Tesla Has Installed 40,000 Superchargers Around The World
One of the perks of buying a Tesla (other than never using gasoline) is access to Tesla's Supercharging network. Throughout most of the United States, Tesla drivers are never too far away from a Supercharger, and many gas stations, supermarkets, and businesses have them installed for anyone with a Tesla to use. It's significantly cheaper than gas, according to Tesla, and offers drivers a way to dump electrons into their Tesla at a max charging rate of 250kW. At that rate, it'll take about 15 minutes to get 200 miles of range (via Tesla).
Tesla has always touted the ubiquitous nature of its Supercharging network, and treats the network much like cell phone coverage or rapidly expanding fast food franchises. That's a good thing for Tesla owners, and earlier this year, non-Tesla owners in parts of Europe were able to take part in the fun. Superchargers are all over the globe now and the network just reached an important milestone.
Tesla's network is rapidly expanding
According to a tweet from Tesla's charging-centric account, there are now 40,000 chargers in nearly every corner of the globe for Tesla drivers to use to their heart's content. For comparison, Electrify America — another charging network open to anyone with an EV — has just over 3,435 fast chargers available, and 116 slower Level 2 chargers across 791 overall stations in the United States. Some new EVs even come with free fast charging through the network. ChargePoint reports that its own network has over 200,000 individual places to charge. It's worth noting that ChargePoint users also have access to other charging networks (via ChargePoint).
While the overall charging infrastructure is getting better every day, there are still many shortcomings for EV charging. Malfunctioning equipment and slow charging stations are still a concern among EV owners. As charging networks expand and EV technology becomes more commonplace on the road, those teething issues will likely get resolves, but that still doesn't assuage the fears of EV owners looking to charge their car.