Photo: Bjorn Nyland via YouTube | Edited
In a breakthrough agreement announced by the Biden Administration, Tesla pledged to make parts of its Supercharger network available to non-Tesla electric vehicles. Tesla will offer up to 3,500 fast charging stations to other brands by fitting the charging stalls with an intelligent adapter. Still, more changes are needed to allow other EVs to charge at the Supercharger stations.
Tesla will allow electric vehicles produced by other automakers to charge at its Supercharger stations as part of a national plan to accelerate EV adoption. Biden Administration has been courting Tesla for quite some time, and Elon Musk was rumored to have met senior White House officials a month ago to negotiate a deal.
According to a document released by the White House, the meeting was successful, and Tesla agreed to make at least 7,500 chargers available to all-electric vehicles by the end of 2024. Over 3,500 will offer DC Fast Charging up to 250 kW, while the rest will be Level 2 Destination Chargers. Tesla also agreed to more than double its Supercharger network, using funds from the $7.5 billion NEVI spending plan the Government has announced.
Because Tesla uses a proprietary connector, it has to offer at least a compatible adapter for other electric vehicles. Previous information indicates that it would do that thanks to the Magic Dock, a system that deploys a suitable adapter when non-Tesla vehicles initiate a charging session. Still, having an adapter would not be enough, considering that Tesla Superchargers are optimized for Tesla vehicles.
Although there are only a few established plug standards, every carmaker has its own ideas regarding where to put a plug port on its vehicles. That’s why we have charge ports on the front fenders, left or right, in the bumper, front or rear, in the rear fenders, and even in the rear central area, like on the new electric Porsche Boxster. In short, it’s a mess and requires drivers to position their cars differently next to a charging stall.
This can be problematic in a highly standardized environment, like Supercharger stations. Based on where the charging port on a non-Tesla EV is installed, it will certainly not be able to park in the designated parking spot for a Tesla. It might occupy the adjacent parking spot if the port is located on the other side, or it can even block several chargers. This is sure to rattle Tesla owners, on top of having unwanted competition at Superchargers.
But that’s not even the whole problem, because many non-Tesla EVs might be unable to plug in at the Supercharger, Magic Dock or not. That’s because the cord is only as long as it needs to charge a Tesla. Teslas have the charging port at the rear left corner of the car, in the closest possible position to the charger. Anything further than that, and it’s impossible to plug the cord. This presents new challenges to non-Tesla EV owners.
Of course, Tesla could fit longer cords on their chargers to allow for more flexibility. Still, the pictures leaked so far show the cable has the same length, even on dual-cord stalls. Adding an extension cord is also not practical because Superchargers cords use liquid cooling, and an extension would severely limit the power level. One thing is certain: accommodating non-Tesla EVs at Superchargers will take much more effort than previously thought.
According to a document released by the White House, the meeting was successful, and Tesla agreed to make at least 7,500 chargers available to all-electric vehicles by the end of 2024. Over 3,500 will offer DC Fast Charging up to 250 kW, while the rest will be Level 2 Destination Chargers. Tesla also agreed to more than double its Supercharger network, using funds from the $7.5 billion NEVI spending plan the Government has announced.
Because Tesla uses a proprietary connector, it has to offer at least a compatible adapter for other electric vehicles. Previous information indicates that it would do that thanks to the Magic Dock, a system that deploys a suitable adapter when non-Tesla vehicles initiate a charging session. Still, having an adapter would not be enough, considering that Tesla Superchargers are optimized for Tesla vehicles.
Although there are only a few established plug standards, every carmaker has its own ideas regarding where to put a plug port on its vehicles. That’s why we have charge ports on the front fenders, left or right, in the bumper, front or rear, in the rear fenders, and even in the rear central area, like on the new electric Porsche Boxster. In short, it’s a mess and requires drivers to position their cars differently next to a charging stall.
This can be problematic in a highly standardized environment, like Supercharger stations. Based on where the charging port on a non-Tesla EV is installed, it will certainly not be able to park in the designated parking spot for a Tesla. It might occupy the adjacent parking spot if the port is located on the other side, or it can even block several chargers. This is sure to rattle Tesla owners, on top of having unwanted competition at Superchargers.
But that’s not even the whole problem, because many non-Tesla EVs might be unable to plug in at the Supercharger, Magic Dock or not. That’s because the cord is only as long as it needs to charge a Tesla. Teslas have the charging port at the rear left corner of the car, in the closest possible position to the charger. Anything further than that, and it’s impossible to plug the cord. This presents new challenges to non-Tesla EV owners.
Of course, Tesla could fit longer cords on their chargers to allow for more flexibility. Still, the pictures leaked so far show the cable has the same length, even on dual-cord stalls. Adding an extension cord is also not practical because Superchargers cords use liquid cooling, and an extension would severely limit the power level. One thing is certain: accommodating non-Tesla EVs at Superchargers will take much more effort than previously thought.
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