Tesla Superchargers up to 70% cheaper as it dominates Biden's federal charging network subsidy bids
Whether installing Magic Dock CCS adapters for other EVs to top up at its Superchargers, or card payment terminals at its V4 units, Tesla is complying with all requirements for public EV charging infrastructure funding. So much so, that it has now become the leader in winning bids for federal or state money set aside for the buildout of the nationwide public charging network.
By now, Tesla has won the whopping 18% of those bids as it comes with the lowest offer at about US$392,000 for each station on average, compared to $795,000 by the competition per site, according to data from research firm EVAdoption.
Tesla makes its own Superchargers and has a decade of experience in installing them, which allows it to lowball any bidder with up to 70% cheaper stations. In one extreme example in Maine, Tesla won the bid by offering its Superchargers at $17,000 a pop, while the bidding documents disclosed that its competitor for the site pegged its pricing at $130,000 per pile.
Elon Musk's automaker apparently wants to play a major role in the government's $7.5 billion project for a public cross-platform charging infrastructure buildout. President Biden's administration is looking to quickly scale up the EV charging station numbers to half a million by 2030, whether in cities, on major highways, or in rural areas.
Earlier this year, at the Detroit auto show, President Biden said that "The Great American Road Trip will be electrified," while announcing a number of government initiatives to smooth the EV transition for battery and automakers, or for those participating in the creation of a nationwide EV charging network.
Convenience store or truck stops of chains like Sheetz, Love’s Travel Stops, or TravelCenters of America represent the vast majority of sites chosen for the subsidized EV chargers. Tesla has more experience dealing with installation permits, utility payments, or repairs than anyone else, hence runs the best EV charging network with the highest uptime. Tesla can also bring already assembled piles that it simply installs in a plug-and-play manner, mushrooming its EV charging network faster than anybody.
A Wedbush analyst recently calculated that Tesla's chargers can rake in at least $10 billion annually by the time federal subsidies expire. According to Morgan Stanley, even in a conservative EV adoption scenario the Supercharger network may be worth $42 billion for Tesla, or up to $100 billion if electric vehicles reach the 80% uptake threshold.
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