Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Mateo Jaramillo: The supercharging network build out was a very ambitious program that
we started more or less at the beginning of 2013. We had done some pilot stations in California
and a couple on the east coast, but we hadn't put together the sort of concerted nationwide
effort until the very beginning of 2013, and that's really when we engaged Black & Veatch.
And so we really needed a partner that could (1) operate nationally as we were going to
be installing these stations around the country almost in every single state, and that they
could do that simultaneously, so we weren't going to do this serially, we were going to
do these sort of massively in parallel, and Black & Veatch brought that capability.
Rick Azer: The supercharger build out is very similar in ways to the telecommunications
sites that we build all across America and we knew that we'd be a good fit. This is a
very aggressive deployment. Through Tesla's relationships with government agencies along
with our capabilities to handle permitting and utility coordination -- we were able to
expedite site build-outs. The key to Black & Veatch and Tesla's collaboration
lies in good communication. We've developed some on-line status and mapping tools that
allow constant communication of current status of each component of the site.
Kevin Kassekert: Black & Veatch knew where to go, they led us right down the path; within
a few days all the drawings were updated and it was a very simple approval process to get
through so that you were able to, from anywhere in the world even, manage the drawings, manage
the approvals, manage the rev changes, upload, download, do all of the things that you needed
to do, so we were able to stay mobile and have people all over the country and all over
the world managing things concurrently at the same time. I love building infrastructure
and I love seeing it out there. So to be able to see kind of the dots on the maps start
to go live and see how we're starting to connect routes and being able to drive from San Diego
to Vancouver, and drive from LA to New York, and drive from Maine to Miami. That gives
me the most satisfaction for sure.
Mateo Jaramillo: to find a partner that actually does work in a similar style with Tesla was
a very great win for the program overall. On the basis of that success, we plan to roll
out even more quickly over 2014 and really push the needle even further.
Rick Azer: Black & Veatch is building a world of difference by helping Tesla construct the
largest contiguous electric vehicle charging system ever constructed in the world.