You can be on Entrepreneur’s cover!

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

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

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 Leadership Network® VIP

Founder, Write About Now Media

Jonathan Small is an award-winning 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.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Leadership

What We Have to Gain By Talking About Grief and Loss At Work

I lost my husband to cancer during Covid — here's how it changed how I lead at work.

Money & Finance

5 Simple Wealth-Building Tips For This Generation's Forward-Thinkers

Explore practical finance tips for young professionals striving to overcome economic challenges.

Fundraising

Avoid These 9 Pitch Deck Mistakes When Asking Others For Money

Crafting an efficient pitch deck requires serious effort, but at least it's not wandering in the dark since certain rules are shaped by decades of relationships between startups and investors.

Business News

Mark Zuckerberg Says This CEO Is the 'Taylor Swift' of Tech

Meta's CEO posed with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Instagram Wednesday.

Growing a Business

To Achieve Sustainable Success, You Need to Stop Focusing on Disruption. Here's Why — and What You Must Focus on Instead.

Instead of zeroing in solely on disruptive innovation, embrace a pragmatic approach to innovation, recognizing and leveraging the potential within ongoing industry shifts.

Real Estate

3 Emerging Trends Shaping the Future of Real Estate

These three innovations are reshaping the real estate industry — discover tips for effectively covering these trends.