Tesla, the giant electric vehicle company, has recently commenced allowing electric cars from rival brands to use its superchargers. However, this development is currently limited to the United States.
Following over a year of preparation, Tesla’s charging stations – a company that has been embroiled in several legal battles – are now prepared to cater to other electric vehicles. While the charging experience for non-Tesla owners is quite similar to that of Tesla owners, it appears that the brand charges a higher fee for charging.
The United States, first concerned
Tesla opted to introduce competition to its renowned superchargers in its home country, the United States. Observers had begun to notice modifications to the charging stations, indicating an imminent rollout. As per the specialized website Electrek, this has been initiated at around half a dozen Tesla stations in New York State (although this figure may have altered subsequently).
The colossal producer, who faced some stock market challenges following its CEO Elon Musk’s Twitter actions, has now furnished its terminals with what it terms as the “Magic Dock.” It is essentially a CCS adapter that enables other vehicles to plug in and utilize the terminal that employs this form of connection.
The declaration was also formally posted on Tesla Charging’s Twitter handle, which took the chance to release an instructional video detailing the process of charging a non-Tesla electric vehicle on a supercharger. The steps include downloading the Tesla app on your smartphone, setting up an account, adding a payment method, and then following the instructions to activate a terminal and start charging. Tesla cautions that on occasion, there might be a two-minute waiting time before the charging starts. This is because, as per Electrek, the terminal needs to communicate with the car via the application and not directly.
A deployment that will accelerate
A user has highlighted that the video illustrates a charging rate of $0.49/kWh, whereas the Tesla website states that charging at the same terminal in Brewster city is priced at $0.39/kWh. Hence, Tesla may potentially charge higher fees for the utilization of its terminals by non-Tesla vehicles.
Tesla has plans to significantly increase the number of charging stations in the United States that are compatible with other electric car brands. However, there is currently no news regarding when the superchargers will be available to non-Tesla brands in France. The company did introduce its pilot program for supercharger access in several foreign countries, including France, in 2021. However, it only allows a limited number of electric vehicle owners from other brands to access a specific set of Tesla charging stations. In 2022, this program included only 16 terminals out of the approximately 1,500 installed by the company in France.
