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Taco Bell Is Now Offering an EV Charge With That Chalupa The restaurant chain plans to open electric vehicle charging stations at 100 Taco Bell locations.

By Jonathan Small

On Thursday, a Taco Bell franchise in South San Francisco opened its first ultra-fast charging station in the parking lot.

The restaurant chain, in partnership with ChargeNet Stations, plans to open solar-powered charging stations at 100 Taco Bell locations in California over the next year.

"You can get an EV charge and a chalupa all in one easy stop," said ChargeNet Stations CEO and Founder Tosh Dutt. The ChargeNet Stations offer, on average, a 100-mile charge in 20 minutes for about $20.

The companies say the locations are being chosen to make EV charging available in traditionally underserved communities, providing charging access to people who may not have a home charging station.

California plans to ban the sales of new gas-powered cars and trucks by 2035, and analysts estimate that, by 2040, there will be 64 million electric vehicles in the U.S. To date, we've only built 4% of the charging stations needed to charge them all.

That's potentially a lot of cars waiting in the drive-thru in need of something more than a chalupa.

"We're solving a demand problem we know is coming," said Dutt.

Jonathan Small

Entrepreneur Staff

Founder, Strike Fire Productions

Jonathan Small is a bestselling author, journalist, producer, and podcast host. For 25 years, he has worked as a sought-after storyteller for top media companies such as The New York Times, Hearst, Entrepreneur, and Condé Nast. He has held executive roles at Glamour, Fitness, and Entrepreneur and regularly contributes to The New York Times, TV Guide, Cosmo, Details, Maxim, and Good Housekeeping. He is the former “Jake” advice columnist for Glamour magazine and the “Guy Guru” at Cosmo.

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