Tesla makes EV charging quick
2012-09-27 10:38
ABLE TO LAST LONGER: Tesla Motors Inc. unveiled solar-powered charging stations which will make long trips in electric vehicles, such as their S Model, more manageable.
HAWTHORNE, California - Tesla Motors has unveiled a solar-powered charging station that, the company says, will make charging a battery car on a long trip about as fast as stopping for petrol and a bathroom break in a conventional car.
CEO Elon Musk said a roadside Supercharger has been installed at six highway rest stops in California.
PROBLEM SOLVED
Musk said: “This is the answer to the three major problems holding back battery vehicles, or at least people think are holding back electrical vehicles."
"One is this question of being able to drive long distances conveniently."
According to Musk, the free stations are designed to fully charge Tesla's new Model S sedan in about an hour; a half-hour charge will take the Tesla 240km.
Tesla spokeswoman Christina Ra said the charging stations would be open to the public in early October, 2012.
MORE TO COME
Musk said his company planned to have more stations up throughout California and in parts of Nevada and Oregon by the end of 2012 and expected to blanket "almost the entire US" within two years.
Tesla unveiled the Model S, its first mass-market vehicle, in June 2012. The base model costs the equivalent of about R409 000 after a federal tax credit.
Along with persuading consumers that electric vehicles are practical, the charging stations were developed with an eye to alleviating doubts about their environmental effects. Musk said the solar-powered stations in California would produce more clean energy than is needed to keep cars running.
