BP to install Tesla chargers in US network

Oil and gas heavyweight BP has struck a deal with US EV pure play Tesla to purchase ultra-fast chargers from the Elon Musk-led firm for its US EV charging network, BP Pulse.

The deal is worth $100mn and firm says that “the agreement forms part of BP’s plans to invest up to $1bn in EV charging across the US by 2030”.

While neither firm has announced the number of chargers involved in the transaction, Xander Johnson, formerly of Tesla and current Ford EV charging facilitator, estimates that “at an average of $50,000 per post — taken from Tesla’s Investor Day presentation — that is approximately 2,000 charge ports”.

BP Pulse currently has around 27,000 charge points and aims to eventually have 100,000 installed globally by 2030. BP says that the first Tesla-bought chargers will be installed as early as 2024, including at pre-existing BP filling stations under the Amoco, AmPm, and Thorntons brands.

The chargers will also be installed at TravelCenters of America locations, the US’ largest truck stop company, as well as at BP Pulse’s large-scale Gigahub charging sites near airports and in major metropolitan areas across the US.

The first sites pegged for installation of the chargers are in Houston, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington D.C.

“Tesla’s chargers will also be deployed at select BP Pulse fleet customer depots. By pairing BP Pulse’s industry-leading, intelligent charge management software, Omega, with Tesla’s fast and reliable chargers, BP Pulse gains the distinctive capability to oversee the entire charging process for EV fleets, providing a comprehensive solution for its fleet customers,” the London-headquartered firm says.

The chargers in question are Tesla’s standard DC level three chargers, which have an output of 250kW. BP says that the charge points will also be fitted with Tesla’s ‘magic docks’, adaptors which allow the hardware to charge CCS1-compatible EVs.

All charging locations will be operated by BP and support the plug and charge protocol, an international standard under which EVs can automatically identify the charger being used and initiate the charging procedure without action from the user.

“In addition to this deal with Tesla, BP Pulse aims to continue deploying additional fast and reliable charging points at high-demand locations, such as airports, major metropolitan areas, and BP-owned properties along Alternative Fuelling Corridors,” BP says.

The majority of OEMs selling EVs in the US have announced that they will begin manufacturing vehicles with Tesla NACS charging ports from 2025 onwards, and supply adaptors in the interim. Tesla chargers’ record of reliability has seen it consolidate a dominant position in the US charging market and seen the firm generate a material stream of revenue from its charging business.