The Benefits of Supercharger Network for Tesla

Instead of waiting (like GM and Ford) for 3rd parties to create the fast-charging infrastructure, Tesla made its own easy-to-use network which has given it a major lead in the industry.

This is a quote from Car and Driver article.

"What good is a car if you can't easily drive it considerable distances? In 1932, with the ambition of making that question obsolete, General Motors president Alfred P. Sloan formed a powerful lobby to ensure that a national system of highways got built. By doing that, Sloan helped create what economists call an indirect network effect. The presence of a nationwide road system made cars more valuable and more desirable than they would have been without it. Neatly forgetting its own history, GM (along with other automakers) has relied on the plodding build-out by third parties such as ChargePoint and EVgo."

"The charging network was a draw for me to choose a Model S, but really the vast majority of my driving I won't need a supercharger. But dang, knowing that the network is there. And now that I've got a Model S, I can see that while it'd add time to some of our trips to visit family in another state, it's possible and really not even that inconvenient. Without the network we'd always be traveling in the Insight" writes a Model S owner on Reddit.

Tesla's Supercharger network is a big decision-making influencer for potential Tesla buyers. What about you? Was it a big decision making factor for you where you were thinking of buying a Tesla?

Armen Hareyan is the founder and the Editor in Chief of Torque News. He founded TorqueNews.com in 2010, which since then has been publishing expert news and analysis about the automotive industry. He can be reached at Torque News Twitter, Facebok, Linkedin and Youtube.