EV charging in Palo Alto

Palo Alto takes electric cars seriously. Tesla was headquartered here from 2010 to 2021 and still runs its global engineering headquarters in the city. The city owns its own electric utility. According to the city, about one in four households owned an electric vehicle as of 2025. EVs made up 55 percent of new car sales that year. If you drive an EV, you will find plenty of places to plug in. You will also find plenty of other drivers waiting for the same plug at busy times.

This guide covers the city's public chargers, the fast chargers in and near town, programs from the city utility and the unwritten rules of charging. For general parking rules, see our guide to parking in Palo Alto.

The city's public chargers

The City of Palo Alto runs 121 Level 2 charging ports at 10 locations. Seven are city parking garages and three are libraries or museums. The city's parking page listed these sites in October 2026:

Price and the overnight program

The city charges $0.35 per kWh. It promotes the chargers for overnight use from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., with no overstay fees in that window. That makes the garages a practical option for residents without a home charger. It also helps hotel guests whose hotel lacks one. During the day, ordinary garage rules apply, including the free three hour limit unless you hold a permit. Read the signs at each charger for any extra limits.

The garage chargers cluster in two places. Downtown, the Bryant, Webster, City Hall and High Street garages are all within a few blocks of University Avenue. On California Avenue, the Sherman, Cambridge and Ted Thompson garages put 51 ports within a short walk of the restaurants. See our guides to downtown and California Avenue to plan a meal while you charge.

Libraries and the Junior Museum

The ports at Mitchell Park Library, Rinconada Library and the Junior Museum and Zoo are handy while you visit. Mitchell Park Library and the Junior Museum have six ports each and Rinconada has three, so they fill fast on weekends. Our guides to Palo Alto libraries and the Junior Museum and Zoo cover what to do there.

Fast charging and Superchargers

Level 2 chargers add roughly 10 to 50 miles of range per hour, according to the city utility. For a quick top-up you need DC fast charging, which the city says can fill a battery in roughly 20 to 75 minutes depending on the car. Tesla runs several Supercharger sites in and near Palo Alto. These were listed on Tesla's site in October 2026:

Tesla's listing for the Bryant Street site says a NACS adapter is needed for non-Tesla cars. The IKEA listing also shows separate pricing for other brands. That means drivers of other EVs with the right adapter can use at least some of these sites. Check the Tesla app before you go, since access and prices vary by site and time of day.

The Stanford Shopping Center site is a lower power urban Supercharger, designed for charging while you shop. See our Stanford Shopping Center guide for what is nearby. The two East Palo Alto sites sit just across US 101, useful on the way to or from the freeway. Our East Palo Alto guide covers that side of the highway.

Other networks

National networks such as ChargePoint, EVgo and Electrify America operate across the Bay Area. Many offices, hotels and shopping centers also host their own chargers. Their locations change often. Use a map app rather than relying on a printed list.

Apps that help

• PlugShare shows chargers from most networks, with recent check-ins from other drivers so you can see whether a site is working.
• Network apps such as Tesla, ChargePoint and EVgo let you start sessions, pay and sometimes see live availability.
• Your car's own navigation often routes you to fast chargers and preconditions the battery on the way.
• ParkMobile is not a charging app, but you may need it to pay for parking at Caltrain lots or on the Stanford campus while you charge elsewhere.

City utility EV programs

Palo Alto runs its own municipal utility, City of Palo Alto Utilities, which supplies electricity in the city. That gives residents some programs you will not find elsewhere. Our guide to City of Palo Alto Utilities covers the utility in general.

• Service upgrade rebate. Installing a home charger sometimes means the utility must upgrade the transformer or service line. The city's Utility Service Capacity Fee Rebate Program can credit up to $10,000 per service address toward those costs, according to the home EV charging page. You pay the base fee in the utility's rate schedule.
• Multifamily properties. Apartment and condo owners can apply for rebates and technical help to install chargers for residents.
• Limited-time offers. The utility says it joins limited-time EV discount programs from time to time and announces them in its residential newsletter.

For questions, the city lists Utilities Program Services at (650) 329-2241 for EV programs and Utilities Electrical Engineering at (650) 566-4500 for service upgrades.

Charging etiquette

Busy chargers bring out the worst in some drivers. Follow these rules and you will not be the one with the angry note on the windshield.

1. Move when you are done. A charging space is for charging, not parking. Set an alert in your car's app.
2. Do not park a gas car in an EV space. It blocks the charger for everyone.
3. Do not unplug someone else's car unless the charger or the owner clearly allows it.
4. Stop at 80 percent on fast chargers when others are waiting. Charging slows sharply above that level anyway.
5. Coil the cable and hang it back up so it is not driven over.
6. Report broken chargers to the network or in PlugShare to help the next driver.

Renting an EV

Some rental companies at Bay Area airports offer electric models, so ask when you book. An EV suits a Palo Alto trip well, since distances are short and chargers are common. Ask how the company expects the car back, since some charge a fee if the battery comes back below a set level. You can compare electric rental cars or check more rental offers before you land. If you are staying overnight, ask your hotel about chargers when you book, or plan to use the city garages after 5 p.m.

Frequently asked questions