unless all the drivers have a long commute. We have 4 cars and 4 drivers. One of us has a regular routine of over 50 miles/day but the other 3 are 3 to 20 miles. An EV would be perfectly suitable.

  • Hummer Hummer on May 30, 2013

    Soo.... what happens when a large stretch of road is down for maintence and there is a detour that takes you away from the charger?

    • 95_SC 95_SC on May 30, 2013

      See the above pic of a Tesla on a tow truck. In all seriousness, I like the Tesla but using one for a cross country trip is like driving a nail with a screwdriver. You might be able to make it work, but it really isn't the tool for the job. Besides if you can afford a Tesla you are probably flying business class from NY to LA.

  • Kyree Kyree on May 31, 2013

    They're not putting them here in Oklahoma; that's for sure. I've seen exactly one Tesla Model-S here, though...

  • Dawnrazor Dawnrazor on May 31, 2013

    I wouldn't count OK out just yet; sure we'll be among the last to get the chargers, but I think there IS a market. There are more Tesla owners (er, leasers) than you might think. There are two Model S in my neighborhood alone (one red, one black), and I've seen a couple of others around town as well. Also, someone who works near me appears to have recently taken delivery of new one. Finally, I remember seeing a couple of roadsters (one red, one white) a year ago or so. All of these had OK tags. Granted, we're talking a total of only about six cars seen in a fairly affluent area with a population pushing 100k (Edmond), but that's at least a LITTLE more optimistic than the thought that there's only one in the state! Also, I'd be shocked (sorry, couldn't resist) if there weren't a few in Tulsa too - they have even more supportive demographics than OKC.

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