ChargePoint Data Reveals a New EV Bottleneck: Charging Infrastructure Cannot Keep Pace | Taha Abbasi

ChargePoint Data Reveals a New EV Bottleneck: Infrastructure Cannot Keep Pace

ChargePoint, one of the largest EV charging networks in North America, has released data showing that demand for charging is now growing faster than new chargers are being installed. With over 100 million charging sessions completed in the past year, the company’s network data paints a concerning picture: the EV fleet is expanding faster than the infrastructure to support it. Taha Abbasi has been tracking this infrastructure gap and believes it represents both the biggest challenge and the biggest opportunity in the EV transition.

The numbers are stark. EV sales in 2025 exceeded projections across most major markets, putting more electric vehicles on roads than infrastructure planners anticipated. Meanwhile, charger deployment faces headwinds from permitting delays, grid connection timelines, supply chain constraints for electrical equipment, and the complexity of installing high-power charging stations in existing built environments.

The Bottleneck Is Not Where You Think

Most people assume the EV charging bottleneck is about the number of charging stations. Taha Abbasi argues it is actually about charging speed and reliability. A single 350kW DC fast charger can serve dozens of vehicles per day if it works reliably and charges quickly. A broken or slow charger serves nobody. ChargePoint’s data shows that uptime and charging speed matter more than raw station count.

Tesla understood this years ago, which is why the Supercharger network has consistently higher reliability ratings than any competing network. Tesla controls both the vehicle and the charger, enabling optimization that third-party networks cannot match. As other manufacturers adopt the NACS connector and gain access to the Supercharger network, the reliability gap between Tesla’s network and everyone else becomes even more visible.

The Federal Funding Challenge

The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program allocated 7.5 billion dollars for EV charging buildout, but deployment has been painfully slow. Buy America requirements, permitting processes, and utility interconnection timelines have turned what should be a rapid infrastructure buildout into a bureaucratic slog. ChargePoint’s data suggests that market-driven charger deployment is outpacing government-funded deployment by a significant margin.

This is not a uniquely American problem. European countries face similar challenges with grid capacity, permitting, and the coordination between electrical utilities, municipalities, and charging operators. China, characteristically, has solved the problem through massive state-directed investment, deploying charging infrastructure at a pace that Western countries cannot match.

Opportunities in the Gap

For Taha Abbasi, the charging infrastructure gap is an opportunity for the companies that can deploy fastest. Tesla’s Supercharger network, now open to non-Tesla vehicles, is capturing an increasing share of the charging market. ChargePoint’s own network continues to grow. Companies like EVgo, Electrify America, and upstarts like Freewave are racing to fill the gap.

The companies that win will be those that solve the reliability problem first. A charging network with 99.9 percent uptime is worth ten times more than a network with 95 percent uptime, because every broken charger creates a stranded customer and damages the entire EV brand. As Taha Abbasi sees it, charging reliability will be the determining factor in the next phase of EV adoption.

Related: Tesla’s 3D Supercharger maps expansion and the real cost of EV ownership.

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About the Author: Taha Abbasi is a technology executive, CTO, and applied frontier tech builder. Read more on Grokpedia | YouTube: The Brown Cowboy | tahaabbasi.com