Leading American automaker Tesla is requesting significant financial support from the government to establish its planned Semi charging route that would stretch between two major states.
Bloomberg obtained Tesla executives’ emails to the Texas Department of Transportation from May to early July. It revealed that the Musk-led automaker is currently seeking approximately $100 million in funding to build a charging route from Texas to California that would exclusively cater to all electric-semi trucks.
Semi-charging route from Texas to California – Details
The publication noted that Tesla aims to erect nine charging stations across this strategic route. Moreover, it intends to deploy eight 750-kilowatt Semi Megacharger units for each station. Apart from that, the stations would also feature another four EV chargers for all-electric Class 8 trucks.
Apparently, Tesla needs federal funding, as it informed Texas officials that it would be eligible for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Program’s grants. For context, this program will aid the government in deploying more charging infrastructures for passenger and commercial EVs.
The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration will announce the grant beneficiaries by late 2023. As of now, the agency is still evaluating the applications.
As per the report, Tesla’s proposed charging corridor would extend from Fremont, California, to Laredo, Texas, near the US-Mexico border. The company aims to deploy the charging stations to the following locations:
- Bakersfield, California
- Compton, CA
- Indio, CA
- Phoenix, Arizona
- San Simon, AZ
- Sparks, Texas
- Fort Stockton, TX
- Laredo, TX
See Also:
- Will Tesla Semi’s Megachargers work with the Cybertruck?
- Tesla improves Semi Truck Megacharger, patented ‘Charging System with Cooling System’
- Tesla ships electric cars at less than 50% charge, compensates buyers with free Supercharging miles
- Tesla might have “mistakenly” leaked new 50 Supercharger sites in the US and other places
- Tesla Cybertruck to get 1 MW ultra-fast charging technology
Tesla will also invest $24 million for the proposed Semi charging corridor apart from the government funding it seeks.
As of now, there is no indication of Tesla’s plan if it fails to obtain government funding. Nonetheless, the proposed project demonstrates Tesla’s commitment to leading the EV revolution by ensuring that there would be sufficiently reliable infrastructures for customers.
