Originally published on CleanTechnica.
Tesla is aiming to have a pan-European network of Supercharger stations up and running by the end of the year, according to recent reports. Or, in other words, the European Tesla Supercharger Network will soon span the continent.
With the recent opening of three new stations along Germany’s highways, the network is continuing to steadily grow, but there remain some areas that still need to be filled in.
Image Credit: Tesla
As it stands currently, there are 23 supercharger stations spread out across the continent (compared to 97 in North America) — nine of which are in Germany, and six of which are in Norway. Several countries don’t have any. So there is definitely some work to be done before continent-wide travel relying only on the fast-charging stations is a reality.
The target number that will allow for such continent-wide travel has yet to be revealed by Tesla, so the exact number to be installed before year’s end remains speculation for now.
Commenting on the goal, a Tesla spokesperson noted: “This shows how important the European market is for Tesla.”
Bloomberg provides a bit more:
The carmaker, led by billionaire Elon Musk, plans to open more than 30 new service centers and stores in Europe as it anticipates a jump in sales for the Model S, priced at about $70,000. The move is part of a global rollout as Tesla forecasts a jump in deliveries of more than 55% this year.
In related news, Morgan Stanley recently made the interesting comment that Tesla Motors is now the world’s most important automaker.
Much of the very high appraisal seems to come from Tesla’s near-term plans, and from its ambitions. While it does seem pretty likely that the company will manage to meet these ambitions (or better) — the first Gigafactory, the Model E, success in the Chinese market — they all do remain as something of an open question for the time being.
So, while labeling the company as the most important in the world may seem a bit hasty, perhaps it can fully earn this title before too long.