Electric vehicles are now steadily becoming in vogue in our local car market. BYD and VinFast made a lot of headlines this year. Of course, Tesla also entered the fray just last month. If this does not officially signal the advent of EVs in the country, we don’t know what will.

Now, the question is: Are Filipino car buyers really ready for engine-less vehicles? Never mind the complete trust needed to own a high-tech car that—at least according to the viral videos we’ve randomly seen on social media—has the potential to self-combust. No, let’s not even go there.

What we need to address is our collective range anxiety.

In other words, charging infrastructure—or the lack of it—is what will make or break an EV brand in our ICE-loyal market. It’s hard to imagine Pinoys willingly abandoning the convenience of old-school fuel stations for trifling EV chargers. And Tesla is fully aware of this.

Yesterday, Telsa Philippines launched its first Supercharger station, located at Uptown Mall in Bonifacio Global City. This station features four chargers that are claimed to be able to operate “at a peak efficiency of 250kW.” What this means, says the press release, is that you can now charge your Tesla car to “120km in just five minutes.”

The cost?

Supercharging will make you cough up P19 per kilowatt. For example, to charge a Model 3 that has a range of 513km, you will need to pay P1,140. Not bad.

“Tesla’s mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy,” declares Tesla regional director Isabel Fan. “Tesla enables the use of electric vehicles by building charging infrastructure around people’s lifestyles. Tesla will keep expanding our charging network to create a seamless EV experience in the Philippines.”

We don’t know if EV brands are acting fast enough to build adequate charging stations—adequate enough to tempt car buyers away from internal-combustion engines. One thing is sure, though: People are starting to take notice.