Dense megacities should be excellent EV habitat – except for the pesky fact that most residents live in apartments, making it difficult or impossible to install their own charging stations.

With a view to removing this roadblock, Tesla has partnered with some of New York’s well-known parking companies, as well as a few hotels, like the Waldorf Astoria, to install Level 2 chargers in their parking garages.

Tesla’s Superchargers are located at strategic spots along major highways, providing DC fast charging for road trips. The more recently introduced Level 2 “destination chargers” are located at places like resort hotels, parks and restaurants. With these new urban chargers, Tesla rounds out the infrastructure picture.

“We wanted to move to an urban charging network that meets the needs of those who live in apartments or commute into a big city,” said Alexis Georgeson, a Tesla spokeswoman. “Naturally, Manhattan was the place to try this for the first time.”

Tesla owners will be able to park by the hour, day, week or month, and each garage owner will determine how much, if any, cost will be added to the normal parking fees.

The first phase includes 24 Manhattan locations. The company plans to sign up several dozen more over the next few months.

Source: New York Times

Image: John Gillespie (CC BY-SA 2.0)