Campbell Lands Nation's First 500-kW Supercharger

Tesla’s next generation of Superchargers is taking shape in Campbell, California, where the city says it helped attract one of the first U.S. sites designed around 500-kilowatt charging. Tesla’s own materials say its V4 Supercharging hardware can deliver up to 500 kW for passenger vehicles, a step up from the 250-kW peak long associated with much of its existing network. Third-party EV tracking sites and local reporting have identified Campbell as an early deployment site, though Tesla’s public location map still lists the Campbell station as “in development.” ### Why is Campbell getting attention instead of a bigger city? Campbell, a city in Santa Clara County, appears to have landed the project because Tesla selected a site there for one of its first full V4 cabinet installations. A September 2025 report from Not a Tesla App said construction had begun in Campbell on what it described as the first 500-kW Tesla Supercharger site, and Drive Tesla also reported the location would use 16 V4 posts with new V4 cabinets rather than older V3 cabinets. (tesla.com) Tesla’s public “Find Us” map adds a narrower point: it shows a Campbell Supercharger location as “in development,” with the note that the exact location is subject to change and timing is updated monthly. Tesla has not, on the public pages reviewed, published a news release naming Campbell as the nation’s first operating 500-kW site. ### What does “500 kilowatts” actually refer to? (notateslaapp.com) Tesla says the number applies to the capability of its V4 Supercharging system. On its Supercharger for Business page, Tesla says each V4 post can deliver up to 500 kW and that the cabinet system supports 400- to 1,000-volt vehicle architectures. Tesla also says the system typically needs less than 1 megawatt across eight posts to deliver maximum power to cars 99% of the time. (tesla.com) Tesla’s broader Supercharger page does not give a Campbell-specific power figure, but it says the company operates more than 80,000 Superchargers globally. The V4 hardware matters because earlier V4 posts were often paired with legacy V3 cabinets, limiting real-world output below the new 500-kW ceiling. ### Will every EV driver in Campbell suddenly charge twice as fast? Tesla says the V4 system is designed for up to 500 kW, but that does not mean every vehicle can take that rate. (tesla.com) The company says the hardware supports a wide voltage range and is built for broader compatibility, including non-Tesla charging standards, yet charging speed still depends on the vehicle’s battery architecture and software. (tesla.com) Industry reports on Tesla’s rollout have said the highest rates are expected first on vehicles capable of using the added power, with broader benefits for other EVs coming as compatible models expand. Tesla has also said its V4 hardware is intended to support up to 1.2 megawatts for the Semi. ### How unusual is this site right now? Campbell is unusual because 500-kW Tesla sites remain scarce in the United States. (tesla.com) EV charging trackers and EV news outlets have described only a small number of such sites coming online so far, with Campbell listed among early locations after Redwood City and a handful of others. Redwood City is important context because several reports said Tesla’s first energized 500-kW V4 site opened there in late September 2025. (tesla.com) That means Campbell may be among the first U.S. sites with the new hardware, but available reporting reviewed here does not support calling it the single first operating site nationwide. (evchargingstations.com) ### What can drivers verify for themselves right now? Tesla’s own locator remains the clearest public checkpoint for drivers. As of the latest crawl available through Tesla’s Find Us page, Campbell is still shown as an in-development Supercharger site rather than a fully listed open station. Tesla says timing on that page is updated monthly, and the company’s network pages direct drivers to the Tesla app and in-car navigation for live stall availability and route planning once a site opens. (driveteslacanada.ca) For now, the next concrete milestone is Tesla changing Campbell’s status from in development to a live Supercharger listing on its public map. (tesla.com)