The US Department of Transportation has announced $636 million in funding for 49 applicants to develop electric vehicle charging infrastructure, but Tesla's proposal for a big rig charging corridor has been left out of the mix for the second time. The company's application, which was submitted in partnership with California's South Coast Air Quality Management District, was not among the list of recipients released on Friday.

This snub comes as Tesla struggles to get its electric big rig program up and running. Despite delivering some early versions of the Tesla Semi to customers like Pepsi and Frito-Lay, the company's larger commercial program has yet to materialize. Tesla is still constructing a facility in Nevada where it plans to build its electric semi-truck, which was first revealed in 2017.

Tesla initially requested funding for the project, known as TESSERACT, in 2023 as part of the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) program, a bipartisan infrastructure deal signed into law by President Biden in 2021. The company had planned to use the funding, along with $24 million of its own money, to build nine electric semi-truck charging stations between its former headquarters in northern California and the southern border of Texas.

Each of the proposed stations was to be equipped with eight 750kW chargers for the Tesla Semi, as well as four other chargers open to other electric trucks, a requirement for federal funding. However, the project was passed over in early 2024 when the Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced the first round of CFI awards, which saw $623 million in funding go to 47 applicants.

In August 2024, the FHWA doled out another $521 million to 51 applicants pulled from the same pool. Despite being left out of the first round, Tesla continued to pursue the charging corridor idea, with former policy VP Rohan Patel stating in April 2024 that some of the sites along the 1,800-mile route were "no-brainers even without funding."

However, the status of Project TESSERACT has been unclear since then, particularly after Tesla laid off more than 10% of its workforce, including its charging team. While there is still $2.5 billion allocated for the CFI program, the FHWA's website currently lists "[n]o estimated date" for the next "notice of funding opportunity," and it remains to be seen how the incoming Trump administration's priorities will affect programs like this.

The rejection of Tesla's proposal raises questions about the company's ability to scale its electric semi-truck program and its reliance on government funding to support its infrastructure development. As the electric vehicle market continues to grow, the lack of support for Tesla's project may have significant implications for the industry as a whole.

It remains to be seen whether Tesla will continue to pursue the TESSERACT project or shift its focus to other initiatives. One thing is certain, however: the company's electric big rig ambitions have hit a significant roadblock, and it will need to regroup and reassess its strategy if it hopes to make a meaningful impact in the electric vehicle market.