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Tesla will expand charging stations in Michigan

Steve Jurvetson
/
Flickr

Michigan will have two new battery supercharging stations by the end of the summer courtesy of Tesla Motors.

Tesla's Model S electric car gets up to 300 miles on a single charge. It normally takes several hours to charge the car. But a "supercharger"shortens the charging time to 20 to 30 minutes, according to Tesla spokeswoman Alexia Georgeson. 

There is currently a supercharger in St. Joseph. Tesla plans to add one in Ann Arbor and one Grand Rapids by the end of the summer, a part of the company’s efforts to build a network of superchargers across the country.

With superchargers, cross-country road trips with Tesla electric cars will be easier. The company plans to space them out about 150 miles apart along major highways across North America and the world.

Georgeson says Tesla is happy to share the network, but right now the smaller batteries in other electric cars are incompatible. She said Tesla hopes to one day share supercharging stations with other electric car companies.

Tracy Samilton covers energy and transportation, including the auto industry and the business response to climate change for Michigan Public. She began her career at Michigan Public as an intern, where she was promptly “bitten by the radio bug,” and never recovered.
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