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Biden administration announces $5B budget to develop EV charging network in the U.S.

(Credit: Electrify America)

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On Thursday, February 10, President Joe Biden, the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT), and the Department of Energy (USDOE) announced that nearly $5 billion will be available to build out the nation’s electric vehicle charging network. The budget will be under the new National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program. 

“A century ago, America ushered in the modern automotive era; now America must lead the electric vehicle revolution. The President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will help us win the EV race by working with states, labor, and the private sector to deploy a historic nationwide charging network that will make EV charging accessible for more Americans,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Over the next five years, the program will provide about $5 billion to states to develop EV charging stations. It will focus on building stations along the Interstate Highway System in the United States. 

The $5 billion fund will focus on building EV charging stations along a designated Alternative Fuel Corridors (AFC). For the past five years, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has solicited nominations from state and local officials to designate Alternative Fuel Corridors. Currently, FHWA has 125 nominations, including segments in 134 Interstates, along 125 US highways or state roads. The AFC nominations comprise 49 states plus D.C. and cover approximately 165,722 miles of the National Highway System.

The Biden administration has made $615 million to the states available under the NEVI Formula program in the Fiscal Year 2022. States must submit an EV Infrastructure Deployment Plan to access the funds. Later this year, the US government plans to announce a second grant program geared towards increasing EV charging stations in rural and underserved communities. 

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The $5 billion fund under the NEVI Formula Program was made possible with President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which was enacted on November 15, 2021 as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). 

Below is more information on the NEVI Formula Program.

Nevi Formula Program by Maria Merano on Scribd

The Teslarati team would appreciate hearing from you. If you have any tips, reach out to me at maria@teslarati.com or via Twitter @Writer_01001101.

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Maria--aka "M"-- is an experienced writer and book editor. She's written about several topics including health, tech, and politics. As a book editor, she's worked with authors who write Sci-Fi, Romance, and Dark Fantasy. M loves hearing from TESLARATI readers. If you have any tips or article ideas, contact her at maria@teslarati.com or via X, @Writer_01001101.

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Tesla gamifies Supercharging with new ‘Charging Passport’

It will also include things like badges for special charging spots, among other metrics that will show all of the different places people have traveled to plug in for range.

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Credit: MarcoRP | X

Tesla is gamifying its Supercharging experience by offering a new “Charging Passport,” hoping to add a new layer to the ownership experience.

While it is not part of the Holiday Update, it is rolling out around the same time and offers a handful of cool new features.

Tesla’s Charging Passport will be available within the smartphone app and will give a yearly summary of your charging experience, helping encapsulate your travel for that year.

It will also include things like badges for special charging spots, among other metrics that will show all of the different places people have traveled to plug in for range.

Tesla will include the following metrics within the new Charging Passport option within the Tesla app:

  • Charging badges: Iconic charging badges for visiting places like the Tesla Diner, Oasis Supercharger, etc., Explorer Badge, and more
  • Total Unique Superchargers Visited
  • Total Charging Sessions
  • Total Miles Added during Charging Sessions
  • Top Charging Day
  • Longest Trip
  • Favorite Charging Locations

This will give people a unique way to see their travels throughout the year, and although it is not necessarily something that is needed or adds any genuine value, it is something that many owners will like to look back on. After all, things like Spotify Wrapped and Apple Music Replay have been a great way for people to see what music they listened to throughout the year.

This is essentially Tesla’s version of that.

With a handful of unique Superchargers already active, Tesla is also building some new ones, like a UFO-inspired location in New Mexico, near Roswell.

Tesla is building a new UFO-inspired Supercharger in the heart of Alien country

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Tesla launches its coolest gift idea ever just a few weeks after it was announced

“Gift one month of Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which allows the vehicle to drive itself almost anywhere with minimal intervention.”

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has launched its coolest gift idea ever, just a few weeks after it was announced.

Tesla is now giving owners the opportunity to gift Full Self-Driving for one month to friends or family through a new gifting program that was suggested to the company last month.

The program will enable people to send a fellow Tesla owner one month of the company’s semi-autonomous driving software, helping them to experience the Full Self-Driving suite and potentially help Tesla gain them as a subscriber of the program, or even an outright purchase.

Tesla has officially launched the program on its Shop. Sending one month of Full Self-Driving costs $112:

“Gift one month of Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which allows the vehicle to drive itself almost anywhere with minimal intervention. All sales are final. Can only be purchased and redeemed in the U.S. This gift card is valued at $112.00 and is intended to cover the price of one month of FSD (Supervised), including up to 13% sales tax. It is not guaranteed to cover the full monthly price if pricing or tax rates change. This gift card can be stored in Tesla Wallet and redeemed toward FSD (Supervised) or any other Tesla product or service that accepts gift card payments.”

Tesla has done a great job of expanding Full Self-Driving access over the past few years, especially by offering things like the Subscription program, free trials through referrals, and now this gift card program.

Gifting Full Self-Driving is another iteration of Tesla’s “butts in seats” strategy, which is its belief that it can flip consumers to its vehicles and products by simply letting people experience them.

There is also a reason behind pushing Full Self-Driving so hard, and it has to do with CEO Elon Musk’s compensation package. One tranche requires Musk to achieve a certain number of active paid Full Self-Driving subscriptions.

More people who try the suite are likely to pay for it over the long term.

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Tesla expands Robotaxi app access once again, this time on a global scale

Tesla said recently it plans to launch Robotaxi in Miami, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Dallas.

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Credit: Grok

Tesla has expanded Robotaxi app access once again, but this time, it’s on a much broader scale as the company is offering the opportunity for those outside of North America to download the app.

Tesla Robotaxi is the company’s early-stage ride-hailing platform that is active in Texas, California, and Arizona, with more expansion within the United States planned for the near future.

Tesla said recently it plans to launch Robotaxi in Miami, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Dallas.

The platform has massive potential, and Tesla is leaning on it to be a major contributor to even more disruption in the passenger transportation industry. So far, it has driven over 550,000 miles in total, with the vast majority of this coming from the Bay Area and Austin.

First Look at Tesla’s Robotaxi App: features, design, and more

However, Tesla is focusing primarily on rapid expansion, but most of this is reliant on the company’s ability to gain regulatory permission to operate the platform in various regions. The expansion plans go well outside of the U.S., as the company expanded the ability to download the app to more regions this past weekend.

So far, these are the areas it is available to download in:

  • Japan
  • Thailand
  • Hong Kong
  • South Korea
  • Australia
  • Taiwan
  • Macau
  • New Zealand
  • Mexico
  • U.S.
  • Canada

Right now, while Tesla is focusing primarily on expansion, it is also working on other goals that have to do with making it more widely available to customers who want to grab a ride from a driverless vehicle.

One of the biggest goals it has is to eliminate safety monitors from its vehicles, which it currently utilizes in Austin in the passenger’s seat and in the driver’s seat in the Bay Area.

A few weeks ago, Tesla started implementing a new in-cabin data-sharing system, which will help support teams assist riders without anyone in the front of the car.

Tesla takes a step towards removal of Robotaxi service’s safety drivers

As Robotaxi expands into more regions, Tesla stands to gain tremendously through the deployment of the Full Self-Driving suite for personal cars, as well as driverless Robotaxis for those who are just hailing rides.

Things have gone well for Tesla in the early stages of the Robotaxi program, but expansion will truly be the test of how things operate going forward. Navigating local traffic laws and gaining approval from a regulatory standpoint will be the biggest hurdle to jump.

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