Tesla opened the first two station in city centers Monday as part of a larger push to expand the network, the company said in a blog post.
The California-based electric car maker and renewable energy company opened Superchargers in downtown Boston and Chicago, intended in part to serve those who do not have easy access to a charger at home or in the workplace.
Tesla said in April it plans to double the number of Superchargers worldwide in 2017. Urban Supercharger stations will also be placed at supermarkets and shopping malls, allowing people to charge their cars while they run errands, the company said.
The actual Superchargers have a slimmer post-shaped design, which Tesla said saves space in crowded areas.
The pricing will be the same as other Supercharging stations. Under Tesla's current pricing scheme, drivers receive 1,000 miles of free charging annually. In the United States, pricing varies by state. Charging in Massachusetts costs 22 cents per kilowatt hour, whereas in Illinois it only costs 15 cents per kWh. There are also two different pricing tiers in some areas, which depend on the speed the customer is charging.
The push to expand the company's charging network comes as Tesla rolls out the earliest batches of Model 3 sedans, a cheaper alternative to the company's flagship Model S that is meant to help transform the company into a mass market automaker.