Reality check: CHAdeMO fast-charging stations still outnumber CCS ones

Combined Charging Standard (CCS) electric car chargerFive years ago, a frequent matter of debate here at Green Car Reports was whether CCS or ChAdeMO would become the electric-car DC fast-charging standard of choice in the U.S. Soon after that it became quite clear that CCS, with the weight of the European and U.S. auto industry behind it—and then the Korean industry joining later—was...

Tesla opens access to CHAdeMO chargers for Model 3 drivers

Tesla Model S with CHAdeMO adapterTesla has been widely known for having the most convenient fast charging networks in the world of electric cars. It's been so successful that some have even referred to it as Tesla's "moat" against competition. For Model 3 owners, however, who make up the bulk of Tesla drivers, it has been all they have access to. This week, Tesla released a...

Tesla opens first 250-kw charging stations at Fremont factory

2017 Tesla Model 3 in Tesla assembly plant parking lot, Fremont, CA, November 2017With Tesla's Supercharger fast charging network, Tesla vehicles can now be charged faster than any other currently available electric car. That status comes courtesy of eight new Version 3 Superchargers that the company opened at its Fremont, California, factory, which can charge a Model 3 at up to 250 kilowatts. That can give the car, which is...

Tesla starts Hardware 3 rollout: Enhanced Summon, red-light warnings

Tesla Model 3 Enhanced Summon video still [by YouTuber  Nagaraj Kelageri]Like Teslas rolling through parking lots on their own, the self-driving future is inching closer. This week, Tesla owners began to experience new features of the company's long-promised next update to its self-driving system, including Enhanced Summon, which is one of the first features of Tesla's planned Full Self-Driving capability to be...

Pickup drivers target Tesla Superchargers in “ICEing” incidents

Dodge flatbed blocking a Tesla Supercharger in Tennessee, fake charging [CREDIT: freckletan, Reddit]People are jealous of things they can't (or don't) have. In a spate of incidents reminiscent of "rolling coal," truck drivers have begun seemingly intentionally blocking whole banks of Tesla Superchargers across parts of the South. Photos shared across Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit over the weekend showed all kinds of trucks blocking...

Musk announces more and faster Tesla Superchargers on the way

Tesla Supercharger site in Rocklin, California, before expansion    [photo: George Parrott]Tesla CEO Elon Musk is tweeting again, this time about expanding and potentially upgrading the company's Supercharger network. On Monday, Musk tweeted that the company will start deploying "much faster" Version 3 Superchargers early next year. The news comes on the heels of Tesla's announcement that it will ship Model 3s to Europe and Australia...

Tesla will soon be compatible with all DC fast charging—in Europe

2018 Tesla Model 3When the Tesla Model 3 arrives in Europe in early 2019, it will carry a special toolkit: the ability to charge—quickly—in more places than any other electric vehicle. Tesla revealed this week that Model 3 sedans sold in Europe will come with a CCS charge port (inlet). Full compatibility with the standard will be assured with the...

Tesla expands Supercharger network as Model 3 rolls out

Tesla Supercharger site in Rocklin, California, before expansion    [photo: George Parrott]As Tesla works to ramp up Model 3 output to two-three times the levels of its previous models, the company is apparently anticipating the need for more Superchargers to charge them. According to the crowdsourced website Supercharge.info, Tesla added 121 new Supercharging stations since the beginning of the year, with 1,324 new individual...

Electrify America maps out charging network to rival Tesla Superchargers

Electrify America chargers by BTC PowerMark 2018 as the year that practical, widespread electric-car charging really started coming to America. We've had a lot of news about new charging networks coming to the U.S., and it doesn't look like it will be slowing down any time soon. Following the announcement last week that 100 Walmart stores would get electric car fast chargers, Electrify...

Why I traded my Chevy Bolt EV for a Tesla: one reader’s story

Used 2015 Tesla Model S P85D on day of purchase  [photo: Jay Lucas]As a nation, the U.S. takes lots of road trips, because most of the country has no viable mass transit between city pairs. If electric cars are ever to enter the mass market in North America, they have to be usable on those road trips. Last year, our reader Jay Lucas of Alexandria, Virginia, wrote an account of his road trip in a new 2017...

Electric car sales in Germany finally start to soar: Tesla leads

2018 Tesla Model S and 2018 Tesla Model XIt's starting to look like China will lead the world in adoption of plug-in electric cars, but which carmaking nations will follow it? While electric cars were launched simultaneously in Japan and the United States, Europe lagged somewhat behind. Now, however, Germany—home to the largest piece of Europe's auto industry—appears to be...

Tesla opens second huge China charging station for 50 electric cars

2014 Tesla Model S in ChinaIt's only fitting that the country making a monumental push for more electric vehicles is getting the world's biggest Tesla Supercharger stations. Tesla's website shows more than 150 Supercharger locations are now operating in China. But its two new locations in Shanghai and Beijing are the largest Supercharger sites in the world: Each is big...