Charging a Tesla in Manhattan will soon be easier than gassing up the family sedan. Looking to make driving less of a pain for the 1,500 owners of its electric cars in the Big Apple, Tesla motors plans to greatly expand its network of Manhattan charging stations to 105 by March 31, The Post has learned. Each will be able to provide a full charge in as little as four hours — and most will be free to Tesla owners. The expansion, green-lighted by Tesla founder Elon Musk, means there could soon be three times as many electric-car charging stations in Manhattan as gas stations. Currently there are around 40 gas stations in the city. The number has been falling fast as developers continue to raze them in favor of more lucrative projects. While drivers gripe of rush-hour log jams at Manhattan gas stations that result in waits of up to 40 minutes, Tesla drivers will likely have little or no wait to drop off their car for a “fill up.” “The garages have a better sense of what’s going on now,” says Paul Gardi, an Upper West Sider who takes his Model S P85D to the office downtown a few times a week. “A year ago, the garages were saying, ‘Whoa, what’s this thing?’ ” said Gardi, a 49-year-old entrepreneur and investor. “But now, they know what to do — you can just leave it and say, ‘Plug it in,’ and come back in an hour.” As of Thursday, Tesla had outfitted 68 Manhattan garages with “destination chargers,” which can add about 60 miles of range per hour of charging to a Model S or Model X. By September, there will be a Tesla charging station every three blocks, the company said. In addition to the four-hour chargers in Manhattan, Tesla has installed “supercharger stations” along highways nationwide. They charge a car in as little as 40 minutes. “I can look at the Tesla app on my phone and see how many miles I’ve got,” Jacobs said. “If it says I’m low, I call my garage and say, ‘Plug it in for me.’ ” Earlier this week, Tesla opened a 40,000-square-foot showroom and service garage in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Tesla also operates a showroom in Chelsea. Until last year, Tesla had mainly installed its quick-charging connectors at hotels and restaurants, spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson told The Post. “However, in an effort to tackle the need for urban charging, we expanded the program and partnered with public garages that offer parking both by the hour or the month,” she said. Check out the Tesla Model X driverless car taking us for a spin in NYC:
The New York Post reports that Tesla has embarked on a plan to expand its network of Manhattan charging stations to 105 by end March. According to the Post, Tesla’s goal is to have 100 chargers in place within five years, with another 50 or so added over time.