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Electrify America edges out Tesla Superchargers in 2021 EV Charging Infrastructure Benchmark

Credit: Electrify America/Twitter and Tesla Charging/Twitter

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4 years ago

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Last year, global engineering firm umlaut, which performs benchmarks in various industries, adapted its testing prowess to the United States’ electric vehicle market to determine which public charging network was the best in the country. The effort, which was dubbed as the inaugural 2020 USA EV Charging Infrastructure Benchmark, determined that Electrify America was by far the best public charging network in the United States. 

But while the inaugural USA EV Charging Infrastructure Benchmark was notable, there was a popular network that was not included in umlaut’s first analysis: the ubiquitous Tesla Supercharger Network, which is very prevalent but not open to the public like Electrify America. This was why in this year’s USA EV Charging Infrastructure Benchmark, the global engineering firm made it a point to include the Supercharger Network in its study, even if the system had to be scored quite differently due to it being specifically designed for Tesla’s electric cars. 

Credit: umlaut

For the 2021 USA EV Charging Infrastructure Benchmark, umlaut performed a comparative study of the country’s fast-charging networks and rated each one using several criteria, specifically: interoperability, pricing, transparency, functionality, and availability, among others. A Tesla Model 3 and a Ford Mustang Mach-E were selected as the vehicles that would used for the study. The EV pair covered 2,100 miles over six days to test charging stations across Michigan, Ohio, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. 

To rank the different charging networks, umlaut opted to split its analysis into two areas: the “Digital Platform,” which includes a service’s website and mobile app, and the “Charging Location,” which includes ease of payment, amenities, and the technical performance of the system itself. The results, interestingly enough, revealed that Electrify America was still the overall winner with 702 points due to its balanced scores in the “Digital Platform” and “Charging Location” categories. 

Credit: umlaut

Tesla’s Supercharger Network was a second with an overall score of 649. This was quite interesting as Superchargers completely dominated the “Charging Location” metric, earning a perfect score in “Technical Performance” and high scores in the “Access and Payment” subcategories, among others. However, the Supercharger Network lost points in the “Digital Platform” category since Tesla’s website and mobile app were not as useful as those of other networks. This was, of course, partly due to the fact that Tesla’s Supercharger sessions were already integrated into the company’s vehicles themselves. 

Despite the challenges presented by the Supercharger Network in this year’s 2021 USA EV Charging Infrastructure Benchmark, umlaut’s Christian Sussbauer noted that Tesla’s charging systems excel in numerous key areas.

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Credit: umlaut

“We had a lot of internal discussions about including Tesla Superchargers in this year’s Benchmark because we really want to create a testing system that will capture the right metrics and provide the most useful information to the EV industry. To be honest, if you asked me before we conducted the tests, I think I would have predicted that Tesla Superchargers would end up leading in total points because it’s well known that they do a great job in many aspects of fast charging. And actually, our test results show this clearly—Superchargers excel in many important areas. It’s actually a little boring to test Supercharger stations because you just plug them in, and they reliably work.”

“We were happy to find a very high level of simplicity and reliability with Electrify America this year as well. Using an EV with Plug & Charge enabled on Electrify America’s network was a very good user experience. All of the EV industry should strive to replicate that aspect of Superchargers and Electrify America/Plug & Charge. And in the end, Electrify America also has a very useful smartphone app and website that combined to put them over the top in terms of total points scored for the metrics we were measuring in 2021,” Sussbauer said. 

Watch a video about the 2021 USA EV Charging Infrastructure Benchmark below.

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

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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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Elon Musk

Tesla Full Self-Driving set to get an awesome new feature, Elon Musk says

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1 hour ago

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February 21, 2026

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Credit: Teslarati

Tesla Full Self-Driving is set to get an awesome new feature in the near future, CEO Elon Musk confirmed on X.

Full Self-Driving is the company’s semi-autonomous driving program, which is among the best available to the general public. It still relies on the driver to ultimately remain in control and pay attention, but it truly does make traveling less stressful and easier.

However, Tesla still continuously refines the software through Over-the-Air updates, which are meant to resolve shortcomings in the performance of the FSD suite. Generally, Tesla does a great job of this, but some updates are definitely regressions, at least with some of the features.

Tesla Cybertruck owner credits FSD for saving life after freeway medical emergency

Tesla and Musk are always trying to improve the suite’s performance by fixing features that are presently available, but they also try to add new things that would be beneficial to owners. One of those things, which is coming soon, is giving the driver the ability to prompt FSD with voice demands.

For example, asking the car to park close to the front door of your destination, or further away in an empty portion of the parking lot, would be an extremely beneficial feature. Adjusting navigation is possible through Grok integration, but it is not always effective.

Musk confirmed that voice prompts for FSD would be possible:

Tesla Full Self-Driving is a really great thing, but it definitely has its shortcomings. Navigation is among the biggest complaints that owners have, and it is easily my biggest frustration with using it. Some of the routes it chooses to take are truly mind-boggling.

Another thing it has had issues with is being situated in the correct lane at confusing intersections or even managing to properly navigate through local traffic signs. For example, in Pennsylvania, there are a lot of stop signs with “Except Right Turn” signs directly under.

This gives those turning right at a stop sign the opportunity to travel through it. FSD has had issues with this on several occasions.

Parking preferences would be highly beneficial and something that could be resolved with this voice prompt program. Grocery stores are full of carts not taken back by customers, and many people choose to park far away. Advising FSD of this preference would be a great advantage to owners.

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Cybertruck

Elon Musk clarifies Tesla Cybertruck ’10 day’ comment, fans respond

Some are arguing that the decision to confirm a price hike in ten days is sort of counterproductive, especially considering it is based on demand. Giving consumers a timeline of just ten days to make a big purchase like a pickup truck for $60,000, and basically stating the price will go up, will only push people to make a reservation.

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3 hours ago

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February 21, 2026

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Credit: Tesla

Elon Musk has clarified what he meant by his comment on X yesterday that seemed to indicate that Tesla would either do away with the new All-Wheel-Drive configuration of the Cybertruck or adjust the price.

The response was cryptic as nobody truly knew what Musk’s plans were for the newest Tesla Cybertruck trim level. We now have that answer, and fans of the company are responding in a polarizing fashion.

On Thursday night, Tesla launched the Cybertruck All-Wheel-Drive, priced competitively at $59,990. It was a vast improvement from the Rear-Wheel-Drive configuration Tesla launched last year at a similar price point, which was eventually cancelled just a few months later due to low demand.

Tesla launches new Cybertruck trim with more features than ever for a low price

However, Musk said early on Friday, “just for 10 days,” the truck would either be available or priced at $59,990. We can now confirm Tesla will adjust the price based on more recent comments from the CEO.

Musk said the price will fluctuate, but it “depends on how much demand we see at this price level.”

Some are defending the decision, stating that it is simply logical to see how the Cybertruck sells at this price and adjust accordingly.

Others, not so much.

Some are arguing that the decision to confirm a price hike in ten days is sort of counterproductive, especially considering it is based on demand. Giving consumers a timeline of just ten days to make a big purchase like a pickup truck for $60,000, and basically stating the price will go up, will only push people to make a reservation.

Demand will look strong because people want to lock in this price. The price will inevitably go up, and demand for the trim will likely fall a bit because of the increased cost.

Many are arguing Musk should have kept this detail internal, but transparency is a good policy to have. It is a polarizing move to confirm a price increase in just a week-and-a-half, but the community is obviously split on how to feel.

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Cybertruck

Tesla Cybertruck’s newest trim will undergo massive change in ten days, Musk says

It appears as if the new All-Wheel-Drive trim of Cybertruck won’t be around for too long, however. Elon Musk revealed this morning that it will be around “only for the next 10 days.”

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1 day ago

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February 20, 2026

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(Credit: Tesla)

Tesla’s new Cybertruck trim has already gotten the axe from CEO Elon Musk, who said the All-Wheel-Drive configuration of the all-electric pickup will only be available “for the next ten days.”

Musk could mean the price, which is $59,990, or the availability of the trim altogether.

Last night, Tesla launched the All-Wheel-Drive configuration of the Cybertruck, a pickup that comes in at less than $60,000 and features a competitive range and features that are not far off from the offerings of the premium trim.

Tesla launches new Cybertruck trim with more features than ever for a low price

It was a nice surprise from Tesla, considering that last year, it offered a Rear-Wheel-Drive trim of the Cybertruck that only lasted a few months. It had extremely underwhelming demand because it was only $10,000 cheaper than the next trim level up, and it was missing a significant number of premium features.

Simply put, it was not worth the money. Tesla killed the RWD Cybertruck just a few months after offering it.

With the news that Tesla was offering this All-Wheel-Drive configuration of the Cybertruck, many fans and consumers were encouraged. The Cybertruck has been an underwhelming seller, and this seemed to be a lot of truck for the price when looking at its features:

  • Dual Motor AWD w/ est. 325 mi of range
  • Powered tonneau cover
  • Bed outlets (2x 120V + 1x 240V) & Powershare capability
  • Coil springs w/ adaptive damping
  • Heated first-row seats w/ textile material that is easy to clean
  • Steer-by-wire & Four Wheel Steering
  • 6’ x 4’ composite bed
  • Towing capacity of up to 7,500 lbs
  • Powered frunk

It appears as if this trim of Cybertruck won’t be around for too long, however. Musk revealed this morning that it will be around “only for the next 10 days.”

Musk could mean the price of the truck and not necessarily the ability to order it. However, most are taking it as a cancellation.

If it is, in fact, a short-term availability decision, it is baffling, especially as Tesla fans and analysts claim that metrics like quarterly deliveries are no longer important. This seems like a way to boost sales short-term, and if so many people are encouraged about this offering, why would it be kept around for such a short period of time?

Some are even considering the potential that Tesla axes the Cybertruck program as a whole. Although Musk said during the recent Q4 Earnings Call that Cybertruck would still be produced, the end of the Model S and Model X programs indicates Tesla might be prepared to do away with any low-volume vehicles that do not contribute to the company’s future visions of autonomy.

The decision to axe the car just ten days after making it available seems like a true head-scratcher.

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