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Recent headlines have fixated on ultra-fast EV chargers that can add hundreds of miles of range in the time it takes to refuel a gas car. Automakers are touting ever-faster charging speeds. Infrastructure providers are racing toward megawatt charging (regardless of whether or not today’s EVs can even manage it). Across the industry, the idea is clear: the faster charging becomes, the closer we get to solving the EV adoption challenge.

But this entire conversation is built on an assumption that all but falls apart under closer examination: that the ultimate goal of EV charging is to replicate the gas station experience.

That assumption might sound reasonable. But it’s causing the industry to overlook one of electrification’s most important advantages.

The Industry Is Optimizing for the Wrong Benchmark