Analyzing Tesla’s Supercharger Locations
As one of the earlier execs at PayPal, entrepreneur Elon Musk understands the value of networks and how to solve the “Chicken-and-Egg” dilemma. Which is why he is building a fast-growing network of supercharger stations around the world. These superchargers allow owners of Tesla’s Model S electronic cars to charge their vehicles in less than an hour and for free. Tesla claims that the superchargers “provide 170 miles of range in as little as 30 minutes”.
In November 2015, Silk data journalist Alice Corona collected information on Tesla’s 556 supercharger stations and mapped them into a single data resource. She then analyzed the data. She found a lot of the expected but also some surprises.
Supercharger Stations Map Global Economic Power Structure
The distribution of supercharger stations roughly maps the global economic distribution with the U.S. and China hosting 58% of all stations, followed by German, the United Kingdom and France in order. Curiously absent from the top rankings was Japan. Apparently Tesla has not put a priority on Japan, or the Land of the Rising Sun is not home to enough Tesla buyers to justify a big expansion (although Musk has told Japanese media that he will put in place enough stations to allow someone to drive a Tesl end-to-end on the main island of Honshu).
Chinese Cities Dominate the Ranks of Most Supercharger Saturated Burgs
Six of the seven cities with the highest number of Tesla supercharger stations are located in China. The only non-Chinese city in that list is London, England in the United Kingdom. Additionally, Chinese cities occupy 10 or the 20 places among top-ranked supercharger cities. So how about San Francisco and Palo Alto in the United States? Actually, the hedge fund capitals of Darien and Greenwich in Connecticut have more charging stations than any other U.S. city. For now, at least, Tesla’s remain a car for the elite of the elite.
Asia Far Behind U.S. and Europe
Of the 547 stations captured in this data, only 87 were located in Asia or Oceania (Australia). China made the lion’s share of all those stations. So even though this is the Pacific Century, Tesla has elected to largely focus its supercharger network on North America and Europe.
These are some lightweight observations based on the data. As Tesla builds out the network and introduces cheaper vehicles, it will be curious to see whether Elon leaves in place the free charging aspect. If so, that could prove a tremendous magnet for Tesla owners — the prospect of “free gas on highways” for lift.
