Tesla is required to remove Superchargers from stations along the New Jersey Turnpike after local authorities chose a different provider. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) last week declared that it plans to shift to Universal Open Access chargers for electric vehicles.
As part of the transition plan, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) directed Tesla to remove 64 existing Tesla Superchargers from the heavily trafficked route. Applegreen Electric, as per the NJTA, will provide new third-party chargers compatible with all makes and models of electric vehicles, ensuring broad accessibility.
In 2020, Tesla entered into an agreement with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and installed 64 Supercharger stalls across eight stations along the turnpike. Now that the agreement has expired, rather than renewing it, the authority has opted to grant an exclusive contract to Applegreen, which currently operates in all service areas along the turnpike.
“The universal chargers will be available as of June 6 at the Vince Lombardi, Woodrow Wilson, Richard Stockton, James Fenimore Cooper, Joyce Kilmer, and Walt Whitman Service Areas,” the authority said in a statement.
Tesla expressed disappointment over the situation but stated that it has been anticipating the change and has spent the past few years constructing new charging stations off the turnpike to accommodate drivers.
Applegreen Electric had previously entered into an agreement with the NJTA to manage service areas along the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway. In 2023, the agreement was modified to incorporate the installation of EV chargers. Under the revised terms, Applegreen Electric is set to install and operate 80 EV charging ports by the end of this year, with plans to expand to a total of 240 charging ports by April 2033.
Applegreen Electric, supported by Blackstone, operates over 600 locations across Ireland, the U.K., and the United States, with its U.S. charging stations primarily concentrated in the Northeast.
Tesla mentioned that over the past three years, it has constructed 116 charging stalls off the New Jersey Turnpike in anticipation of the development. Despite the situation, Tesla remains optimistic that the NJTA will reconsider its decision.
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