Tesla’s 62-Stall Supercharger Project In Santa Monica Is Given The Green Light

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The Santa Monica City Council has given Tesla’s 62-stall Supercharger project the green light to move forward with construction, The Santa Monica Daily Press reports. Construction was postponed after a previously approved Emergency Interim Zoning Ordinance (IZO) banned all nonresidential developments in Santa Monica. The unanimous vote last week by city council members amended and extended the ordinance to allow Tesla to move forward with the construction.

Noelani Derrickson, EV Charging Policy at Tesla, shared her gratitude for the city council’s move. She pointed out that Tesla has been a member of the community since 2012 when it opened a store in the area, and that the company wants to remain an integral part of the Westside.

“We appreciate the council’s thoughtful approach to addressing such important issues as housing and housing affordability in Santa Monica,” she said. “In total, we have 29 Tesla employees who work in Santa Monica today and plan to double that in short order when our new service center opens in July. Additionally, we’ve been collaborating for over a year now with the city on a Tesla electric vehicle charging station in Santa Monica’s Mid-City neighborhood.”

The new Supercharger will be a great support for Tesla owners living in the area but unable to charge at home. Many multi-unit dwellings don’t allow for a home charger, so Superchargers are a great solution to this. Actually, when I take delivery of my Cybertruck, I’ll be charging at the nearby Supercharge as well for the same reason. Superchargers are a great solution to lack of home charging availability.

Upon thanking the city leaders, Councilmember Kevin McKeown asked Derrickson if Tesla would consider occupying mixed-use facilities rather than a surface parking lot that replicates wasteful land use of old fossil-fuel filling stations. “You have flagged several good points over the past couple months and we’re interested in working with you and others in Santa Monica to figure out what types of solutions might be better, moving forward, for our EV charging stations,” Derrickson replied.