News
Tesla wind and solar-powered Superchargers come to the UK with Fastned partnership
Tesla and fast-charging company Fastned have once again partnered up to bring sustainably-powered electric vehicle chargers to the United Kingdom. The next project will be at the Energy Superhub Oxford in the United Kingdom, where 14 fast chargers capable of peak charging rates of 300 kW will be available for electric vehicle drivers.
Fastned announced the partnership with Tesla on Friday, but there are several other entities that are teaming up to bring more EV chargers to the UK. Along with Tesla, Fastned is working with the Oxford City Council, Pivot Power, and Wenea to “build and operate one of its largest fast-charging stations at the Energy Superhub Oxford.” Along with the 14 fast chargers, Tesla will install 12 Superchargers on site, according to Fastned’s press release.
Initially, 10 EVs will be able to charge simultaneously at rates of up to 300 kW. To put this into perspective, Tesla’s most powerful Superchargers are the V3 chargers it rolled out a few years ago. These are capable of 250 kW peak charging rates, which offer up to 1,000 miles of range per hour of charging. Fastned says it can expand the station with four additional chargers in the future, and the station “will become part of the growing Fastned network in the United Kingdom.”
It will be Europe’s most powerful EV charging hub with up to 10 megawatts of power available. This will open the door for a future expansion, the company noted.
The Tesla partnership with Fastned is not the first time the two companies have worked together to expand electric vehicle charging options. In October 2020, Tesla, Fastned, and the Seed & Greet Bakery opened Germany’s largest fast-charging hub with 28 total charging stalls. 20 of them were Tesla V3 Superchargers, the other 8 Fastned’s 300 kW fast-chargers.
The two locations that Tesla and Fastned have worked together to develop have utilized sustainable energy for the projects. Like the previous project in Germany, Tesla and Fastned will utilize only energy from the sund and wind, “generated partly on-site by its trademark solar canopy.”
Credit: Fastned
Fastned continues to expand EV charging options for UK drivers who have chosen electric powertains. According to their press release, there are still limited charging options in the region despite a growing demand for electric cars. In 2019, the EV market share in the region was only 1.7%, but this exploded to 6.6% last year.
“Our mission is to accelerate the transition towards electric mobility by giving freedom to electric drivers. EV drivers experience this freedom when they know that fast and convenient charging is omnipresent,” Fastned CEO Michiel Langezaal said. “Energy Superhub Oxford is a great initiative by the City Council that supports us in working towards that goal. We need hundreds more and will therefore continue to engage with landowners and partners such as Pivot Power across the UK. Big stations are the only way to provide charging capacity to the exponentially growing number of EVs coming to our roads.”
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below, or be sure to email me at joey@teslarati.com or on Twitter @KlenderJoey.
News
Tesla owners in Sweden get direct attention from pro-union groups
As part of their efforts, the group has started distributing informational leaflets to Tesla vehicles across Stockholm, urging them to pressure the electric vehicle maker to sign a collective agreement.
Amid Tesla Sweden’s ongoing conflict with trade union IF Metall, a group of pro-union supporters has begun directing their attention to actual Tesla owners.
As part of their efforts, the group has started distributing informational leaflets to Tesla vehicles across Stockholm, urging them to pressure the electric vehicle maker to sign a collective agreement.
Leaflets on parked Tesla vehicles
As noted in a Dagens Arbete (DA) report, participants of the protest place yellow information slips on parked Tesla vehicles across parts of Stockholm. The slips resemble parking notices that contain information related to the unions’ ongoing strike against Tesla Sweden.
Participants involved in the activity said the leaflets were intended to inform consumers rather than target individual owners. The action was carried out in public areas, with leaflets placed on windshields of parked vehicles. When vehicle owners are present, organizers said they provide verbal explanations of the labor dispute.
Tesla has not commented publicly about the matter as of writing.
Recurring demonstrations against Tesla
The leaflet distribution effort follows weekly demonstrations that have taken place outside Tesla’s workshop and office in Upplands Väsby, where protesters typically gather to express support for a collective agreement. Those demonstrations have included informational outreach to customers and workers and, at times, police presence, according to prior reporting.
In a comment, one of the protesters stated that even Tesla owners must be concerned about the unions’ conflict with the electric vehicle maker. “You may think it doesn’t concern you, as you only drive a car. But it does, as we all have a responsibility for the rules in Sweden.
“We are not looking to hunt down individual Tesla owners. Rather, this is a way to spread opinion and increase pressure on Tesla. It should have some impact if several Tesla owners come in and say that you should sign a collective agreement,” one of the protesters stated.
Tesla has landed a massive deal to expand its charging infrastructure for heavy-duty electric trucks — and not just theirs, but all manufacturers.
Tesla entered an agreement with Pilot Travel Centers, the largest operator of travel centers in the United States. Tesla’s Semi Chargers, which are used to charge Class 8 electric trucks, will be responsible for providing energy to various vehicles from a variety of manufacturers.
The first sites are expected to open later this Summer, and will be built at select locations along I-5 and I-10, major routes for commercial vehicles and significant logistics companies. The chargers will be available in California, Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas.
Each station will have between four and eight chargers, delivering up to 1.2 megawatts of power at each stall.
The project is the latest in Tesla’s plans to expand Semi Charging availability. The effort is being put forth to create more opportunities for the development of sustainable logistics.
Senior Vice President of Alternative Fuels at Pilot, Shannon Sturgil, said:
“Helping to shape the future of energy is a strategic pillar in meeting the needs of our guests and the North American transportation industry. Heavy-duty charging is yet another extension of our exploration into alternative fuel offerings, and we’re happy to partner with a leader in the space that provides turnkey solutions and deploys them quickly.”
Tesla currently has 46 public Semi Charger sites in progress or planned across the United States, mostly positioned along major trucking routes and industrial areas. Perhaps the biggest bottleneck with owning an EV early on was charging availability, and that is no different with electric Class 8 trucks. They simply need an area to charge.
Tesla is spearheading the effort to expand Semicharging availability, and the latest partnership with Pilot shows the company has allies in the program.
The company plans to build 50,000 units of the Tesla Semi in the coming years, and with early adopters like PepsiCo, DHL, and others already contributing millions of miles of data, fleets are going to need reliable public charging.
🚨 Pilot working with Tesla to install and expand Semi Chargers is a perfect example of two industry leaders working together for the greater good.
As more commerce companies expand into EVs, Semi Charger will be more commonly available for electrified fleets, making efforts… pic.twitter.com/VPLIYyq15b
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) January 27, 2026
Tesla is partnering with other companies for the development of the Semi program, most notably, a conglomeration with Uber was announced last year.
Tesla lands new partnership with Uber as Semi takes center stage
The ride-sharing platform plans to launch the Dedicated EV Fleet Accelerator Program, which it calls a “first-of-its-kind buyer’s program designed to make electric freight more affordable and accessible by addressing key adoption barriers.”
The Semi is one of several projects that will take Tesla into a completely different realm. Along with Optimus and its growing Energy division, the Semi will expand Tesla to new heights, and its prioritization of charging infrastructure.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s Boring Company opens Vegas Loop’s newest station
The Fontainebleau is the latest resort on the Las Vegas Strip to embrace the tunneling startup’s underground transportation system.
Elon Musk’s tunneling startup, The Boring Company, has welcomed its newest Vegas Loop station at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
The Fontainebleau is the latest resort on the Las Vegas Strip to embrace the tunneling startup’s underground transportation system.
Fontainebleau Loop station
The new Vegas Loop station is located on level V-1 of the Fontainebleau’s south valet area, as noted in a report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. According to the resort, guests will be able to travel free of charge to the stations serving the Las Vegas Convention Center, as well as to Loop stations in Encore and Westgate.
The Fontainebleau station connects to the Riviera Station, which is located in the northwest parking lot of the convention center’s West Hall. From there, passengers will be able to access the greater Vegas Loop.
Vegas Loop expansion
In December, The Boring Company began offering Vegas Loop rides to and from Harry Reid International Airport. Those trips include a limited above-ground segment, following approval from the Nevada Transportation Authority to allow surface street travel tied to Loop operations.
Under the approval, airport rides are limited to no more than four miles of surface street travel, and each trip must include a tunnel segment. The Vegas Loop currently includes more than 10 miles of tunnels. From this number, about four miles of tunnels are operational.
The Boring Company President Steve Davis previously told the Review-Journal that the University Center Loop segment, which is currently under construction, is expected to open in the first quarter of 2026. That extension would allow Loop vehicles to travel beneath Paradise Road between the convention center and the airport, with a planned station located just north of Tropicana Avenue.
Tesla owners in Sweden get direct attention from pro-union groups
Tesla lands massive deal to expand charging for heavy-duty electric trucks
