AI illustration: Drive LA to New York on Superchargers by end of 2013
TeslaCars & Energy
Delivered · Late

LA to NY on Superchargers: promised 2013, delivered late

Could a Tesla drive LA to New York on Superchargers by the end of 2013?

On February 27, 2013, Elon Musk promised a Supercharger route from LA to New York by the end of 2013. It happened, but 27 days late. Verdict as of October 26, 2026: delivered late.

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“By the end of this year, you'll be able to drive from L.A. to New York just using the Supercharger network, which charges at five times the rate of anything else.”
— Elon Musk · Feb 27, 2013 · TED 2013 — 'The mind behind Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCity' (Chris Anderson interview) 6:17 ↗
Video: TED 2013 — 'The mind behind Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCity' (Chris Anderson interview)
▶ WATCH HIM SAY IT @ 6:17 — TED 2013 — 'THE MIND BEHIND TESLA, SPACEX, SOLARCITY' (CHRIS ANDERSON INTERVIEW)
What actually happened

Tesla completed its first coast-to-coast Supercharger corridor in late January 2014, about a month after the end-of-2013 target. A father-daughter pair completed the first LA-NY trip on the network in January 2014, and Tesla ran an official cross-country rally days later. TechCrunch — Tesla Completes First Coast-To-Coast Supercharger Route ↗

The Progression

Feb 27, 2013
The promise: “By the end of this year, you'll be able to drive from L.A. to New York just using the Supercharger network, which charges at five times the rate of anything else.” · TED 2013 — 'The mind behind Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCity' (Chris Anderson interview) 6:17 ↗
Jan 27, 2014
Delivered · Late — 27 days late. Tesla completed its first coast-to-coast Supercharger corridor in late January 2014, about a month after the end-of-2013 target. A father-daughter pair completed the first LA-NY trip on the network in January 2014, and Tesla ran an official cross-country rally days later. TechCrunch — Tesla Completes First Coast-To-Coast Supercharger Route ↗
Today · Oct 26, 2026
Status: Delivered · Late · 27 days late. It happened — eventually.

In February 2013 Tesla's Supercharger network covered only California, Nevada and the Boston-DC corridor. Musk promised a transcontinental route within the year. The coast-to-coast corridor was energized in late January 2014, narrowly missing the deadline.

Every statement, dated

6 STATEMENTS · AS OF OCTOBER 26, 2026
Every statement on this page, oldest first. Outcome is how each statement was graded on its own.
Date saidWhat he saidDeadline givenSourceOutcome
“we're hoping to have the first one installed um between San Francisco and N La probably in the Jan or February time frame”Feb 29, 2012Tesla Q3 2011 earnings call…Delivered · Late · 0.6 years late
“By the end of this year, you'll be able to drive from L.A. to New York just using the Supercharger network, which charges at five times the rate of…”end of 2013TED 2013 — 'The mind behind…Delivered · Late · 27 days late
“Just like Superchargers alone, we're aiming to have essentially all of North America covered in detail by the end of next year ... we expect to be…”end of 2014Tesla Q3 2013 earnings call…Partial · on time
“By the end of next year, there will be three times as many superchargers as there are today.”end of 2018Tesla Model 3 Handover Event…Missed · 2,856 days past due
“the next generation Supercharger. That is it's mostly finished in design and will go into production hopefully around the end of this year”end of 2018Tesla Shareholder Meeting (June…Delivered · Late · 0.2 years late
“Yes. Supercharger coverage will extend to 100% of Europe next year. From Ireland to Kiev, from Norway to Turkey.”end of 2019@elonmusk, 2018-12-26Missed · 2,491 days past due

Every Supercharger network promise

5 MORE CLAIMS ON THIS PAGE
Delivered · Late0.6 years late

First Supercharger between SF and LA by Jan–Feb 2012

“we're hoping to have the first one installed um between San Francisco and N La probably in the Jan or February time frame”
Elon Musk · said Nov 2, 2011 · due Feb 29, 2012 · Tesla Q3 2011 earnings call (YouTube upload DupKlGRuQU0), video, ~00:28:41 ↗ · #410

What happened: Tesla unveiled its first six Superchargers in California, on the SF–LA corridor, on September 24, 2012, about seven months after the Jan–Feb target. It happened late: the first Superchargers opened on the SF-LA corridor on September 24 2012. Re-graded delivered-late on 2026-10-18: a missed date becomes delivered-late once it happens. Wikipedia: Tesla Supercharger (first stations Sep 2012) ↗

Partialon time

Superchargers cover North America and Europe by end of 2014

“Just like Superchargers alone, we're aiming to have essentially all of North America covered in detail by the end of next year ... we expect to be able to travel anywhere in Europe, or at least Western Europe and many parts of Eastern Europe by the end of next year.”
Elon Musk · said Nov 5, 2013 · due Dec 31, 2014 · Tesla Q3 2013 earnings call transcript, 2013-11-05 ↗ · #360

What happened: Tesla grew from 64 to about 334 Supercharger stations in 2014 (141 in North America) and main corridors were covered, but large areas of North America and most of Eastern Europe had none. CleanTechnica, Dec 30 2014: 141 North American Supercharger stations ↗

Missed2,856 days past due

Three times as many Superchargers by end of 2018

“By the end of next year, there will be three times as many superchargers as there are today.”
Elon Musk · said Jul 28, 2017 · due Dec 31, 2018 · Tesla Model 3 Handover Event (July 28, 2017), video, ~00:09:57 ↗ · #382

What happened: Tesla reported 1,421 Supercharger stations and 12,002 connectors at the end of 2018, roughly double, not triple, its mid-2017 network (about 6,000 connectors at 900 stations). Wikipedia: Tesla Supercharger network growth ↗

Delivered · Late0.2 years late

Supercharger V3 in production around end of 2018

“the next generation Supercharger. That is it's mostly finished in design and will go into production hopefully around the end of this year”
Elon Musk · said Jun 5, 2018 · due Dec 31, 2018 · Tesla Shareholder Meeting (June 5, 2018), video, ~00:00:01 ↗ · #454

What happened: Tesla unveiled the 250 kW V3 Supercharger on March 6, 2019, with the first public site opening that April. It happened late: Tesla unveiled the V3 Supercharger on March 6 2019, first public site that April. Re-graded delivered-late on 2026-10-18: a missed date becomes delivered-late once it happens. Wikipedia: Tesla Supercharger (V3 unveiled March 2019) ↗

Missed2,491 days past due

Superchargers cover 100% of Europe in 2019, Ireland to Kiev

“Yes. Supercharger coverage will extend to 100% of Europe next year. From Ireland to Kiev, from Norway to Turkey.”
Elon Musk · said Dec 26, 2018 · due Dec 31, 2019 · @elonmusk, 2018-12-26 ↗ · #342

What happened: Tesla never opened a Supercharger in Ukraine. Ukrainian press noted in 2021 that the promised Kyiv-area stations still had not appeared, so coverage did not reach 'Kiev' or 100% of Europe in 2019. Focus.ua, 2021: Superchargers promised for Ukraine still absent ↗

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LAST CHECKED 2026-06-12

Questions and answers

What exactly did Elon Musk say, and when?

On February 27, 2013, Elon Musk said: “By the end of this year, you'll be able to drive from L.A. to New York just using the Supercharger network, which charges at five times the rate of anything else.” (source). That set the date at end of 2013.

Did it happen?

Yes, but late. This prediction came true on January 27, 2014, 27 days late against his first deadline of end of 2013. Tesla completed its first coast-to-coast Supercharger corridor in late January 2014, about a month after the end-of-2013 target. A father-daughter pair completed the first LA-NY trip on the network in January 2014, and Tesla ran an official cross-country… (TechCrunch — Tesla Completes First Coast-To-Coast Supercharger Route)

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Tesla’s record

Delivered
85
62% of resolved claims delivered.
Missed
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Deadline passed, still no-show.
Still open
36
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