Tesla to Build High-Voltage Charging Network in Germany

Tesla Motors Inc. says by the end of next year it will install 40-50 of its high-power Supercharger stations across Germany to support the sale of its Model S electric sedan there.

The 135-kW Supercharger system can deliver enough power in 20 minutes to give the Model S about 150 miles of range, according to the company.

Sales of the Model S, which costs $100,600 in Europe, lag other EVs in Germany. But Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of the Palo Alto, Calif.-based carmaker, predicts the recharging network will boost demand.

Musk says the high-power charging stations will first be installed along the corridors between Cologne and Frankfurt, Munich and Stuttgart and Munich and Zurich, Switzerland. When completed, the Supercharger network should cover the country with stations every 125 miles.

Musk didn't say how it will cost to build the network. But company figures for the Supercharger network it is building in the U.S. suggest each installation costs between $200,000 and $300,000.

Model S EVs sold in Germany will be upgraded to enable them to drive for reasonable periods at sustained speeds as high as 130 mph. The car currently discharges quickly at speeds in excess of 60 mph. Musk has not explained how the cars will be changed to solve that problem.