Tesla Motors Inc. has opened its first rapid-charging station in South Korea, the initial installation of a planned 14 Superchargers scheduled for this year.
The inaugural Supercharger is located at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas. Tesla says a Model S 90D can gain about 168 miles (270 km) of range from a 30-minute charge. The company intends to deploy 14 Superchargers across major cities including Seoul, Busan, Daegu and Jeju Island to improve fast-charging access in a market where public charging infrastructure remains limited.
In addition to Superchargers, Tesla has already installed 35 destination chargers at hotels, department stores and office buildings, and plans to add around 20 more by the end of June. Superchargers can typically restore roughly 80% of a Model S battery in about 40 minutes, with a full charge taking about 75 minutes. Each station can accommodate multiple vehicles simultaneously, commonly serving six to eight cars at once.
Two Tesla showrooms are currently open in South Korea: one at the Starfield Hanam shopping complex east of Seoul and another in the upscale Cheongdam-dong neighborhood in southern Seoul. The Model S 90D is on sale locally, with deliveries scheduled to begin in June. Tesla is also taking pre-orders for the Model X and Model 3, though launches for those models in South Korea have not been finalized.
Globally, the automaker reports having deployed thousands of Superchargers at hundreds of fast-charging stations and plans to expand that network further this year to improve convenience for customers worldwide.