By the end of 2017, Tesla hopes to have doubled the size its Supercharger network. It wants more than 1,200 locations and 7,000 individual chargers dotted throughout North America, Europe and Asia, which will go some way towards reducing range anxiety. Before that becomes a reality, the company is hoping to extend the number of official charging points with its free Destination Charging network. Available in the US and Asia for some time now, Destination Chargers are located in easy-to-access locations like hotels or restaurants to give you a quick juice between journeys. Now, they’re rolling out across Europe.
On April 25th, Tesla unveiled over 150 Destination Charging spots in over 14 countries, which are capable of adding more than 58 miles per hour. Golf clubs, casinos and other leisure-focused businesses are making Tesla’s proprietary Wall Connector available to electric vehicle owners who have already done most of their travelling. Given that the output of the chargers varies between 11kW and 22kW (compared with a Supercharger’s 90kW to 135kW rating), Tesla’s secondary network isn’t really designed for quick pit-stops.
While Tesla’s European footprint is currently very small, the company is looking to add more chargers. To incentivize businesses, it’s offering two connectors for free or at a lower price, as long as they are in easy-to-reach locations. All that the partner needs to do is cover the electricity cost and it’ll then be featured as a charging location inside Tesla’s route planner.