News
VW prepares to spend first $300M of $2B on EV charging infrastructure project
Volkswagen will designate $300 million by 2019 to establish a network of more than 450 electric vehicle charging stations in 11 U.S. major metropolitan areas and along high traffic highways. The announcement came this week through Volkswagen’s new wholly owned subsidiary called Electrify America, which will support increased use of zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs) in the U.S.
The initiative is part of the Federal Trade Commission agreement with Volkswagen to compensate for “Dieselgate,” the systematic and willful deceit of U.S. emissions regulators through special software in Volkswagen’s diesel vehicles. Electrify America is a product of Volkswagen’s 2016 court settlement with the California Air Resources Board and the U.S. EPA. We recently reported that the VW emissions scandal has given life to a new generation of electric vehicle start ups like Rivian Automotive. The Illinois-based electric car company has leased land to a logistics company that’s using the space as a temporary holding area for the Dieselgate VWs. Teslarati commissioned a videographer to capture drone shots showing roughly 14,000 affected cars waiting to be disposed of as a result of the scandal.
Thousands of VW Diesels being Stored at Rivian Factory, Photo: Jim Finch for Teslarati
Electrify America will support and promote greater availability of customer-friendly infrastructure in areas with high demand for ZEVs. With hundreds of stations with non-proprietary chargers across the U.S., Electrify America‘s first National ZEV investment cycle will make it easier and faster for millions of Americans to charge their electric vehicles while also “encouraging more drivers to explore and embrace electric driving.”
Electrify America‘s first stage plans
Electrify America has released information through a press release and website that it will establish a network of 2,500+ non-proprietary electric vehicle chargers at more than 450 station sites.
- Approximately 240 charging station sites will be installed or under development outside of California by the end of the first cycle.
- These sites will be located along high-traffic corridors between metropolitan areas, including multiple cross country routes.
- They will include between four and ten 150 kW and 320 kW individual DC fast chargers at each location.
- Charging sites will be present in 39 U.S. states.
- They will be built along corridors with a high correlation with the EV Charging Corridors recently designated by the Federal government.
- Sites will be, on average, about 66 miles apart, with no more than 120 miles between stations.
Comparisons to Tesla’s Supercharger network
The extent and speed of Electrify America‘s planned installation schedule roughly parallels the early years of Tesla’s DC Supercharger network in the U.S., which began in late 2012.
The new Electrify America chargers will be non-proprietary. Tesla vehicles use a proprietary plug design, although the company sells compatible adapters. Tesla’s DC CHAdeMO adapter is limited to 50 kilowatts of power.
With proposed charging power set at 320 kilowatts, the Electrify America network would be the first high power contender, at scale, to the Tesla Supercharger network. Tesla is the only EV manufacturer right now capable of charging vehicles at up to 120 kW, which equates to about 170 miles of range in as little as 30 minutes. Tesla has built a fast DC Supercharger network that supports maximum theoretical charging rates of up to 145 kilowatts, according to the company’s website.
The Electrify America network will provide 2500+ chargers at more than 450 stations. At this writing, Tesla Superchargers are at over 2,200 charging stalls at 350 locations across the U.S.
The proximity of Electrify America‘s chargers along frequently traveled corridors means that many shorter range ZEVs available today will be able to use this network. Most Tesla sites are located along highways away from large metropolitan areas and are primarily intended for use by travelers on long-distance trips.
It seems likely that the Electrify America chargers will be located in existing public infrastructure like rest stops. Tesla has a growing network of Destination Charging Partners with dedicated Tesla Wall Connectors at their properties. The company’s website describes how these are primarily destinations where a Tesla owner would stay for several hours at a time, such as ski resorts, restaurants, hotels and others. They are safe, well-lit, and infuse a feeling of security when Tesla owners need to recharge their vehicles.
Electrify America stations will be designed to support many existing and anticipated charging technology needs, including evolving industry standards like the Combined Charging Standard (CCS) and the Open Charge Point Protocol. Last year, Tesla joined the European CharIN consortium that is leading the development of CCS.
Tesla reminds its owners that there are many factors that affect the actual charge rate, including ambient temperature, utility grid restrictions, and charging traffic. Tesla constantly incorporates owner feedback into its maintenance and research and development efforts, offering a distinct consumer experience for Tesla owners who use its Superchargers.
Lifestyle
California hits Tesla Cybercab and Robotaxi driverless cars with new law
California just gave police power to ticket driverless cars, including Tesla’s Cybercab fleet.
California DMV formally adopted new rules on April 29, 2026 that allow law enforcement to issue “notices of noncompliance”, or in other words, ticket autonomous vehicle companies when their cars commit moving violations. The rules take effect July 1, 2026, officially closes a regulatory gap that previously let driverless cars operate on public roads with nearly no traffic enforcement consequences.
Until now, state traffic law only applied to human “drivers,” which meant that when no person was behind the wheel, police had no mechanism to issue a ticket. Officers were limited to citing driverless vehicles for parking violations only. A well-known example came in September 2025, when a San Bruno officer watched a Waymo robotaxi execute an illegal U-turn and could do nothing but notify the company.
Under the new framework, when an officer observes a violation, the autonomous vehicle company is effectively treated as the driver. Companies must report each incident to the DMV within 72 hours, or 24 hours if a collision is involved. Repeated violations can result in fleet size restrictions, operational suspensions, or full permit revocation. Local officials also gained new authority to geofence driverless vehicles out of active emergency zones within two minutes and require a live emergency response line answered within 30 seconds.
Tesla Cybercab ramps Robotaxi public street testing as vehicle enters mass production queue
California’s new enforcement rules arrive at a pivotal moment for Tesla. The company is ramping Cybercab production at Giga Texas toward hundreds of units per week, targeting at least 2 million units annually at full capacity, while simultaneously pushing to expand its Robotaxi service to dozens of U.S. cities by end of 2026. Unsupervised FSD for consumer vehicles is currently targeted for Q4 2026, and when it arrives, Tesla’s fleet may not have a human to absorb legal accountability, under the July 1 rules.
Tesla has confirmed plans to expand its Robotaxi service to seven new cities in the first half of 2026, including Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Las Vegas, with the service already running without safety drivers in Austin. Musk has said he expects robotaxis to cover between a quarter and half of the United States by end of year.
News
Tesla Model X shocks everyone by crushing every other used car in America
The Model X is one of Tesla’s flagship models, the other being the Model S. Earlier this year, Tesla confirmed it would discontinue production of both the Model S and Model X to make way for Optimus robot production at the Fremont Factory in Northern California.
The Tesla Model X was the fastest-selling used vehicle in the United States in the first quarter of the year, crushing every other used car in America.
iSeeCars data for the first quarter shows that the Model X was the fastest-selling used car, lasting just 25.6 days on the market on average, two days better than that of the second-place Lexus RX 350h. The Cybertruck, Model Y, and Model S, in seventh, ninth, and thirteenth place, respectively, also made the list.
The Model X is one of Tesla’s flagship models, the other being the Model S. Earlier this year, Tesla confirmed it would discontinue production of both the Model S and Model X to make way for Optimus robot production at the Fremont Factory in Northern California.
Tesla brings closure to flagship ‘sentimental’ models, Musk confirms
Bringing closure to these two vehicles signaled the end of the road for the cars that have effectively built Tesla’s reputation for luxury and high-end passenger vehicles.
Relying on the sales of its mass market Model Y and Model 3, as well as leaning on the success of future products like the Cybercab, is the angle Tesla has chosen to take.
Teslas are also performing extremely well as a whole on the resale market. iSeeCars data shows that, “while the average price of a 1- to 5-year-old non-Tesla EV fell 10.3% in Q1 2026 year-over-year, the average price of a used Tesla was essentially flat at 0.1% lower across the same period. Traditional gas car prices dropped 2.8% during this same period.”
Additionally, market share for gas cars has dropped nearly 3 percent since the same quarter last year. Tesla has remained level, while the non-Tesla EV market share has increased 30 percent, mostly due to more models available.
Nevertheless, those non-Tesla EVs have seen their value drop by over 10 percent, while Tesla’s values have remained level.
Executive Analyst Karl Brauer said:
“Used electric vehicles without a Tesla badge have lost more than 10% of their value in the past year. This compares to stable values for Teslas and hybrids, and a modest 2.8% drop for traditional gasoline vehicles.”
Teslas, as well as non-luxury hybrids, are displaying the strongest resistance in the face of faltering demand, the publication says. But the more impressive performance is that of the Model X alone.
Tesla’s decision to stop production of the Model X may have played some part in the vehicle’s pristine performance in Q1. With the car already placed at a premium price point, used models are already more appealing to consumers. Perhaps second-hand versions were more than enough for those who wanted a Model X, and only a Model X.
Cybertruck
Tesla Cybertruck’s head-scratching trim sold terribly, recall documents reveal
The head-scratching offering was only available for a few months, and evidently, it did not sell very well, which we all suspected. New recall documents on the vehicle from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) now reveal just how poorly it sold.
After Tesla decided to build a Rear-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck trim back in 2025, which was void of many features and only featured a small discount.
The head-scratching offering was only available for a few months, and evidently, it did not sell very well, which we all suspected. New recall documents on the vehicle from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) now reveal just how poorly it sold.
The recall deals with a potentially separating wheel stud and potentially impacts 173 Cybertruck units with the 18-inch steel wheels. The Cybertruck RWD was the only trim level to feature these, and the 173 potentially impacted units represent a portion of the population of pickups. Therefore, it’s not the entire number of RWD Cybertruck sold, but it could show how little interest it gathered.
The NHTSA document states:
“On affected vehicles, higher severity road perturbations and cornering may strain the stud hole in the wheel rotor, causing cracks to form. If cracking propagates with continued use and strain, the wheel stud could eventually separate from the wheel hub.”
Only 5 percent are expected to be impacted, meaning less than 10 units will have the issue if the NHTSA and Tesla estimates are correct. Nevertheless, the true story here is how terribly the RWD Cybertruck sold.
Tesla ended production and stopped offering the RWD Cybertruck to customers last September. For just $10,000 less than the All-Wheel-Drive trim, Tesla offered the RWD Cybertruck with just one motor, textile seats instead of leather, only 7 speakers instead of 15, no Rear Touchscreen, no Powered Tonneau Cover for the truck bed, and no 120v/240v outlets.
For just $10,000 more, at $79,990, owners could have received all of those premium features, as well as a more capable All-Wheel-Drive powertrain that featured Adaptive Air Suspension. The discount simply was not worth the sacrifices.
Orders were few and far between, and sources told us that when it was offered, sales were extremely tempered because customers could not see the value in this trim level.
Even Tesla’s most loyal supporters thought the offering was kind of a joke, and the $10,000 extra was simply worth it.
California hits Tesla Cybercab and Robotaxi driverless cars with new law
Tesla Model X shocks everyone by crushing every other used car in America
