Tesla to allow electric cars made by its rivals to use its charging stations
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Elon Musk’s electric car company, Tesla, intends to open part of its US charging network to electric vehicles made by rival firms. The decision comes as part of a massive $7.5 billion federal program, which intends to encourage the expansion of EVs and their use in the country, and hopefully cut carbon emissions.
The idea is that having more accessible charging points across the nation would encourage more people to switch to electric cars without limiting them to having to buy only Tesla EVs.
Furthermore, the move could result in Tesla becoming the universal filling station for all electric cars moving forward. On the other hand, the firm is also risking the popularity of its own cars, as the well-developed charging network will no longer only support Tesla vehicles.
Tesla also intends to open around 3,500 additional high-speed Superchargers by the end of 2024, placing them all over highways and making them available to non-Tesla customers. The announcement was actually made by the Biden administration, which said that Tesla will make at least 7,500 chargers available for all EVs by the end of next year.
The announcement added that the open chargers will be distributed across the US, along highway corridors, in order to expand freedom of travel for all EVs. Additionally, Level 2 Destination Charging will become available at a number of locations, like hotels and restaurants, covering both urban and rural locations.
All EV drivers will be able to access the Tesla chargers using the company’s website or app. Furthermore, Tesla will more than double the network of Superchargers, which are manufactured in Buffalo, New York.
Apart from the 3,500 high-speed Superchargers, the company will offer 4,000 slower chargers in mentioned locations.
Tesla’s decision will make a big difference, says Biden
Commenting on the move, US President Biden said that it is a “big deal” and that it would make a big difference. Elon Musk responded to this by saying that Tesla is happy to support all EVs.
Thank you, Tesla is happy to support other EVs via our Supercharger network
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 15, 2023
A representative from the White House said that Tesla would be eligible for a subsidy, including retrofitting its existing fleet. However, this will only be the case if the chargers allow non-Tesla EVs with a federally backed charging standard, CCS, to charge. So far, Tesla has not committed to adopting CCS as its own standard, but this will be required in order for the firm to receive federal funds.
At the moment, the company has 17,711 Superchargers, which accounts for about 60% of all US fast chargers. They can add hundreds of miles of driving range in a single hour or charging, or less. The slow or “destination” chargers are capable of charging the vehicle overnight, and there are around 10,000 of them in the country. One thing worth noting is that non-Tesla owners may require a different plug in order to charge their cars, and a different payment method in order to pay for charging.
