American Electric car manufacturer Tesla Inc has installed its first charging stations in Morocco, the first in Africa.
Four supercharger stations were installed in Tangier, a Moroccan port on the Strait of Gibraltar, which is a strategic gateway between Africa and Europe. The second set of superchargers was installed at the Onomo Hotel in Casablanca, with a similar set of four 150kW charging stations.
According to media reports, the two stations will make Tesla cars a feasible option for up-market customers who regularly travel between Tangier, a busy trade hub in Morocco’s north, to Casablanca, the country’s main economic center.
Tesla in Africa
The absence of charging stations had made Tesla cars very rare in Africa and the only charging options are “Tesla connectors” which can deliver up to 22kW.
Despite the lack of charging stations, Tesla cars are already in demand in Africa and the news of four charging stations in Morocco will drive an interest in electric vehicles across the continent.
Tesla in Kenya
A dozen of Kenyans across the world own or drive Teslas.
In 2020, Nairobi resident Jayesh Patel became the first known individual to import a Tesla into Kenya.
In an interview with GTspirit, a leading luxury and supercar website, Patel mentioned that he installed two wall chargers at spots he considered convenient without special modifications from Kenya Power.
However, other Tesla features such as air updates, technology updates, autopilot and manual override are switched off for the region. Additionally, the super charging stations are not available in Kenya.
“The Supercharger option is not available locally, a quick search revealed that it would cost us about $150,000 to have one installed,” says Patel.
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