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- Tesla is expected to open part of its Supercharger network to non-Tesla vehicles.
- That will chip into the Biden administration's ambitious 500,000 charger goal for the US.
- But to boost EV adoption, not all chargers need to be on highways, experts say.
The Biden administration wants to put an electric-vehicle charger every 50 miles of highway in the US — announcing Wednesday a slew of investments from private companies and news that Tesla will open up part of its charging network to other vehicles to help chip away at the ambitious goal.
The White House's target, for which $7.5 billion is slated, requires states that want money to focus first on placing plugs along interstate highways that can serve as "the spine" of a national EV charging network before assessing charging in communities. The goal is to put 500,000 public EV chargers on US roads by 2030, up from about 130,000 currently.
Tesla is expected to open 3,500 new and existing Superchargers along highway corridors, and 4,000 Level 2 chargers elsewhere, a massive expansion of its network.
Tesla's charging network has been a huge advantage over other auto companies that have largely depended on third parties to provide their customers with public plugs. It'll also be a key piece of the puzzle as drivers go electric and search for places to charge not just on road trips, but also at home and on daily errands.
Though more highway charging is good — it could be better
Even though the highway focus is important, the types of charging needed to be built out may shift as more, and different, types of car buyers go electric.
Thus far, EV sales have largely been higher-income purchases (an EV went for $58,725 on average in January, and about 77% of EVs sold were luxury last quarter, per Anderson Economic Group) or those with a two-car household, many of whom have access to a garage plug.
For EV buyers in rural areas, the highway network may be the most beneficial, particularly if it's more difficult to install charging elsewhere in those regions.
"I think it's a good starting point," Shannon Peloquin, leader for McKinsey's capital projects & infrastructure, electric power & natural gas, and sustainability practices, said, "but it should just be viewed as a starting point."
For consumers living in multi-family dwellings or units without access, it's challenging to adopt. Not only are prices not yet where they need to be, those drivers shouldn't have to rely on highway charging, either.
EV chargers need to meet people where they're at. Most people drive less and take fewer road trips than they think, both of which also play a role in where charging needs to be.
"That's where we just have to get smarter and more focused on what does the average Joe or Jane household need to feel like they have good decision making on their next auto purchase?" Peloquin added. That requires a "real equitable buildout that meets people and goods where they are or where they want to go better."
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What this really means for EV drivers
Certainly, any efforts to build up charging infrastructure will facilitate the auto industry's massive EV transition.
Studies suggest that a lack of reliable and functional EV charging is one of the biggest factors standing in the way of consumer EV adoption. That's bad news for automakers who have poured multi-billion dollar investments into electrifying their product lineups.
An S&P Global Mobility estimate said the US needs to quadruple its charging infrastructure by 2025, and grow it more than eight times by 2030, to accommodate the anticipated influx of EVs.
Of note, however, is that a majority of EV charging can technically be done at home.
"The reality is that EVs are charged at the end points," EY Americas mobility sector leader Steve Patton told Insider. "It's either, we do it in our garage at night when we're sleeping, or when we get to work, at the destination, we plug it in. There's very little of this intermediate charging."