A Tesla EV-charging rival just completed its first cross-country recharge station network, setting up non-Tesla electric-car owners to drive across the US

• Electrify America has completed its first coast-to-coast route of charging stations, the company announced on Wednesday.
• The route stretches 2,700 miles from Washington, DC, to Los Angeles, and has charging points at roughly 70-mile intervals.
• The company aims to finish its second cross-country route, which will run from Jacksonville, Florida, to San Diego, later this summer.

With air travel largely off the table, the summer of 2020 is shaping up to be the summer of the road trip. And now electric-vehicle owners can more easily drive coast to coast thanks to charging-station company Electrify America.

The company has completed its first cross-country EV-charging route, which spans from Washington, DC, to Los Angeles, it announced on Wednesday. The 2,700-mile route follows Interstates 15 and 70 and boasts DC-fast-charging points that are spaced roughly 70 miles apart.

Electrify America hopes that increasing the availability of charging stations will put EV owners at ease and will encourage more drivers to make the switch from traditional combustion-engine vehicles. Various studies have found range anxiety — the fear of running out of juice without a charging station nearby — to be one of the primary barriers to EV adoption.

For reference, the base-model Nissan Leaf, claims 149 miles of range, while the Volkswagen e-Golf gets an EPA-estimated 125 miles per charge. The Fiat 500e, more geared toward urban commuting than extended trips, has an EPA-estimated range of 84 miles.

"Electrify America's primary goal has always been to advance electric vehicle adoption in the US, and that starts by instilling feelings of confidence and freedom in consumers when it comes to EV ownership," Anthony Lambkin, director of operations at Electrify America, said in a press release. "The completion of our first cross-country route is a significant step towards that goal – by making long-distance travel in an EV a reality, we hope to encourage more consumers to make the switch to electric."

Electrify America has already established routes running up and down the East and West coasts, and it plans to complete its second cross-country route — which will run from Jacksonville, Florida to San Diego — by September. Tesla's Supercharger network is expansive, but it only serves Tesla customers. Electrify America's stations, meanwhile, work with most EVs on the road.