Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) said it wanted to expand its Supercharger network across the country by 2015, and the automaker is making good progress. A spokesperson for a Tesla enthusiasts club told the Wisconsin State Journal that construction is underway on the first of five planned Supercharger stations in Wisconsin.
Tesla’s first station in Wisconsin opening soon
Christopher Allessi of the Wisconsin Tesla Owners Club said the five Supercharger stations will be built along Wisconsin’s major interstate corridors. He said the first one will open over the next few weeks in Mauston, Wis., which is approximately 75 miles northwest of Madison on Interstate 90-94. It will be located at the Culver’s at East Town Mall not far from the Madison food court. That station could be open by the end of this month.
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is planning on opening additional Supercharger stations in Pleasant Prairie close to Kenosha, Wis., in Onalaska, near La Crosse and in Eau Claire.
Tesla’s Supercharger stations speed up charging times
According to the Journal, it can take 55 to 60 hours to charge a Tesla Model S using the basic 120-volt system which is more widespread. The value of the automaker’s Supercharger network is to slash that time down to between 20 and 40 minutes.
Each Supercharger station runs Tesla up to half a million dollars for a station which can charge up to six vehicles at a time. Tesla owners don’t have to pay anything to use the Supercharger stations. Currently Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) has 37 stations in the U.S., with most of them being on either the West Coast or the East Coast, or in Texas. Right now the closest station to Wisconsin is in Rockford, Ill.
Tesla wants to have 98% of the U.S. population covered by its Supercharger network over the next two years. The automaker already started expanding its network abroad, planning stations in Norway and other areas.
