GRAND ISLAND, Neb. -- Another convenience-store retailer has partnered with electric-vehicle (EV) manufacturer Tesla to host its charging locations.
A Tesla Supercharger station is now at the Bosselman Travel Center in Grand Island, Neb. The travel center, owned by Bosselman Enterprises, and located on Interstate 80 at exit 312, joins other Tesla Supercharger sites in Lincoln, Gothenburg, Omaha and Ogallala, Neb.
“Tesla came to us as they’ve been trying to build a nationwide network so that, if you have a Tesla vehicle, you can drive across the country,” Charlie Bosselman, CEO of Bosselman Enterprises, told The Grand Island Independent. “They came to us and asked us if we’d have an interest, and we agreed.”
The Tesla Supercharger site includes eight charging stations, located south of the Bosselman Travel Center’s gas island. A full charge takes about 30 to 45 minutes and provides about 170 miles of range. While Tesla is installing the Supercharger sites for owners of its Model S sedan and Model X SUV, other EV owners can use it as well.
“If they stop to charge, then they might have lunch or something like that,” Bosselman told the newspaper. “I don’t know that we’ve seen a huge impact from this, but that’s the idea.”
He said the charging stations are part of Bosselman Enterprises’ mission to add clean fueling options and meet customer demand.
“I believe that if we can offer that to certain customers out there, I think it’s a good option,” Bosselman said. “Who knows if electric cars are the things that are going to go into the future or if there will be a combination [of fuel-based and electric vehicles]? If the price of oil stays as low as it does, fuel makes a little bit more sense.”
The Tesla charging stations have been up and running for the past two week, but the installation spanned two to three months.
“They had to run power grids over there and bury cables,” he said. “It was quite a productive bit of electrical work.”
While Bosselman has not yet seen any Tesla owners charging up at the new stations, his staff has seen other EVs using them.
In October 2016, QuickChek announced the addition of a Tesla Supercharger site at its Ulster, N.Y., c-store, with the possibility of more to come. And Sheetz has also reportedly been in talks with Tesla to add Supercharger sites to some of its locations. Tesla plans to double the number of its more than 3,600 Supercharger sites by the end of 2017 as it prepares for the arrival of its mass-market Model 3 EV.
Bosselman Enterprises is based in Grand Island, Neb. It owns and operates 44 Pump & Pantry convenience stores; 43 Boss Shops; the Bosselman Travel Center; a Hampton Inn; three Pump & Pantry Motels; one Quality Inn & Suites; one Comfort Inn & Suites; five Motel 6 franchises; assorted restaurants; quick-serve restaurant (QSR) concepts including Subway, Little Caesars and Caribou Coffee; and the Nebraska Danger Indoor Professional Football Team. Founded in 1948, Bosselman’s is a family organization in its third generation and has expanded across the nation in 23 states.
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