Tesla expands Destination Charger program to its European network

Tesla has announced that 150 so-called Destination Chargers have been added to its growing European recharging network, allowing owners of the Model S and Model X to top up the charge of their cars' batteries when they’re parked at locations such as hotels, restaurants, shopping centres and ski resorts.

Of the 150, 26 Destination Chargers have been installed in the UK, with the bulk in the southeast but one as far as north as northern Scotland. Thirteen other European countries have had devices installed, with Germany, France, Spain and Norway being the biggest benefiters.

As with Tesla's Superchargers, owners of Model Ss will be able to use the new charging points for free.

Destination Chargers top up batteries more slowly than Superchargers (they add 58 miles/93km of range in an hour, versus 170 miles/272km for a Supercharger), but they’re claimed to be cheaper to install. Tesla also says they’re sited deliberately at locations where people are more inclined to stay for longer periods of time.

So far only the Tesla Model S and Model X are confirmed as compatible, but it’s expected that the Model 3 will follow when it arrives sometime around the start of 2017.

Outside Europe, Tesla has already installed 2,605 Destination Chargers, 1,889 of which are in the US.