Tesla chargers booted off the New Jersey Turnpike — and Musk cries 'corruption'
Sixty-four Tesla (TSLA) Superchargers will be removed from the New Jersey Turnpike, starting on Friday. Upon hearing the news, Elon Musk tweeted, 'Sounds like corruption.'
The highway's authority is not renewing Telsa's contract to provide EV chargers, and is instead turning to Applegreen, which currently operates service areas and restaurants on the NJT and Garden State Parkway.
In a 2023 amendment to the state's deal with Applegreen, the company agreed to install 240 universal, open-access EV chargers in all 21 service areas on the Turnpike, as opposed to Tesla-only Superchargers in eight locations.
Despite Musk crying foul, Tesla said in a social media statement that they saw this coming. 'We have been preparing for three years for this potential outcome by building 116 stalls off the New Jersey Turnpike, ensuring no interruption for our customers.' It went on to say that it offered to build universal Superchargers using NACS and CCS1, with equipment upgrades, at all service plazas in the state, and were still willing to do so if New Jersey Governor should reverse the decision.
In 2020, the NJTA approved an agreement with Tesla to incease the number of EV chargers on the highway from 20 to 76, and to build infrastructure so that third-party providers could install at least two dozen more.
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The disparate treatment may be rooted in cold political reality. Paul doesn't have a national following, while Musk, with his capacity to influence the midterm elections, is someone Trump may not wish to antagonize. Musk spent more than $250 million to boost Trump last year and is free to pour money into a midterm campaign season in which control of Congress is up for grabs. If Democrats seize the majority, they could saddle Trump with serial investigations and perhaps impeachment proceedings in the back half of his term. Republican lawmakers, too, trod carefully Wednesday when they were asked about Musk's evisceration of Trump's key legislative priority. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana quipped: 'Well, let me say this about Elon. I wish he wouldn't sugarcoat stuff.' 'I think he's really smart,' Kennedy added. 'I think he's entitled to his opinion. He's frustrated. I think he believes, in my judgment correctly, that we're quickly becoming debt slaves.' Still, Musk's apostasy shows the inherent risks in Trump's executive style. As a centibillionaire, Musk never fit neatly in the Trump administration's chain of command. He squabbled with at least two Cabinet secretaries and found that his private interests clashed at times with Trump's policy goals. Trump's bill would curtail the electric vehicle and residential solar tax credits that are important to Musk's Tesla car and clean energy divisions. The measure would also impose a new annual $250 fee on EV drivers. Musk spoke to Trump personally about extending the electric vehicle credit, a person familiar with the matter said. He also pressed some senior lawmakers on Capitol Hill in recent weeks — before his recent X posts — including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to keep tax credits in the bill that would incentivize electric vehicle purchases, two people familiar with the conversations said. The tax credits had been eliminated to get the most conservative House members on board as part of the delicate negotiations to ensure the bill's passage. 'Abruptly ending the energy tax credits would threaten America's energy independence and the reliability of our grid — we urge the senate to enact legislation with a sensible wind down' of the credits, Tesla Energy posted on X on May 28, the day Musk officially left his government role. In opposing the bill, Musk has amplified a point that the more fiscally conservative Republicans also find troubling: The measure would greatly add to America's whopping debt. A new analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office holds that the House-passed version of the bill would inflate the debt by $2.4 trillion over the next decade. Paul, the senator from Kentucky, wrote Tuesday that he wants trillions in new debt 'removed' from the measure and that four of his colleagues 'feel this way.' An open question is the degree to which Americans care what Musk thinks. His public approval rating was underwater amid his association with the Department of Government Efficiency and the drastic cuts that left many government workers suddenly unemployed. An NBC News poll in March found that 51% of registered voters held negative views of Musk, with only 39% viewing him positively. Lawmakers seeking campaign donations may be solicitous of Musk and the news media may treat him with outsize interest because of the role Trump gave him, but can he shape public opinion on controversial legislation? Newt Gingrich, the Republican former House speaker, suggested the answer is no. 'I haven't seen any' public constituency for Musk, Gingrich told NBC News. 'If you can find one, call me.' 'I'm a big admirer of his as an entrepreneur, but he never understood the political business, and he doesn't now,' he added. That having been said, 'I'm sure no one on the Trump team thinks it's helpful,' Gingrich added. Democrats are delighted by Musk's dissent and the rift it exposes inside GOP ranks. 'Musk is right about this,' Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., told NBC News. 'He's been wrong about a whole lot of other things.' This article was originally published on
