The Electron Highway

Traveling cross country in an EV is a concept thought impossible 10 years ago. Range issues, extended periods of charging, and difficulty finding charging stations combined together to create the perception that going any great distance in an EV would take decades of development in order to iron out the kinks in the variety of systems essential to such an endeavor. However,  in 2023, undertaking a classic American road trip in a Tesla or Mustang Mach E appears to no longer be a work of fiction and futurism. Recently, part of the AutoMobility Advisors team drove from Tennessee to Massachusetts and back (in an ICE vehicle), and had the opportunity to observe a variety of different charging stations across the Mid-South, Atlantic Coast, and New England regions of the Eastern US. Often paired with turnpike service stations or independent gas stations, these EV chargers represented a great diversity in location, accessibility, usage, and company, with many having noticeable benefits and drawbacks. Assessing the current infrastructure is an essential step in order to make sure that the EV road trip dream becomes a reasonable reality.

This first image was taken of a Tesla charging station off of the New Jersey Turnpike. Interestingly, this station was placed as far away from the rest of the service station as possible, appearing nearly abandoned. Likely added as an afterthought, this station was relatively convenient because of its placement within a turnpike service station, however its distance from other amenities calls into question the safety and maintenance of the chargers. Placing the chargers so far from the rest of the station gives off the impression that parking one’s car there for an extended period of time may not be safe because it isn’t monitorable by the owner or any security/police at the service station. It seems paradoxical that the stations which take the longest time to ”refuel” a vehicle are the furthest from the restrooms, stores, and restaurants because the people most likely to spend their money at these places are EV owners waiting for their car to charge. Another observation of note is the presence of merely one Tesla. The low usage of this charging station could be due to any number of reasons, but it is an interesting item nonetheless.

Continuing with the focus on service stations, the picture above was taken off of I-90 on the Massachusetts Turnpike. Here, an EVGo charger sat unused with two empty spots right in front of the restaurant/restroom facilities building. In much closer proximity than the Tesla charger in New Jersey, the difference in placement is even more noticeable when attention is turned toward the Mass-Pike Tesla station.   

Once again barely in use, this Tesla station is located at the very back of the service station parking lot, but still relatively close to the building (compared to NJ). Tesla chargers tended to be placed at a disadvantaged position in relation to alternate brands like EVGo. EVGo had the advantage of acting as a universal charger, but as of March 2023, Tesla announced that they were opening their stations to other brands of EVs. Perhaps because of their size and previous limits to only Tesla branded vehicles, Tesla charging stations are usually placed in less optimal locations at state department of transportation operated facilities. With this new announcement, Tesla stations may be more favored by state governments moving forward.

 In West Virginia at a new mall off of I-81 were four brand new Chargepoint DC fast chargers and one regular Chargepoint charger. Located in an enormous parking lot, the charging station was again as far away as possible from the entrances to any of the mall stores. Similarly convenient to their Tesla counterparts, the Chargepoint chargers required a notable walk to get to and were underutilized compared to the amount of cars parked at the mall. As seen above, only one car is using the regular charger while the fast chargers are idle. An EV owner stopping to charge here would have no trouble finding an open charger to use, as the Chargepoint chargers appeared to be quite underused. 

Finally, off of I-40 in Crossville, TN, was this Tesla charging station located at a Buc-ee’s. Brimming with customers coming to experience the enormous convenience store (and to try the brisket), not a single car was parked at the charging station. Again underutilized, the traffic difference between the store/gas station and the charging station was night and day. Also, like all of the other examples observed, the charging station was located at the part of the parking lot furthest away from the Buc-ee’s store. Noticeably far away and unused, the Tesla chargers did not match with the hustle and bustle of the rest of the store.

A common trend among all of these disparate stations are the lack of customers and poor location placement. With EV market share trending so far upwards, it was shocking to see how few cars were stopped to recharge at any of the stations. Coupled with the distance between amenities and chargers, EV infrastructure development appears to be facing difficulties in convenient space acquisition. The low use of these chargers could be a warning sign that the infrastructure development so highly touted by the US government and private sector alike may not be as effective as anticipated. Only time will tell whether charging stations will improve enough to facilitate the American EV road trip. 

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