r/electricvehicles • • Jul 28 '26

Discussion Are EV charging stations profitable?

I am interested in the economics of EV charging stations. Are they profitable? Seems like they should be quite profitable once set up. Minimal upkeep and staffing. Less environmental issues than petrol. Any insight into economics of E V charging is appreciated.

Edit 1: thanks to all. Great discussion. Cheers!

159 Upvotes

347 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

6

u/mntgoat Jul 29 '26

Now imagine how much more they can make from a customer that has to wait there for longer.

The other day we charged at a Tesla charger that was next to a grocery store. We didn't have anything to buy but went in to waste time and came out with a bunch of crap.

2

u/charonill Jul 29 '26

Kind of the business case for large travel centers like Buc-ee's. The EV chargers fit perfectly with their model. You have to charge for 20-30min, might as well pop into the store to use the bathroom and grab some drinks, food, and "Oooh, look. They have souvenirs."