Electric vehicle behemoth Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is vying to tap tax dollars to build and expand its EV charging network across the U.S. as it plans to open its Superchargers to non-Tesla vehicles.
After reporting mixed second-quarter results, the EV giant is now focused on expanding its EV charging network and ramping up its EV production volumes worldwide.
How Will the Infrastructure Bill Support Tesla’s Plans?
In November last year, the Biden administration passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that aims to ramp up roadways, railways, ports, highways, and EV charging stations across the U.S., among other things.
Through the bill, the administration hopes to make fast EV charging available to even the remotest areas to boost the usage of EVs. The aim is to install 500,000 public chargers across the U.S. by 2030. These will be publicly accessible charging stations, compatible with all vehicles and technologies.
As per a WSJ report, Tesla is eyeing the $7.5 billion allotted to EV charging stations in this Bill. The company is applying for charging grants in states to build EV charging stations, especially in rural areas. In California, Tesla might win a $6.4 million grant for its sites in Willows, Barstow, Coalinga, and Baker to aid in building public chargers. However, the EV giant lost a $21 million grant in Texas, which was awarded on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Tesla already owns one of the largest and fastest EV Supercharging stations across the nation, which is available only to Tesla owners. However, for a year, the company has been contemplating opening up the network to other EV vehicles. To date, Tesla has around 1,440 sites with 14,600 chargers for Tesla drivers, who can also access the networks of other companies.
If the company taps funds from the bill, it has to use them to launch EV chargers for all EVs. According to a White House Fact Sheet issued in late June, Tesla will “begin production of new Supercharger equipment that will enable non-Tesla EV drivers in North America to use Tesla Superchargers” by year-end.
As per government stats, the U.S. has less than 5,000 sites with 10,000 individual fast chargers open for public use. The government has a massive roadmap ahead toward green energy initiatives. Pushing EV manufacturing and usage is one part of it, but it won’t be successful if there are not enough EV charging stations across the map to support greater usage of EVs on the go.
As per an electrek report, Tesla and other EV makers are also pushing the government to set aside a portion of the $7.5 billion toward charging infrastructure specifically for medium-and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDV).
Tesla’s Target Price
Remarkably, the Wall Street community is cautiously optimistic about TSLA stock with a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 18 Buys, six Holds, and seven Sells. The average Tesla price target of $872.28 implies 6.8% upside potential to current levels. Meanwhile, the stock has lost 31.9% year to date.
Bloggers Are Bullish about TSLA
As per TipRanks blogger data, financial blogger opinions are 68% Bullish on TSLA, compared to a sector average of 63%.
Ending Thoughts
Tesla is in the right place to make an impressive impact on the clean and green energy movement in the U.S. The EV maker is scaling up operations at its Giga factories to ramp up production of EVs as well as its Supercharger infrastructure. If it gets a push from the government through state-wise grants, Tesla might become a forerunner in the nation’s green energy drive.
