Interstate 80 may become a hot spot for drivers to charge their electric cars, as Tesla Motors is reportedly building a supercharger station in the Sierra Nevada north of Lake Tahoe.
The report follows the electric car maker's announcement that a new station will be built near Truckee, California, close to 30 miles southwest of Reno, though they didn't confirm where exactly the station will be constructed or when it will open, according to USA Today. Six charging bays with "Tesla" labels were delivered on Thursday to a closed-off site in Truckee, The Sierra Sun reported.
Steven Poncelet, conservation manager for the Truckee Public Utility District, said the district has formed a development agreement with Tesla that will have the company pay the district to bring electricity to the station. He added, however, that he couldn't reveal details about the agreement due to a confidentiality clause.
Tesla currently has over a dozen charging stations located in California and one in Las Vegas, with a total of 106 stations across North America, San Jose Mercury News reported. The company said that its Model S vehicles can be charged half-way at the stations in 20 minutes, for free.
The automaker is also looking at sites for building its $5 billion lithium battery factory, with potential spots including Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Another potential spot, an industrial park east of Sparks, Nevada, is about 45 miles away from the Truckee station.
Poncelet said he is looking forward to the construction of the I-80 and Truckee stations, believing that they will have a number of positive effects on these areas.
"The benefits include reduced environmental impacts from the fossil fuel vehicles, economic development opportunities and cementing Truckee's reputation as a place people want to be," he said.
