The electric carmaker is said to have applied for 97 million US dollars in subsidies in the USA. The application was reported by Bloomberg, citing email correspondence between Tesla and the relevant U.S. authorities.
According to the report, Tesla would contribute $24 million (21.8 million euros). The funding applications are currently being reviewed, with a decision expected before the end of the year. It is unclear whether Tesla would build the charging corridor without government funding.
Nine sites are planned along the approximately 1,800-mile (about 2,897-kilometer) route. Each site is to be equipped with eight charging points, each with 375 kW for Tesla’s electric truck, the Tesla Semi. Tesla says the all-electric semi can recharge up to 70 per cent in 30 minutes at Tesla stations. Four additional charging points for electric trucks from other manufacturers will be added at each location.
The proposed route runs between Laredo in south Texas and Fremont in California, where Tesla operates a plant. Laredo, in turn, is about 240 miles (about 386 km) from Tesla’s Austin headquarters and factory and about 150 miles (about 241 km) from the proposed new factory in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon.
According to Bloomberg, if the charging corridor is built, three charging parks will be located in Texas, in the aforementioned Laredo, Fort Stockton and Sparks. The route will then run through the state of Arizona, where charging stations will be built in San Simon and in Phoenix. On the way to Fremont, it will also be possible to recharge in California in Indio, Compton and Bakersfield.
The Tesla Semi has been rolling off the production line in Texas since October 2022. With the start of deliveries, the first units were handed over to launch customer PepsiCo last December – from an order of 100 electric trucks that went back to 2017. In the meantime, several other truck makers have electric semi-trailers on order and the road, including Volvo Trucks, Nikola and Daimler.
Tesla’s all-electric Class 8 semi-truck has a range of 500 miles (about 805 km). Tesla is still hedging their information on the technical details. On the website, under “Semi Specs,” it only says that the electric truck is powered by three separate e-motors on the rear axle.
