Biden is striking with Elon Musk to make Tesla charging stations available for other electric vehicles – and vows to build a network of 500,000 that will lead to new “tiny communities and fast-food restaurants.”
- “Every gas station that’s built in America – what happens? Suddenly you have a fast food place nearby, suddenly you are building the community.
- Earlier, the White House announced a new commitment from Tesla to open 7,500 of its charging stations to vehicles from other manufacturers
- Biden is pushing to add 500,000 new charging stations to the US map
President Biden said Wednesday that his push to build more electric vehicle charging stations would build “tiny communities” as fast-food restaurants spring up around them, while announcing initiatives that would add 500,000 new charging stations across America.
“Every gas station that’s built in America – what happens? Suddenly you have a fast food place nearby, suddenly you are building the community,” the president told a crowd of union workers at IBEW Local 26 in Lanham, Maryland.
“What we do with these charging stations is the same as what my grandpa did. I’m not kidding – think about it. They build communities, little tiny communities.”
“All of this will take millions of barrels of oil off the road,” Biden said.
He said the 500,000 charging stations he hoped to get up and running would employ tens of thousands of IBEW workers because of his new requirement that they be assembled in the United States
Biden said Wednesday that his push to build more electric vehicle charging stations would build “tiny communities” as fast-food restaurants spring up around them
“I said every charging station has to be installed in the United States of America. And guess what? It has to be American products.”
The $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill provided about $7.5 billion to expand access to electric vehicle charging stations.
Companies that build and operate charging networks such as Tesla, GM, Ford, ChargePoint and others can benefit from federal funding if their infrastructure projects can meet such federal standards.
Earlier, the White House announced a new commitment from Tesla to open 7,500 of its charging stations to vehicles from other manufacturers. Previously, Tesla Supercharging stations only worked for Tesla vehicles.
Tesla has also pledged to triple the number of charging stations on its US network. The company has said it will eventually open its charging network to all vehicles “to support our mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”
Among Wednesday’s announcements, the energy and transportation departments rolled out new charging standards to “ensure everyone can use the network — no matter what car you drive or what condition you’re charging.”
Biden sits in a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 during a visit to the Detroit Auto Show to highlight electric vehicle manufacturing in America
Earlier, the White House announced a new commitment from Tesla to open 7,500 of its charging stations to vehicles from other manufacturers
New requirements for stations built with federal funds include: they must support the standard Combined Charging System plug, have a minimum number of fast chargers, be 97 percent operational, and be assembled during their time in the US Steel chassis must be made in the US By 2024, at least 55 percent of charger components must also be made in the US.
But federally funded charging stations don’t have to draw from clean energy sources — something that’s sure to irk environmentalists.
Electric vehicles running on a standard grid charge emit about half the greenhouse gases of gas-powered vehicles, according to research by Project Drawdown. But electric vehicles charged from a renewable source like solar emit 95 percent less than gas-powered cars.
Biden aims for 50 percent of auto sales to be electric by 2030. He is also aiming for a net-zero emissions grid by 2035.