FILE – In this July 19, 2019 file photo, a Tesla vehicle charges at a Tesla Supercharger site in Charlotte, N.C. Tesla owners can now buy insurance policies from the electric car company in what may be an essential step toward it selling driverless vehicles. The company says it’s now selling policies in California and will go nationwide at an undisclosed date. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton, File)
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — With the news that a Tesla service center will open at West Town Mall, WATE 6 On Your Side took a deeper dive on what owning or renting an electric vehicle is like.
For example, what you need to charge one, and where you’ll be able to plug one in on long road trips.
More and more automakers, like Volkswagen, are starting to roll electric vehicles off of the assembly line, and others like General Motors say they are preparing for an all-electric future.
Whether you get behind the wheel of an electric VW or a Tesla, charging a battery powered vehicle is really as simple as plugging it in.
Tesla recommends buying a wall connector for faster charging times, but the company’s website says that an adapter for a normal wall outlet is included with all new cars.
As for long road trips, back in February the TVA signed an agreement to fund a network of fast charging stations every 50 miles along Tennessee interstate and major highways. We’re told the undertaking will triple the existing fast charging network.
But what if you have family in Texas or have vacation plans in Florida? In addition to TVA, five other major utilities are all working together to make sure drivers of electric vehicles have access to a seamless network of charging stations from the Atlantic coast through the midwest and south and into the Gulf region and central plains.
TVA expects to see well over 200,000 electric vehicles in the Tennessee Valley by the year 2028.
