Tesla Bull Flags This As Real Problem For Rival EV Manufacturers

Tesla Inc. TSLA is the frontrunner in the electric vehicle race and the company has built a formidable scale and infrastructure in a capital-intensive industry that is tough for others to replicate.

What Happened: Customers driving an electric car that is not a Tesla are clearly at a disadvantage, New Street Research’s Pierre Ferragu suggested in a tweet late on Wednesday. He said they would be forced to scramble for a charger while their autonomy goes down.

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“They are victims, I will pray for them tonight,” he added.

Tesla cannot reasonably take over more than 20-25% of the car market, Perragu said, adding other OEMs need to succeed. “May they figure out charging soon,” he said.

Why It’s Important: Tesla offers different charging options, including wall connectors for home charging, destination charging sites to charge upon arrival at hotels, restaurants etc, and superchargers. The company owns and operates over 40,000 global superchargers, which allow users to stay charged on the go.

At the superchargers, one can recharge in 15 minutes for traveling up to 200 miles and it is cost-efficient relative to the use of gasoline. Tesla app shows supercharger stall availability and users need to simply plug in and charge automatically. The charge status can be monitored through the app.

McKinsey estimates that by 2030, America would need 1.2 million public EV chargers and 28 million private chargers as the federal government targets at least half of the vehicles sold to be EVs by that timeframe.

Tesla has also opened its superchargers to other EV makers on a limited scale.

The Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act 2022 has some provisions for incentivizing setting up a charging network. This includes reviving the 30% credit for installing EV chargers and related equipment.

Realizing the need to have a charging network to further electrification, legacy automakers such as Ford Motor Company F have enlisted the support of their vast dealer networks. About two-thirds of Ford dealers have joined a program called Model e to sell EVs, with the program requiring them to set up DC fast chargers at their premises.

General Motors Corp. GM is embarked on installing up to 40,000 Level 2 EV chargers in the U.S. and Canada.

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