A 600-mile road trip (and data) proves EV charging doesn’t suck anymore
A TechCrunch writer's 600-mile road trip to Montreal suggests that electric vehicle fast-charging infrastructure in the United States has significantly improved since it was widely criticised a few years ago. Using an Audi e-tron with roughly 220 miles of range, the author found the charging experience almost entirely smooth, in stark contrast to a similarly-sized trip in 2023 that was plagued by broken chargers and customer service delays. The comparison matters because public charging reliability remains a major deterrent for prospective EV buyers, with AAA finding just over half of those it surveyed last year cited it as a key concern.
Using the route-planning app A Better Routeplanner, the author's first stop was a Rivian-owned charging station in New Hampshire with six working 300-kilowatt chargers and no queues, delivering over 140 kilowatts to the car. The only issue arose at a Circuit Électrique station near Montreal, where a faulty card reader required downloading an app instead; each of the three charging sessions on the trip took about 20 minutes and was combined with rest stops, meaning the car was never waited on. This was a marked improvement on a 2023 trip to Maine, roughly half the distance, during which chargers broke mid-session and required customer service calls to resolve.
In short
- EV charging network reliability has markedly improved since 2023
- 600-mile Montreal trip had near-flawless charging, one minor card reader glitch
- Contrasts sharply with a troubled, shorter 2023 road trip to Maine
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The evidence from this 600-mile journey demonstrates substantial progress: multiple 300-kilowatt chargers available without queues, charging speeds now compatible with natural rest breaks, and a markedly better experience than the equivalent trip three years prior. The infrastructure appears to be expanding through investment from major automakers like Rivian, and when failures occur, they remain isolated incidents rather than systemic breakdowns. For practical road-tripping purposes, modern EV charging has crossed a meaningful threshold where it is no longer the major impediment it once was, at least on established corridors.
The case against
A single positive anecdotal journey, even at 600 miles, cannot establish systemic reliability across America's diverse charging landscape. The AAA survey showing that over half of prospective buyers remain concerned about charging reliability indicates real, widespread hesitation that one journalist's smooth trip does not dispel. This experience likely reflects conditions on well-travelled routes rather than less-developed networks across many regions, and the failure at the Montreal station proves that problems persist, suggesting the data remains too narrow to claim infrastructure-wide improvement.
Explained simply
Electric vehicle charging reliability has become one of the biggest obstacles to widespread adoption of electric cars. Surveys show that concerns about finding working chargers and the time required to recharge are major reasons people avoid buying electric cars. As the world shifts towards electric cars, building a dependable charging network has become critical in making the transition practical for everyday drivers.
Public fast-charging stations have been plagued by reliability problems for several years, with drivers frequently encountering broken equipment, long waits, and unhelpful customer service. These issues have made long-distance driving in electric vehicles unpredictable and stressful. The problems were severe enough that technology journalists have regularly tested the network to document its condition.
When journalists repeat similar journeys over time and compare the experiences across different periods, it can reveal whether infrastructure is actually improving. Such tests matter because they provide real-world evidence about whether the charging network has genuinely become more reliable, which could be a turning point for consumers considering the switch to electric vehicles.