bp Pulse, bp’s electric vehicle (EV) charging network, aims to snatch up Tesla Inc.'s U.S. charging sites and employees after Tesla’s abrupt layoffs and intentions to slow down the growth of its Supercharging network, bp said, according to a Bloomberg report.
Tesla's move threatens charging and EV adoption in North America, where 400,000 ultra-fast chargers are needed to serve 40 million EVs by 2030, according to BloombergNEF. Tesla currently accounts for 74% of all the high-speed chargers in the region, it said.
“We are aggressively looking to acquire real estate to scale our network, which is a heightened focus following the recent Tesla announcement,” London-based bp said in a statement obtained by the news service.
bp added that it is prioritizing focus in the Northeast, across the Sun Belt, along the West Coast and in the Great Lakes region, according to a separate Reuters report.
“If there are real estate partners interested in collaboration, they are encouraged to contact me directly or connect via LinkedIn,” Sujay Sharma, CEO of bp Pulse Americas, told Bloomberg.
In 2023, bp announced plans to invest $1 billion globally in EV charging by 2030. This includes creating a Gigahub network, a series of large, fast-charging EV charging stations, often near airports and eventually at some of bp’s retail locations.
- BP America Inc./Thorntons is No. 7 on CSP’s 2023 Top 202 ranking of U.S. convenience-store chains by store count.
The company aims to have more than 100,000 bp pulse charging points globally by 2030—around 90% rapid or ultra-fast.
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