Tesla on Monday announced a Supercharger expansion to major US cities, starting with Boston and Chicago. 

Here’s what Elon Musk’s electric car manufacturer had to say about the expansion in a blog post:

It is extremely important for our customers to be able to easily charge their cars. The most convenient way to charge is to plug in overnight at home, and for most people, this is all that is needed. However, for customers who use their car for long distance travel, there is a growing network of Superchargers located along highways on popular driving routes. We have also installed thousands of Destination Charging connectors at hotels, resorts and restaurants that replicate the home charging experience when you’re away from home. Now, as part of our commitment to make Tesla ownership easy for everyone, including those without immediate access to home or workplace charging, we are expanding our Supercharger network into city centers, starting with downtown Chicago and Boston.

Supercharger stations in urban areas will be installed in convenient locations, including supermarkets, shopping centers and downtown districts, so it’s easy for customers to charge their car in the time it takes to grocery shop or run errands. They also have the same pricing as our existing Superchargers, which is far cheaper than the cost of gasoline.

Superchargers in urban areas have a new post design that occupies less space and is easier to install, making them ideal for dense, highly populated areas. To increase efficiency and support a high volume of cars, these Superchargers have a new architecture that delivers a rapid 72 kilowatts of dedicated power to each car. This means charging speeds are unaffected by Tesla vehicles plugging into adjacent Superchargers, and results in consistent charging times around 45 to 50 minutes for most drivers.

We will continue to expand our charging networks so that Tesla owners always have abundant and reliable access to charging wherever they go.

This matters because many folks living in cities likely don’t have ready access to garages or other Supercharger-friendly areas. Expanding them to grocery stores, shopping centers and other central locales might just make electric car ownership more appealing to city-dwellers. 

The new Supercharger stations will open today with 8 stalls in Boston and 10 stalls in Chicago. 

Tesla said each stall will be able to deliver a dedicated 72 kilowatts of power to a car, with an expected charge time of roughly 45 to 50 minutes. 

Want to find a Supercharger in your area? Check here.

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