EVwire brief: Tesla is calling on utilities to adopt flexible grid connections. The company argues that flexible grid connections can get new Superchargers up and running years before full grid upgrades are complete.
Tesla's Supercharger network has grown past 85,000 stalls at more than 9,000 sites, and the company has sped up how quickly it can build new ones.
However, grid capacity is a different story. Tesla Charging’s X account noted that building faster doesn't help if the power isn't there, especially for the Tesla Semi's megawatt-scale charging. In Southern California, for instance, Megacharger projects are in the utility queue for more than three years.
Max de Zegher, Tesla's Senior Director of Charging, summed up the company's message for utilities in a post on X:
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Flexible connections are Tesla's workaround. Grids are built for their busiest hours, so they usually have spare capacity that a new Supercharger can use right away.
This means that a site can run at full power when the grid has room and be de-rated when it's tight, while the utility finishes its upgrades. Tesla said drivers wouldn't notice, since new sites typically run well below their maximum output.
Tesla’s three principles for utilities:
Be clear about available capacity and when grid upgrades will be finished.
Start with simple fixed seasonal limits if advanced grid monitoring isn't available yet.
Standardize IEEE 2030.5 for communications between utility systems and charging equipment.
Tesla has been working with flexible connections through Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s (PG&E) Flex Connect program. The 48-stall Santa Nella, California site opened under Flex Connect in 2024. It has already accelerated some Supercharger projects, with dozens more underway. Tesla expects a typical project to open more than two years sooner under the program.
As of this month, Tesla's V4 Supercharger cabinets can also communicate directly with PG&E's systems using IEEE 2030.5, an open standard for utility communications. This lets PG&E set each site's power limit from day-ahead forecasts. Tesla noted several pilot sites using IEEE 2030.5 open this October, followed by a wider rollout in Northern California.
Tesla stressed that flexible connections are "a bridge, not a permanent solution," since Supercharger utilization grows over time.
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Context:
The grid bottleneck hits Tesla's Semi charging buildout the hardest, and Southern California is where that network got its start. Tesla opened its first public Megacharger site in Bloomington in July and a second in Vernon in August, each with six 1.2 MW stalls. Construction itself has gotten faster, too, with Tesla's first pre-assembled Megachargers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area going from initial plans to installation in about three months.
The Supercharger network also continues to grow at a rapid pace. Tesla added around 2,700 stalls in Q3 2026, a quarter in which its Superchargers delivered a record 2.4 TWh across 69 million sessions. Third parties are helping expand the network as well through Tesla's Supercharger for Business program, with companies like EV Auto planning more than 1,000 branded Supercharger locations across the US.
Source: Tesla Charging and Max de Zegher on X
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