One of the biggest issues facing electric car owners could soon be over.
Tesla is going to take the heat out of public charging by adding virtual queues in the next few months.
The trial will initially be available at a small selection of sites before rolling out to the wider network, pending feedback.
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This feature is likely in response to growing charge-rage, where during peak times charging stations can become overrun and chaos ensues.
A recent court case in the US involved a man alleged to have fatally shot another Tesla driver after the pair allegedly arrived at the Supercharger at the same time.
Tesla said wait times weren’t common and customers waited about one per cent of the time at its Supercharger network
Tesla didn’t give any further details on how the virtual queue would work, but it is probable owners that reach the site would join the back of the queue and the chargers could be unlocked by a specific car only.
The trial could get a bit murky if non-Tesla owners try to use the network with them potentially not able to join the virtual queue.
Tesla recently started unlocking its Supercharger sites to non-Tesla owners, these users pay a much higher rate per kW than Tesla owners.
Tesla also stated it would be rapidly expanding its network of Superchargers this year, adding more than 20 per cent to its network.
This follows the American company reportedly firing its entire Supercharging team in 2024, with responsibility of the supercharging network given to the energy team that primarily looked after solar and home batteries.
Virtual queuing pilots starting in Q2 at select sites. Goal is a net customer experience improvement for the ~1% cases of a wait time. Wider rollout this year if feedback is positive. We also continue to expand the network 20%+ year-over-year, closely tracking site-level demand.
— Tesla Charging (@TeslaCharging) February 19, 2025
After facing backlash to the move, Tesla boss Elon Musk posted on X: “Tesla will spend well over $500M expanding our Supercharger network to create thousands of NEW chargers this year.”
According to Reuters, who spoke to former staff, that amount was far less than the previous budget.
The reduction in staff also calls into question the company’s ability to grow the network by more than 20 per cent this year.
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