Last Sunday, up to 150 electric cars queued up to charge at the same Supercharger station in Sweden. Now Tesla's boss is blaming the conditions in the country.
Tesla CEO blames strikes in Sweden for Tesla charging station queues. Motorists returning from the holidays created huge queues at one of Tesla's Supercharger stations in the town of Malung.
Many drivers on their way home needed to charge, and images of the cows were quickly shared across multiple media outlets. Boosted even covered the story .
The situation has prompted Tesla's head of the Supercharger network, Max de Zegher, to react.
Max de Zegher writes on the social media X (formerly Twitter) that the widespread queue at the charging stations is due to the IF Metall strike and the sympathy measures that other unions have introduced.
These measures mean that Tesla can build new Supercharger stations, but they cannot be connected to the electricity grid.
"Tesla's Superchargers are critical infrastructure, especially on busy travel days like this. More than 100 chargers in Sweden would have been connected this winter if it weren't for the sympathy strikes," he writes on the social media X.
He also emphasizes that Tesla will continue to expand its network of charging stations, including in the cities of Malung, Vansbro and Idre, even though they cannot currently be connected to the grid.
According to him, the problem of queues at charging stations is both frustrating and something that can be solved.
– Waiting in a queue like this is super painful, hurts the electric car transition. But it can be completely solved, he adds.
Tesla Club Sweden's chairman, Tibor Blomhäll, agrees that the consequences of the strikes could have a major impact on all electric car owners in Sweden.
He points out that the situation does not only affect Tesla owners, as the Supercharger network in Sweden is open to electric cars from all car brands.
– It's a big concern. There are stations in Sweden that are fully built, but just sitting there collecting dust because they can't be connected. It affects not only us Tesla owners, but all of Sweden's electric car drivers, he said in an interview with Vi Bilägare.
The queues at the charging stations in Malung highlight the challenges with the infrastructure in Sweden, where lack of access to the electricity grid – at least for Tesla – makes it difficult to utilize the new charging stations.
As long as the strikes continue, the situation does not appear to be improving, which could create further frustration among electric car drivers in the country.
