Tesla says new Superchargers let drivers fill up faster, 75 miles of charge in 5 minutes
Tesla (TSLA) has debuted its V3 Superchargers, saying they could enable drivers to add up to 75 miles of charge to a long-range Model 3 in just five minutes.
Elon Musk 's company also said the same car could add 1,000 miles worth of charge in an hour under ideal conditions.
The new Superchargers aren't available to most Tesla drivers now, just participants in the company's" early access program" who can drive to company's public beta site near its factory in Fremont, California.
Tesla plans to roll out the V3 Superchargers in North America in the second quarter of 2019, and to sites in Europe and China in the fourth quarter.
The V3 was unveiled at the Fremont plant Wednesday night. Tesla also boasted about the reach of its already-installed charging infrastructure, saying in a blog post:
"Tesla has more than 12,000 Superchargers across North America, Europe, and Asia and our network continues to grow daily: more than 99% of the U.S. population is covered by the network, and we anticipate similar coverage in Europe by the end of 2019. Recently, we passed 90% population coverage in China and are growing that number quickly."
The V3 Superchargers, which feature liquid-cooled cables, will allow drivers to fill up their virtual tanks, faster. But they will also allow Tesla to move more electric vehicles through their 12,000 charging sites every day — with most drivers paying each time they recharge.
In September, Tesla ended a generous "unlimited charging" promotion that it previously offered as a referral bonus to get new customers into its premium Model S and Model X electric vehicles.
WATCH: A visit to the only Tesla Supercharger station with a lounge
