$7.5 Billion for EV Charging Stations. Three Years Later: About Seven Were Open. One for Every Billion Spent.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Appropriated $7.5 Billion to Build 500,000 EV Charging Stations by 2030. The NEVI Program Moved Slowly Enough to Become a National Punchline.

Section 11401 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58) established the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, appropriating $5 billion to be distributed to states for EV charging infrastructure, plus $2.5 billion in charging and fueling infrastructure discretionary grants. The stated goal: build a national network of 500,000 EV chargers by 2030, positioned every 50 miles along the Interstate Highway System. By late 2024 — three years into the program — roughly seven federally funded NEVI stations were open across the entire country.

The reasons for the near-zero deployment rate are bureaucratic, not technical. FHWA required states to submit comprehensive EV infrastructure deployment plans before releasing formula funds. States then had to procure construction contractors through federal procurement processes. Stations had to meet FHWA technical specifications including minimum charging speeds, required number of ports, payment system requirements, and interoperability standards. DOT OIG found that FHWA’s oversight was inadequate; GAO found that states were confused about requirements and timelines. The money sat in federal accounts while the process ground forward.

Tesla’s Supercharger network has approximately 50,000 connectors in the United States, built with no federal subsidy at an average implied cost of roughly $30,000–$50,000 per connector. The NEVI program, if it deploys 500,000 chargers at its full $7.5 billion appropriation, would imply a cost of $15,000 per connector — theoretically more efficient. The problem is that the 500,000 chargers have not materialized. Politico, Reuters, and the Washington Free Beacon all reported the near-zero deployment rate in 2024. Congressional Republicans introduced oversight legislation. States began requesting flexibility from FHWA requirements.

The Trump administration has paused the NEVI program as part of a broader review of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law climate-adjacent spending. DOGE flagged the program for its spectacular deployment failure relative to its appropriation. The underlying policy question — whether federal money should subsidize EV charging infrastructure at all — is contested; the specific execution failure documented here is not.