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EG Group taps Tesla to aid European EV charger rollout

Image Credit: electricfelix/YouTube

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In a move to bolster Europe’s electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, British petrol station operator EG Group has announced plans to acquire Tesla’s ultra-fast charging units. The announcement was made on Monday.  

EG Group noted that it was looking to expand its electric vehicle charging network from its current 600+ units to over 20,000. Considering these ambitious goals, the decision to tap Telsa’s ultra-fast chargers makes perfect sense. Tesla’s Superchargers, after all, are among the most reliable and expansive networks in the market today. 

As noted in a report from The Business Desk, the ultra-fast Tesla chargers would be operating on an open network basis. This suggests that all EV drivers would be able to access rapid chargers regardless of the type of electric car they drive. The chargers will also support the Plug and Charge protocol, which makes payments very simple. 

Zuber Issa, founder and co-CEO of EG Group, stated that the Tesla deal is a big milestone for the company’s efforts to provide a reliable charging infrastructure to consumers. 

“Securing this best-in-class equipment from Tesla marks another milestone for evpoint and is hugely exciting for us. It is the first deal of its kind entered into by Tesla with a third-party charge point operator in Europe and will transform how our customers charge their vehicles and how they interact with EG. 

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“Since installing our first EV charger back in 2012, we have continued to invest in the technology. This deal will accelerate the delivery of vital charging infrastructure for motorists to help power the transition to net zero,” Issa said. 

Imraan Patel, chief strategy and business officer of EG Group, noted that the Tesla deal is a key part of the company’s efforts to reach its sustainability goals.

“Our aim is to deliver a three-pronged strategy to help us reach our energy transition goals. These include EV charging, supporting alternative forms of vehicular fuel, and broader carbon reduction, all of which are central to our strategy of helping the world transition to a lower carbon future.

“We have made significant progress to date on EV charging, with more than 600 chargers across 189 sites already deployed and a pipeline prepared with an ambition for evpoint to roll out more than 20,000 chargers across c.3,600 of our own sites over time with opportunities across third party locations also being pursued,” Patel said.

Rebecca Tinucci, Tesla’s senior director of Charging Infrastructure, was also optimistic about the deal. 

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“The rapid installation of reliable, easy-to-use EV charging infrastructure is the right step towards a sustainable future and a key area of focus for us at Tesla. For this reason, we’re excited to make our fast-charging hardware available for purchase to EG Group, and other leaders in the space,” Tinucci said. 

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Tesla lands approval for Robotaxi operation in third U.S. state

On Tuesday, Tesla officially received regulatory approval from the State of Arizona, making it the third state for the company to receive approval in.

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Tesla has officially landed approval to operate its Robotaxi ride-hailing service in its third U.S. state, as it has landed a regulatory green light from the State of Arizona’s Department of Transportation.

Tesla has been working to expand to new U.S. states after launching in Texas and California earlier this year. Recently, it said it was hoping to land in Nevada, Arizona, and Florida, expanding to five new cities in those three states.

On Tuesday, Tesla officially received regulatory approval from the State of Arizona, making it the third state for the company to receive approval in:

Tesla has also been working on approvals in Nevada and Florida, and it has also had Robotaxi test mules spotted in Pennsylvania.

The interesting thing about the Arizona approval is the fact that Tesla has not received an approval for any specific city; it appears that it can operate statewide. However, early on, Tesla will likely confine its operation to just one or two cities to keep things safe and controlled.

Over the past few months, Robotaxi mules have been spotted in portions of Phoenix and surrounding cities, such as Scottsdale, as the company has been attempting to cross off all the regulatory Ts that it is confronted with as it attempts to expand the ride-hailing service.

It appears the company will be operating it similarly to how it does in Texas, which differs from its California program. In Austin, there is no Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat, unless the route requires freeway travel. In California, there is always a Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat. However, this is unconfirmed.

Earlier today, Tesla enabled its Robotaxi app to be utilized for ride-hailing for anyone using the iOS platform.

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Tesla ride-hailing Safety Monitor dozes off during Bay Area ride

We won’t try to blame the camera person for the incident, because it clearly is not their fault. But it seems somewhat interesting that they did not try to wake the driver up and potentially contact Tesla immediately to alert them of the situation.

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Credit: u/ohmichael on Reddit

A Tesla Robotaxi Safety Monitor appeared to doze off during a ride in the California Bay Area, almost ironically proving the need for autonomous vehicles.

The instance was captured on camera and posted to Reddit in the r/sanfrancisco subreddit by u/ohmichael. They wrote that they have used Tesla’s ride-hailing service in the Bay Area in the past and had pleasant experiences.

However, this one was slightly different. They wrote:

“I took a Tesla Robotaxi in SF just over a week ago. I have used the service a few times before and it has always been great. I actually felt safer than in a regular rideshare.

This time was different. The safety driver literally fell asleep at least three times during the ride. Each time the car’s pay attention safety alert went off and the beeping is what woke him back up.

I reported it through the app to the Robotaxi support team and told them I had videos, but I never got a response.

I held off on posting anything because I wanted to give Tesla a chance to respond privately. It has been more than a week now and this feels like a serious issue for other riders too.

Has anyone else seen this happen?”

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My Tesla Robotaxi “safety” driver fell asleep
byu/ohmichael insanfrancisco

The driver eventually woke up after prompts from the vehicle, but it is pretty alarming to see someone like this while they’re ultimately responsible for what happens with the ride.

We won’t try to blame the camera person for the incident, because it clearly is not their fault. But it seems somewhat interesting that they did not try to wake the driver up and potentially contact Tesla immediately to alert them of the situation.

They should have probably left the vehicle immediately.

Tesla’s ride-hailing service in the Bay Area differs from the one that is currently active in Austin, Texas, due to local regulations. In Austin, there is no Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat unless the route requires the highway.

Tesla plans to remove the Safety Monitors in Austin by the end of the year.

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Tesla opens Robotaxi access to everyone — but there’s one catch

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla has officially opened Robotaxi access to everyone and everyone, but there is one catch: you have to have an iPhone.

Tesla’s Robotaxi service in Austin and its ride-hailing service in the Bay Area were both officially launched to the public today, giving anyone using the iOS platform the ability to simply download the app and utilize it for a ride in either of those locations.

It has been in operation for several months: it launched in Austin in late June and in the Bay Area about a month later. In Austin, there is nobody in the driver’s seat unless the route takes you on the freeway.

In the Bay Area, there is someone in the driver’s seat at all times.

The platform was initially launched to those who were specifically invited to Austin to try it out.

Tesla confirms Robotaxi is heading to five new cities in the U.S.

Slowly, Tesla launched the platform to more people, hoping to expand the number of rides and get more valuable data on its performance in both regions to help local regulatory agencies relax some of the constraints that were placed on it.

Additionally, Tesla had its own in-house restrictions, like the presence of Safety Monitors in the vehicles. However, CEO Elon Musk has maintained that these monitors were present for safety reasons specifically, but revealed the plan was to remove them by the end of the year.

Now, Tesla is opening up Robotaxi to anyone who wants to try it, as many people reported today that they were able to access the app and immediately fetch a ride if they were in the area.

We also confirmed it ourselves, as it was shown that we could grab a ride in the Bay Area if we wanted to:

The launch of a more public Robotaxi network that allows anyone to access it seems to be a serious move of confidence by Tesla, as it is no longer confining the service to influencers who are handpicked by the company.

In the coming weeks, we expect Tesla to then rid these vehicles of the Safety Monitors as Musk predicted. If it can come through on that by the end of the year, the six-month period where Tesla went from launching Robotaxi to enabling driverless rides is incredibly impressive.

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