Steve Taylor’s Post

We love this perspective from Steve Taylor at ChargeCorps on how other automakers are responding to the ever-growing EV market. We'll be watching General Motors and other key players in the EV market like Hyundai Motor Company (현대자동차), Cadillac, and Rivian. #electricvehicles #evcharging

Electrified transport will be a reality. You can either be a leader in the space, or you can miss the ride. When Mary Barra the CEO of General Motors says EV adoption is "a once in a generation type of transformation", I hear opportunity of a lifetime. Our team at Rove saw this some years ago and have placed ourselves to be a part of this watershed moment. When I see naysayers talk about how the "EV fad" is a passing fancy, I laugh at the amount of effort that is put in to miss out on the chance to be a legacy player in a sector like transportation. #RoveCharging #FullServiceCharging #EVChargingInfrastructure #EVs #Sustainability #EVCharging #CleanEnergy #ElectrifiedTransport

Regardless of General Motors's current EV engagement levet, at least this is a giant of the automotive industry sending a very positive EV-message to the mass market. The size of this company brings more latency to change, but that's like big boats, when they move it's hard to stop them. Mary Barra clearly states that the challenge will not be installing the chargers, but keeping them operational. I agree 100%. There could be multiple points of failure. That's why I always explain why Semtech cellular connectivity, desgined for EV charging needs, gives your infrastructure the best chances. Thanks Steve Taylor for having started this conversation

Here is what happened this week in #evcharging - Tesla is seeking almost $100 million in funding from the US government to build a 1,800-mile charging corridor for its Semi trucks. The corridor would run from California to Texas and would include 9 new Supercharger stations. -ChargePoint announced plans to improve its EV charging network reliability. The company said it would invest $100 million in new technology and infrastructure to make its chargers more reliable and easier to use. -Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis were hit with a class-action lawsuit over faulty charging ports. Owners of the vehicles claim that the defective ports can lead to charging times of 20 hours or no charge at all. -Seven major automakers, including GM, BMW, and Mercedes, announced plans to launch a new EV charging network in North America. The network will include 30,000 new fast-charging stations by 2025. -The Biden administration announced a new $7.5 billion plan to expand EV charging infrastructure in the United States. The plan includes funding for both public and private chargers, as well as incentives for EV buyers. Like & Follow for more! #evcharging #evcharginginfrastructure

New from The Prompt's automotive & mobility newsletter: This BP and Tesla deal marks an important milestone in the growing trend of cross-industry partnerships and collaboration, as it signals the first time Tesla's Supercharger hardware will be purchased for an independent charging network. #BP #Tesla #Supercharger #CrossIndustryPartnerships #Collaboration #Automotive #Mobility

Tesla’s move today around EV charging sends several messages: (1) the EV adotion slow down is real, (2) the current EV charging infrastructure business models are difficult to make profitable, and (3) Tesla has to achieve greater focus to sustain momentum in other areas. What do you think?

"Tesla has installed more than 57,000 of its fast-charging ports worldwide. Its U.S. Supercharger network is larger than all its competitors’ networks combined, and considered the most reliable as well. Over the past year, major automakers and U.S. EV charging companies have begun to build their future charging plans around the company’s underlying technology, deprioritizing the competing technology they had previously pursued. Analysts have projected Tesla’s charging business could deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in annual profit by decade’s end. Despite these successes, it’s likely that the company’s Supercharger network is a money-loser at present. That’s the case for almost all other public EV charging providers in the U.S., most of which still have too few customers to pay off their up-front costs."

To all those people panicking because Tesla fired it's Supercharger team, please take a few deep breaths - It'll do wonders for you. Tesla also fired their entire ad team, their public policy team, and they've gone through a lot of other layoffs lately, so please keep it all in perspective. Hardly any company, even very successful companies, follow a straight line of non-stop success. It's a bumpy road. Tesla is one of the most valuable companies on the planet - north of $500 billion, and GM and Ford combined are barely a quarter of that, so let that sink in. Regardless of what you think of the CEO's politics or behavior, he's also an extremely smart businessman. It's extremely unlikely that Tesla is going to just pick up, walk away, and leave the most extensive, valuable, and ubiquitous charging network in the USA hanging out there on life support. To everyone who primarily charges up at home or work, please keep in mind that nothing's changed. As a lawyer in this space, I'd say if you have a Tesla supercharger contract, now would probably be a good opportunity to acquaint/reacquaint yourself with Tesla's obligations and your obligations. You may/may not see some holes in there, but that's precisely why what's in your EV deployment contract matters. And why good contracts matter just as much as bad ones (but good contracts are much better for you!!).