Burlingame is set to get new Tesla superchargers

“I think some kind of signage to educate the public who aren’t in the loop would be a good move,” Vice Mayor Emily Beach said, advocating for the typical Tesla branding on the chargers to be offset by information that clarifies the chargers are for all electric cars. 

Tesla has said they will pay a monthly rent of $6,000, and everything will be free to the city, including installation. 

After Beach inquired about the leasing agreement and rental cost, Tesla Supercharger Project Developer Caitlyn Hanner said the company would require a 10-year lease minimum but could provide a rent increase of up to 3% a year. 

Installation of the Tesla superchargers would create a loss of three parking spots. 

The location in Parking Lot K was selected for its perpendicular parking — a request of Tesla’s — and its mix of two- and 10-hour parking spots, making the lot not too busy or too long term, according to the staff report. 

Councilmembers Ricardo Ortiz and Peter Stevenson expressed excitement around the project, both as Tesla owners and for the city of Burlingame as a whole. 

“Overall, I’m very much in favor of this, being a Tesla owner that uses both Teslas and non-Teslas,” Ortiz said. “I’m in favor of it, I think it makes a lot of sense.”

Stevenson, who worked on the project proposal, acknowledged the sign component of the installation and said the group had worked to address it with a more discreet location. 

“We were very concerned about signage, in the sense of the negative sense of signage — it’s branded, it’s very visible. We ended up changing the lot because we felt like it would be less conspicuous,” he said. 

Councilmember Michael Brownrigg also voiced concern that the charging station was clearly labeled as universal for all electric vehicles, but said that he believed the stations would be enormously popular, visible and useful. 

While the City Council was generally supportive of and excited by the proposal, Mayor Donna Colson voiced concerns around Tesla’s ethical compliance, citing a lawsuit from 25 counties — including San Mateo — alleging Tesla illegally dumped hazmat waste. Tesla agreed to settle the lawsuit for $1.5 million. 

Colson said if Burlingame was to act as a partner with Tesla on the endeavor, she would appreciate a yearly progress update both on the efficacy of the chargers and Tesla’s overall initiatives. 

“I wanna use our opportunity of providing all these spots and bringing people in to help push Tesla, to make Tesla a better company and a company that aligns with our values,” she said. 

Burlingame currently has 42 electric vehicle chargers in public lots as part of its goal to have 100 charging stations by 2030. According to a staff report, charger usage has gone up around the city from 2022 to 2023. The Broadway location, with six fast-charging ports, saw the highest increase — with 6,861 charging sessions in 2022 and 11,816 in 2023.