Tesla’s plan to establish a dedicated electric vehicle (EV) semi-truck charging corridor has hit another major roadblock. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced $636 million in funding for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, distributing awards to 49 applicants.
However, for the second time, Tesla’s $100 million funding request was not among the approved projects.
The rejected project, dubbed “Transport Electrification Supporting Semis Operating in Arizona, California, and Texas” (TESSERACT), aimed to create a nine-station charging corridor spanning 1,800 miles from Fremont, California, to Laredo, Texas.
Each station was designed to include eight 750kW chargers tailored for the Tesla Semi and four additional chargers accessible to other EV trucks—a federal funding requirement.
Tesla partnered with the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) in California, contributing $24 million of its own funds toward the effort.
Tesla’s initial funding request under the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) program was submitted in 2023. The CFI program, part of the bipartisan infrastructure law signed in 2021, has allocated $2.5 billion to develop EV charging networks nationwide. The first round of funding in 2024 distributed $623 million across 47 projects, excluding Tesla.
And again, Tesla was left out of the second round announced last Friday, which awarded $636 million. (via TechCrunch)
Despite the snubs, Tesla remains committed to advancing the TESSERACT project. Rohan Patel, Tesla’s former policy vice president, expressed optimism in 2024, noting that some proposed sites were viable “even without funding.”
