SpaceX alums just supercharged EV charging at Costco

Electric Era just installed six fast EV charging stalls in 54 days from contract to go-live at a Costco in Northport, Florida. That kind of speed is rare in the EV charging world, and it’s thanks to a clever battery-backed system that skips a lot of the usual headaches like grid upgrades and long permitting delays.

Seattle-based Electric Era signed the deal with Costco on April 7, 2025, and had all the drawings and permits in by April 18. Hardware hit the site by mid-May, and by May 30, the site was live with three charger units offering both CCS and NACS plugs. (Electric Era notes that it removed existing EV charging stations, so I wonder whether having existing infrastructure in place sped up the process, even though it needed upgrades.)

The 200 kWh chargers can juice EVs up to 80% in 20 to 60 minutes, and include 24/7 monitoring, automatic fault detection, and over-the-air updates to keep them running smoothly.

Electric Era can move quickly because its patented tech drastically lowers the amount of electricity the site pulls from the grid, making installs easier and reducing grid power consumption by up to 70%. The company also handles everything in-house – from engineering to supply chain to project management – which helped them move from idea to live site in less than two months.

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CEO Quincy Lee says it’s what retailers want: “Our retail customers don’t want their lots torn up for years, they want fast, reliable EV charging systems to help them grow their business and boost their bottom line.” And with grant programs on the line, being able to skip utility upgrades can make a big difference.

But this isn’t just about speed. The North Port Costco installation also includes customer-focused tech like loyalty program integration, point-of-sale connection, and 32-inch screens that retailers can use to run promos and ads. It’s all designed to pull EV drivers into the store and boost sales while they charge.

Electric Era’s chargers are no slouch on performance either. The company says its systems have a 98.5% uptime per port and more than 90% session reliability, with a 96% positive rating on PlugShare. That’s enough to qualify them for Tesla’s Third Party Charging program.

And behind all this is a “skunk works” team of former SpaceX engineers in Seattle, using a “first principles engineering process” to rethink and evaluate every step of the system, from system engineering and project management to parts procurement and system assembly.

As more EV drivers hit the road, stores want charging stations that not only work but also bring in high-value customers.

Read more: With a $30M raise, SparkCharge takes EV fleet charging off-grid

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