--- title: "Tesla Semis Are Now Charging at Mainstream Truck Stops" date: "2026-10-28" modified: "2026-10-28" authors: - name: "Andrew P. Collins" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/andrew-p-collins.md" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/tesla-semis-are-now-charging-at-mainstream-truck-stops" categories: - "Car Tech" - "Electric Vehicles" - "News" - "News by Brand" - "Tesla News" --- # Tesla Semis Are Now Charging at Mainstream Truck Stops ![Tesla Semi at a charging location]() *\Pilot\* This month, Pilot, which also runs Flying J and is the biggest truck-stop operator in the US, opened its first Megachargers for [Tesla Semis](). They’re crazy powerful and spreading quickly. Six 1.2-megawatt stalls are up and running at a [Pilot]() in Ellabell, Georgia, and a Flying J in Tulare, California, came online the next day. Sites in Fort Stockton, Texas, and North Las Vegas are next. Until recently, Semi charging was limited to Tesla’s own facilities, like Giga Nevada and a fleet depot near the Port of Long Beach, plus a handful of customer-facing sites in Southern California. One of those is at a TA truck stop in Ontario, California, which has been open since March but tops out at 750 kW. Ellabell, along with a new eight-stall Megacharger near Atlanta that opened around the same time, gives the Semi its first public charging outside California. Pilot runs more than 900 locations across the US and Canada, and 12 more Megacharger sites are [under construction](), so it could soon host a big share of Tesla’s truck charging network. That network is still small. [*Electrek*]() counted four customer-facing sites and 26 stalls once Ellabell opened. Tesla [said]() it planned about 37 Megacharger sites for 2026, and Semi program lead Dan Priestley has said the goal is 46 by early 2027. As of February, Tesla’s map showed [64 more sites]() marked “coming soon” across 15 states, led by Texas with 19 and California with 17. The Pilot chargers were supposed to open this summer, so they’re a couple of months late. Still, seeing them turn on at established truck stops feels like a big step for electric big rigs. According to Tesla, the 1.2-megawatt stalls can restore 60% of a Semi’s charge in 30 minutes, the same length as the [break federal rules require]() after eight hours behind the wheel. The catch, for now, is that only Teslas can plug in. The stalls use the Megawatt Charging System (MCS) connector, the same standard Daimler, Volvo, and the rest of the industry are building their electric trucks around, and Priestley has said other trucks will eventually be able to use them. Neither Tesla nor Pilot has said when, though, and Tesla played the same game with its Superchargers, keeping them exclusive for years before opening up to other brands. There also aren’t many Semis on the road to take advantage of all this yet. But electric trucking has always had a chicken-and-egg problem, and a fleet manager isn’t going to buy trucks that can’t charge on the same routes their diesel rigs already run. Megachargers at Pilot truck stops don’t solve that on their own, but they’re a big step. *Got a story tip? Drop us a line at tips@thedrive.com.* ## Author As Executive Editor, Andrew touches everything on the site from daily news coverage to feature stories, sponsored content, product reviews, road testing vehicles, ecommerce, and more. He's held pretty much every role there is to have at an automotive news site and has been with The Drive's publisher Recurrent since 2020. Andrew's a lifetime gearhead and longtime writer with a particularly strong penchant for road trips, off-road adventures, and archaic vehicles. His passions outside of the automotive world include skiing, obsolete video games, and his dog Bramble who occationally helps review cars. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]() ## More - [Renault Is Giving Away Its Proprietary Tech to Stop EV Fires Quickly]() - [Mopar Built an Electric Plymouth GTX Restomod With Less Power Than Stock]() - [Words Are Made Up: Porsche Will Keep Calling Its Performance EVs ‘Turbo’]() - [The Electric Lotus SUV Could Have 750 HP and 360-Mile Range When It Debuts in 2022]() - [The 684-HP Audi RS E-Tron GT Is a Powerful Start to Audi’s Electric Future]() - [Inside Chile’s Struggle To Make Lithium Mining ‘Greener’ For The Electric Car Revolution]() - [Feds Delay New EV Tax Credit Guidelines Until March 2023]() - [LG, GM Secure $2.5B Loan From Feds for Ultium EV Battery Facilities]()