RANCHO MURIETA, CA (MPG) - A long-anticipated Tesla electric vehicle charging station has officially opened at the Murieta Marketplace shopping center, adding fast-charging capacity in Rancho Murieta after nearly a year of stops, starts and delays.

The Tesla Supercharger station at the Bel Air Market shopping center officially opened Dec. 11, according to Tony Velez, chief financial officer of Rancho Murieta Properties and manager of the shopping center.

Construction on the project followed a winding path. Tesla and Rancho Murieta Properties held a pre-construction meeting on Jan. 14, and work began Jan. 27, Velez said. At the outset, Tesla estimated construction would take six to eight weeks, but progress stretched well beyond that timeframe.

“The delays were caused by Sacramento County’s permit process, along with waiting for SMUD’s energization process,” Velez said.

Once construction was complete, the project sat idle for months while waiting for the station to be energized by Sacramento Municipal Utility District. Velez said the wait for power lasted “at least a few months,” though he did not have an exact timeframe.

The Rancho Murieta site includes 12 Tesla V4 Supercharger units, the newest generation of the company’s fast-charging technology. The V4 chargers feature longer cables designed to accommodate a wider variety of vehicles and are intended to support non-Tesla electric vehicles as well.

“That’s what we were told in the pre-construction meeting,” Velez said. “I’ve not heard otherwise.”

In 2024, Tesla abruptly paused work on the project as part of a broader, nationwide shutdown of its EV charging division, sparking uncertainty about whether the Rancho Murieta installation would be completed. Work later resumed after Tesla reorganized its charging program, allowing construction to move forward again.

Velez said seeing the station finally open is a positive development for both the shopping center and the community.

“It’s a great addition to the community,” he said. “It will bring outside visitors to the shopping center. It satisfies our requirement to install EV chargers. Tesla picked up all of the cost to get it installed, saving us thousands of dollars.”

The location is expected to be convenient for local shoppers as well as commuters traveling between Rancho Murieta and Amador County.