Summary:

  • The non-Tesla EV charging grid has fewer than 12,000 Level 3 fast chargers 
  • Tesla’s Supercharger Network has over 17,000 Level 3 chargers
  • Tesla’s could grow the U.S. Level 3 charging network by 150 percent, but it only plans to offer 3,500 of those chargers to non-Tesla owners
  • Rural states would benefit the most from full access to the Tesla network

The Biden administration wants to triple the EV charging infrastructure by 2030, and it’s committing over $5 billion in government incentives to make it happen. That number is roughly three times the current number of EV charging plugs, which stands at about 150,000 including the Tesla Supercharger network. While Tesla has balked at opening its network to non-Tesla vehicles in the past, the new government incentives are too powerful to ignore. 

iSeeCars analyzed the number of electric vehicle charging stations currently available in the U.S., comparing Tesla’s Supercharger network to the non-Tesla fast chargers that any EV driver can access. 

Tesla Could Grow the Level 3 Fast Charger Network by 2.5 times…But It Won’t

EV Fast Charger Share by Network as of 2022 – iSeeCars Study
Network Fast Chargers as Share of National Network Fast Charger Share w/in Network # Fast Chargers Total Chargers (including Level 2)
Tesla 60.0% 57.6% 17,248 29,960
All Others 40.0% 9.9% 11,479 116,200
National 19.7% 28,727 146,160

“Our analysis found that Tesla’s network could more than double the number of Level 3 fast chargers available to EV drivers. But rather than offering up all 17,248 of its fast chargers, Tesla will only commit 3,500 units for public use by late 2024,” said Karl Brauer, Executive Analyst at iSeeCars. “At the rate EV sales are growing in the U.S. this will do little to improve fast-charging access for non-Tesla drivers.”

Tesla Could Substantially Improve EV Infrastructure For Rural Communities

Residents in rurals states have been the slowest to make the EV transition, though we’ve seen movement in places like Mississippi and Wyoming in recent months. But if we’re really going to grow electric vehicle market share from 6 percent to 40 percent in the next 7 years, every region of the U.S. will have to participate. 

iSeeCars looked at the top 10 states that would benefit from full access to the Tesla Supercharger network, with Virgina topping the list. Non-Tesla EV drivers in that state would see a nearly 10 times increase in fast charger access.

Top 10 States That Would Benefit From Full Access to Tesla’s Fast Chargers Network as of 2022 – iSeeCars Study
Rank State Tesla’ Share of Fast Chargers in each State Tesla Fast Chargers (per million people) Non-Tesla Fast Chargers (per million people) Fast Charger Access Gain for Non-Tesla Cars
1 West Virginia 90.7% 55 6 9.8x
2 Mississippi 84.7% 24 4 5.5x
3 Indiana 78.2% 38 11 3.6x
4 Louisiana 77.9% 25 7 3.5x
5 Delaware 77.6% 75 22 3.5x
6 Kentucky 77.5% 19 6 3.4x
7 South Carolina 77.3% 39 12 3.4x
8 Texas 76.4% 37 11 3.2x
9 Montana 76.4% 75 23 3.2x
10 South Dakota 75.9% 66 21 3.2x
National Average 60.0% 52 34 1.5x
“Tesla’s Supercharger network is both vast and advanced, with more Level 3 fast chargers than all other EV charging networks, including Electrify America and ChargePoint, combined,” said Brauer. “If Tesla opened its entire network up to non-Tesla vehicles it would immediately and substantially improve the EV infrastructure, particularly in rural areas that have been slow to make the EV transition.”

What About Those 100,000+ Non-Tesla Level 2 Chargers? Can’t They Help?

There are roughly 300 million registered cars in the U.S., and most of them are powered by gasoline while being served by 170,000 gas stations. With 116,000 non-Tesla EV charging stations available for far fewer electric vehicles, the infrastructure seems like it should already meet the needs of EV drivers. But it doesn’t, because the dynamics of charging an electric vehicle are nothing like filling up a tank of gas. 
States with the Most and Fewest EV Chargers* (per million people) as of 2022 – iSeeCars Study
Most EV Chargers Fewest EV Chargers
Rank State Total Chargers (per million people) Total Chargers State Total Chargers (per million people) Total Chargers
1 Vermont 998 646 Mississippi 38 111
2 California 945 36,897 Louisiana 63 287
3 Massachusetts 782 5,458 South Dakota 73 66
4 Colorado 664 3,876 Kentucky 94 423
5 Rhode Island 633 692 Indiana 99 675
6 Hawaii 618 890 West Virginia 108 191
7 Maryland 575 3,547 Alabama 108 549
8 Washington 492 3,828 Montana 111 125
9 Utah 466 1,574 Wisconsin 131 773
10 Oregon 461 1954 Arkansas 132 402
National Average 349 116,200
*Excludes chargers from the Tesla network

 

Note that while California has the most EV chargers in the U.S., Vermont has the most chargers relative to its population. And given the state’s far smaller land mass, it’s likely much easier to access the current public charging network in Vermont versus California. Conversely, states like Mississippi, Louisiana, South Dakota, Kentucky, and Indiana offer far fewer chargers per capita. But these numbers include Level 2 chargers, which offer limited value for most EV drivers.

“While a Level 2 charger can keep a nearly depleted EV from being stranded on the side of the road, their 12-60 miles-per-hour of charging rate makes them impractical for mid-day ‘fill ups’ while running errands, or for road trips where a driver wants to cover ground at a rate comparable to a gasoline-powered vehicle,” said Brauer. “At 3 to 20 miles per minute, Level 3 charging is much faster, and once you experience it, Level 2 charging feels like watching paint dry.”

That means only a Level 3 charger is suited for anything beyond overnight charging at home. And if a given electric vehicle owner’s closest Level 3 charging station is 20 miles away, it’s not worth burning 40 miles of range just to charge up. The same can be said for Level 3 EV charging stations that are convenient, but consistently overrun by long lines of electric vehicles waiting to charge–the high demand similarly negates the station’s functionality.

So while those Level 2 chargers can save EV drivers in a pinch, a large network of Level 3 chargers is necessary to truly serve a nation of EV drivers.

Current Level 3 EV Charging Stations

Less than 12,000 of the 116,200 non-Tesla EV charging stations currently in the U.S. are Level 3, making the other 104,000 stations useless for the average electric vehicle driver looking for a refueling experience comparable to that of gasoline vehicles. Not surprisingly, many of the same states with a high overall EV charger count also have the most Level 3 chargers, though when ranked relative to population, Oklahoma and Oregon break into the top 5, while Massachusetts and Rhode Island fall out.
States With the Most and Fewest EV Fast Chargers* (per million people) as of 2022 – iSeeCars Study
Most EV Fast Chargers Fewest EV Fast Chargers
Rank State Fast Chargers (per million people) Fast Chargers State Fast Chargers (per million people) 2022 Fast Chargers
1 Oklahoma 146 587 Mississippi 4 13
2 California 93 3,649 Kentucky 6 25
3 Vermont 83 54 West Virginia 6 10
4 Colorado 72 421 Louisiana 7 33
5 Oregon 62 261 Arkansas 11 32
6 Maryland 60 370 Indiana 11 73
7 Washington 56 435 Texas 11 342
8 Hawaii 49 70 South Carolina 12 61
9 Virginia 47 410 Wisconsin 12 69
10 Nevada 47 150 Alabama 15 75
National Average 34 11,479
*Excludes chargers from the Tesla network

Which States Have the Most and Least Tesla Fast Chargers?

Tesla hasn’t confirmed where its 3,500 fast chargers will come from, but we can look at the current location of Tesla’s Level 3 chargers to see which states offer the best fast charger coverage. 

Tesla wanted to enable cross-country trips for its owners, which explains why relatively low-population states like Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota have so many chargers. Given the specific mention of “highway corridors” in the White House statement about Tesla opening up its network, we should expect to see many of these same Level 3 chargers as part of the 3,500 made available to non-Tesla drivers.

States with the Most and Fewest EV Fast Chargers (per 1 million people) in the Tesla Network as of 2022 – iSeeCars Study
Most EV Fast Chargers Fewest EV Fast Chargers
Rank State Fast Chargers (per million people) Fast Chargers State Fast Chargers (per million people) Fast Chargers
1 California 131 5,123 Hawaii 4 6
2 Wyoming 124 72 Oklahoma 9 36
3 Nevada 91 288 Arkansas 15 47
4 Maine 87 120 Alaska 16 12
5 Vermont 83 54 Ohio 17 197
6 Montana 75 84 Kentucky 19 86
7 Delaware 75 76 Tennessee 23 160
8 New Hampshire 73 102 Idaho 24 46
9 Connecticut 71 256 Mississippi 24 72
10 South Dakota 66 60 Louisiana 25 116
National Average 52 17,248

Adding 3,500 Tesla Fast Chargers Is Better Than Nothing

“There’s massive potential upside for all electric vehicle drivers if Tesla opens its entire network,” said Brauer. “ But Tesla has only committed to 3,500 Level 3 chargers becoming available by the end of 2024, or about 20 percent of its total fast-charging network. Of course every little bit counts when trying to solve the EV infrastructure problem, but it’s disappointing to see this little bit coming from the nation’s largest fast charger network.”

Methodology

iSeeCars analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center through 2022 as of February 8, 2023. The number of Level 2 EVSE and DC Fast EVSE ports was aggregated nationally and by state for chargers from Tesla’s network as well as all other networks. The number of chargers was normalized by population counts from the U.S. Census Bureau.

About iSeeCars.com

iSeeCars.com is a data-driven car search and research company that helps shoppers find the best car deals by providing key insights and valuable resources, including the iSeeCars VIN Check report and Best Cars Rankings. iSeeCars has saved users over $426 million so far by applying big data analytics powered by over 25 billion (and growing) data points and using proprietary algorithms to objectively analyze, score and rank millions of new cars and used cars.