Cars and Drivers

Tesla Supercharger Partnership Claims To Bring Businesses New Customers

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: October 22, 2017 7:39 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 6:57 am

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) continues to expand its Supercharger locations by the hundreds per year in North America. Scrambling to find locations it markets the Supercharger installations as a means for companies to get new customers.

Tesla has two new Supercharger business models. They are called the Supercharger and Destination Charging programs. Tesla’s pitch

Charging facilities installed on your property attract Tesla drivers to your business, providing both new and repeat customers.

The company points out that its drivers spend 30 minutes to recharge their cars. “Destination” chargers, however, are installed places were people are likely to stay several hours, or overnight. These locations get two Tesla Wall Connections at no charge, as long as they are located in visible locations.

The Tesla programs are aimed at resorts, hotels, parking garages, restaurants, retail locations, and even business and residential property owners. It is hard to image why someone would want a charger on his or her private property, but Tesla management must think there is some odd benefit.

The programs will become more attractive, almost certainly, as Tesla gets more cars onto roads. The Tesla 3 will be available to customers soon, if the company can solve production problems. Tesla expects to have several hundred thousand Model 3 cars on the road within the next two to three years.

The only real competition to Tesla’s public chargers is those owners keep in their own homes.

Among Tesla’s problems is the perception that people have to go out of their ways to charge cars. Tesla clearly means to change that.