How Ionna Is Taking On The Tesla Supercharger Network

On this week’s Plugged-In Podcast, we have a very special guest: Ionna CEO Seth Cutler. 

Ionna, for those not in the know, is a relatively new charging network backed by seven of the world’s biggest automakers. It was announced in 2023, became a real company in 2024, and now has a growing national footprint. The goal, Cutler says, is to become America’s go-to charging provider. 

“We’re a network today,” he told me. “But our goal is to become the network, where people say ‘I use Ionna for all of my travel.'” 

I wanted to have Cutler on to find out how that’s going, especially in a historically rough era for the EV industry. (Despite the slowdown in sales from some of Ionna’s backers, its plans haven’t changed, he told me.) We also talk about some of the biggest challenges to rolling out charging stations at a rapid pace, like getting actual power hooked up, and how Ionna is dealing with that. 

And we discuss Cutler’s views on higher-powered charging—like what we’re seeing from BYD—and whether that will ever be a reality in America. Plus, of course, a whole lot more. 

Check out the show on YouTube above, or wherever you get your podcasts. On this week’s episode Mack Hogan and I also discuss Google Gemini’s takeover of your navigation system (and why it’s the best feature to come to cars in ages), Chinese cars hitting Canada, and Tesla’s new waitlist feature for Superchargers. 

Hope you enjoy! If you have any feedback or suggestions for the show, drop me a line: Tim.Levin@InsideEVs.com