Elon Musk has confirmed that Tesla will allow owners of other company’s electric vehicles to charge up at its Supercharger stations—adding the option will be available before the end of 2021.
‘We’re making our Supercharger network open to other EVs later this year,’ the 50-year-old CEO tweeted Tuesday.
In the US, Tesla’s cars use the company’s proprietary connector, which means automakers who want to access the 900-plus charging stations the company operates domestically would have to provide an adapter to its drivers.
In Europe, Tesla uses a CCS direct current connector, which has become an international standard.
In a followup tweet, Musk confirmed all of the company’s 25,000 Superchargers would eventually be available to non-Tesla drivers.
Elon Musk confirmed Tuesday that Tesla’s network of more than 25,000 Supercharger stations at more than 2,700 locations will open up to drivers of other EVs by the end of 2021
In a tweet revealing the Supercharger network will be open to other EVs this year, Elon Musk said the company created its own proprietary charging connector because, at the time, there was no industry standard
It’s hardly the first time Musk has discussed opening up the Supercharger network.
‘We’re happy to support other automakers and let them use our Supercharger stations,’ Musk said in 2018, according to TechCrunch. ‘This is not a walled garden.’
Other EV manufacturers ‘would just need to pay the share of the cost proportionate to their vehicle usage,’ he added. ‘And they would need to be able to accept our charge rate or at least — and our connector, at least have an adapter to our connector.’
But this is the first time he’s given any sort of timeline.
While Musk said all of the company’s 25,000 Superchargers would eventually be available to non-Tesla drivers, its not clear if the service will be available in Europe first or rolled out simultaneously worldwide
Reaction to the news on Twitter was mixed, with one user saying they were okay with opening up the network ‘as long as non-Tesla’s pay an annual membership fee of some sort and that the experience charging does not change.’
Another Tesla owner in California called it a ‘horrible move,’ suggesting it would increase the wait time to get to a full charge.
‘Some superchargers have a wait of 30 minutes at times with other Teslas,’ wrote @LAdetectives. ‘Mix in other EVs and it’s gonna be a real cluster—-.’
Musk’s confirmation came in response to a tweet from a user who defended Tesla against those who criticized it for building its own charging network.
Musk’s comments on opening up Supercharger stations came in response to a tweet defending Tesla against those who criticized it for building its own charging network
‘Funny how many people are now questioning why Tesla created their own proprietary charging connector and that it’s not fair for other EVs,’ tweeted @Teslatino.
‘How about no support for @elonmusk when he was advancing the technology. His team created a reliable way to charge the fleet? Deal with it!.’
In response, Musk said his company created its own connector because there was no industry standard in 2012, ‘and Tesla was [the] only maker of long range electric cars.’
‘It’s one fairly slim connector for both low & high power charging,’ he added. That said, we’re making our Supercharger network open to other EVs later this year.’
The acknowledgment comes about a month after reports indicated the Supercharger network would be open to non-Tesla cars starting next year.
Tesla started with six Supercharger locations throughout California, but has grown to a worldwide operation with 2,700 stations across North America, Asia and Europe, and parts of the Middle East
The Palo Alto, California-based company had apparently told Norwegian officials it would start the process in September 2022, as originally reported by Electrek.
According to minutes of Tesla’s meeting with Vestland fylkeskommune, the governing body of Norway’s Vestland county, ‘The condition for benefits is that infrastructure must be developed with a publicly available offer.’
Tesla had also reportedly been speaking with officials in Germany about opening up its network for other automakers.
It’s unclear at this point if Tesla will start with Superchargers in one region or open up its global network all at once.
The fact that its European models use the same connectors as other EVs suggests that’s where the program would begin, TechCruch reported.
Tesla unveiled its Supercharger network in September 2012, several months after the release of its Model S sedan
Tesla unveiled the first Supercharger stations in September 2012, several months after the release of its Model S sedan.
It started with six locations throughout California, but has grown to a worldwide operation with locations across North America, Asia and Europe, and parts of the Middle East.
Initially, Tesla offered free supercharging for both its Model S and Model X vehicles, but Musk said several years ago the perk was not ‘really sustainable’ as production of the vehicles ramped up.
It brought back free supercharging for the Model 3 during a period in 2018, but has more recently ended the perk.
Pricing varies by location and it may change from time to time, Tesla has said previously.
In 2018, CEO Elon Musk said he wanted to put a restaurant at one of the company’s Los Angeles Supercharger stations
In May, Tesla filed a trademark application for takeout, pop-up, self-serve and sit-down restaurants, an idea first brought up by Musk several years ago.
It’s possible the ‘restaurant services’ could be located at or near the company’s Supercharger stations.
In 2018, Musk tweeted that he wanted to put ‘an old-school drive-in,’ with roller-skating waitresses and a diner at one of the company’s Supercharger stations in L.A.
