Tesla Turns Off Related, Wildflower Leases for Charging Sites

Tesla is turning the power off at four electric vehicle charging stations planned in New York City, but another tenant appears ready to pick up the parcels.

Revel is in discussions to lease the four sites that are being abandoned by Elon Musk’s car company, Crain’s reported.

A spokesperson for Revel confirmed the company was negotiating leases for the sites, adding that three of them are “essentially ready to go.” Those three sites are owned by Related Companies, while the other one belongs to urban infrastructure developer Wildflower.

The sites, designed to reduce wait times for the fleet of electric vehicles driving through the concrete jungle, are in Maspeth and College Point, Queens; the South Bronx; and East New York, Brooklyn.

The talks come on the heels of mass layoffs at Tesla as the company scales back its plans for Supercharger sites.

Should Revel close on the sites, it would more than double its public fast-charging capacity in the city. The company operates three public sites with more than 50 chargers in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Williamsburg and Long Island City, and plans to expand further. The Tesla sites were expected to include at least 60 chargers.

Charging stations can serve as amenities for commercial real estate owners and have a ripple effect on nearby properties, coaxing more drivers to shopping centers, office buildings and hotels.

Real estate investment trusts embracing electric vehicle charging stations last year included mall operator Simon Property Group (1,261 stations across its portfolio), Essex Property Trust (574 stations) and Prologis, according to a CBRE report analyzed by CBS News.

— Holden Walter-Warner