Mass excitement hit the internet recently when Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla would be making its Supercharger network available to other EVs "later this year". But let’s not jump to conclusions. He hasn’t said where yet.
Tesla CEO Musk has said more than once over the years that the Supercharger network is not a ‘walled garden’ so this isn’t a new development, although it does sound as though it may be nearer to happening in the UK than it was.
Prior to Musk’s tweet, an agreement had been made with Norway to open up the network there next year and Reuters has reported that talks are under way to do the same in Germany.
The UK is an ideal candidate, too. Unlike the US, where Tesla uses proprietary connectors, European Superchargers all have CCS connectors, which have pretty much become the standard for EVs capable of rapid DC charging.
Making them available in the UK wouldn’t, apparently, require any physical changes to the network. There may be some contractual wrangling involved on sites like motorway stations where other suppliers already have a deal but, technically, I’m assuming it should be straightforward.
What will the Teslarati think? I’m guessing they won't be overjoyed because, at the moment, they have exclusive use of a fairly underutilised network. On the regular long motorway trips I make, I often look longingly at the empty Supercharger bays going begging while sitting at a stone-dead Ecotricity charger wondering what to do next.
But to be fair, it’s always been Tesla’s mission "to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy", so if the time has come to share chargers, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. My north/south trips always involve the M6 (or I make sure they do) and I’ve already evolved a strategy for dodging the old Electric Highway chargers completely.
Relying on them just isn’t practical, as much in time spent faffing around for an alternative as the danger of getting stuck. There are visible signs that Gridserve is cracking on with the job of updating the motorway sites as promised, which is great. But it’s likely to take a while, and when Tesla does open up its UK sites to other EV users, I’ll be signing up like a shot.
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Tesla Supercharger network to be opened to rival EVs
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@runnerbean, what a contradictory statement, if you'd known, and then said you do 95% at Home, and 5% elsewhere, where's the inconvenience?, you'd not bought another Tesla if you'd known this?!, words don't fail me, we want EV drivers and future EV drivers to be able to charge like a Tesla, and stop the monopoly of two EV charge point vendors, not costing you anything.
I have just ordered my second Tesla and I might have thought twice had I been aware of this. The Supercharger network is Tesla's trump card and now represents their chief advantage. Even though 95% of my charging is done at home, the other 5% remains crucial. Infrastructure for other manufacturers' vehicles is way behind so the only reason why Tesla would make this opportunity available should be financial.
Looks like I was wrong in my last comment. Tesla appears to be committed to opening up via its ap. The detail remains to be seen, but it makes me quite glad that I'm not a heavy Supercharger user.