Ecotricity has confirmed that it has reached an out of court settlement with Tesla Motors, drawing to an end a long-running dispute over the UK’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Ecotricity’s official Electric Highway account tweeted on Wednesday:
Both companies have confirmed that they will continue to operate and expand their own charging networks in the UK.
Speaking to Next Energy News, Ecotricity said that it would continue to expand its network, as it looks to install charging points that stretch from Land’s End to John O’Groats in the coming weeks. Dale Vince, founder of the Electric Highway commented: “Our Electric Highway already covers over 95% of the motorway network, and we’ve begun the installation of electricity pumps on A-roads and strategic locations such as airports and ports – with significant new funding just secured, we’ll be stepping on the gas in the coming months to keep pace with demand.”
Tesla told Next Energy News that it could not comment on the specifics of the legal settlement but also confirmed that it was expanding its UK Supercharger network. In related news, Tesla UK also announced on Wednesday that its UK Supercharger network was expanding, “with seven supercharger stations” to be added at motorway services. Tesla UK also confirmed that it would be announcing additional locations in the UK soon, adding that “new UK supercharging stations will be conveniently located on motorways”.
The legal dispute stemmed from an email that was allegedly mistakenly sent from a Tesla employee to an Ecotricity employee, which reportedly detailed Tesla’s plans to undermine Ecotricity and strike up partnerships with motorway partners – contacts Ecotricity claims it shared with Tesla under a non-disclosure contract.
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