CHARLESTON, W.Va. — In the parking lot of the Courtyard by Marriott in downtown Charleston, there are now eight spots for motorists to charge their electric cars.
A Tesla Supercharger stations was installed there a few weeks ago.
The station is for the Palo Alto-based company’s Model S and Model X cars. The charger replenishes up to 170 miles of range within 30 minutes.
Charlie Wendell, of Charleston Hotel Venture, which owns the property, said the station is much needed for Tesla drivers in the area or who are heading off Interstate, 64, 77 or 79.
“We’re literally where three interstates come together. We’re easy off the interstates, turn into us and then it’s easy back on. Plus, there are amenities around us,” Wendell said.
Wendell said Tesla drivers can either sit in their car, leave the car parked there overnight or charge it and grab a cup of coffee at nearby Starbucks, for example.
Before the addition of the Charleston station, there was only one Tesla Supercharger station in West Virginia. It’s in the Northern Panhandle, located off Interstate 70 at the Hampton Inn in Tridelphia. There are more than 800 Tesla Superchargers in the United States.
Four destination chargers, which use less power, are also available in West Virginia, but only one of those is open to the public. It’s located at the Hawks Nest State Park in Ansted.
Tesla stations are “up and coming,” Wendell said. The new station in Charleston will benefit the hotel in a big way, he said.
“I think it’s beneficial to the hotel from both the publicity perspective and from a potential guest perspective,” Wendell said.
Since 2012, the company has built more than 5,400 Superchargers and 9,000 Destination Charging connectors around the world. The company said in a blog post last month it plans to that number to total more than 10,000 Superchargers and 15,000 Destination Charging connectors.