BIG SPRING, Texas — Tesla has started construction on a charging station in Big Spring that is expected to be finished at some point in November.
A charging station with fifteen superchargers will be located near Interstate 20 in the Porter’s Grocery store parking lot next to the College Park Shopping Center. The funding behind the project is from Tesla, not taxpayers.
Tesla is one of the more prominent electric vehicle manufacturers, with an established network of charging stations. However, the company is still looking to expand, and West Texas appears to be on its radar.
Tesla targeted a spot in Big Spring a few months ago and worked with the city to eventually begin construction on the city’s first public EV charging station.
“Now people in Big Spring or coming through Big Spring actually is probably the most important thing,” said Executive Director of Big Spring Economic Development Corporation Mark Willis. “You have more and more of the cars coming through and give them an opportunity to stop in Big Spring and charge up, hopefully spend some money here.”
This may only be the beginning of what might be more to come in the future.
“Maybe in a later date, we’ll get a couple more stations on the west side of town, but it’s the first step,” said Willis. “We’re going to see more and more of these electric cars whether we like them or not, and to be playing the game you’ve got to have the stations.”
There are currently Tesla charging stations set up in Van Horn, Fort Stockton, Ozona, Sweetwater and one in Midland that has eight superchargers. Odessa does not have a Tesla charging station at the moment, but perhaps it’s only a matter of time.