Photo: Tesla Charging and Tesla Europe on Twitter / autoevolution edit
Tesla announced on its CEO's social media platform that any EV owner in Europe could benefit from free high-power charging at any Supercharger station. The offer is good for only 24 hours, and it's meant to mark the brand's fast-charging infrastructure expansion into the Old Continent.
If you find yourself in Europe and have an EV with a CCS Combo 2 port, don't hesitate to visit a Supercharger station that's part of the pilot program allowing EVs made by other brands to get some electrons. It's only available until midnight!
Tesla made DC fast-charging free for a day. The initiative was confirmed via one of the company's official Twitter (now also known as X) accounts. It's avalaible to anyone, including those that drive plug-in hybrids.
The move comes shortly after the opening of the second Supercharger location with V4 stalls. That station is located in the UK. These futuristic-looking pedestals have longer cables and are currently limited to an output of 250 kW, just like the V3 stalls. However, they can go up to charging speeds of 350 kW, just like their main European competitor, Ionity. But for now, they are limited to just 250 kW.
EV chargers with an output of up to 350 kW can only be used safely at their maximum power rating by cars boasting 800V+ battery architectures. Tesla's units sit somewhere between 500V and 600V. As such, they won't be able to take full advantage of the more capable stalls found at competitors like Ionity.
Photo: Tesla
Still, fast-charging a Tesla at a Supercharger takes little time. Owners usually spend around half an hour plugged in. Replenishing the energy storage unit up to around 80% is enough to keep drivers on the road for approximately 250 miles on average.
Besides that, vehicles with 800V+ architectures might not be able to take full advantage of 350 kW DC fast chargers because the rate at which they extract electricity from the grid drops as the battery level increases. One could say that Tesla's decision not to hop on the 800V+ architecture bandwagon was wise.
Returning to the topic at hand, Tesla decided to make Supercharging free for a day to mark the 10th anniversary of its incursion on the Old Continent. The first high-power charging station displaying the automaker's branding opened a decade ago in Norway. A month prior to that announcement, Tesla delivered the first European Model S in the Scandinavian country. Yes, it all started in northern Europe.
But what's more interesting is that Tesla didn't just build one Supercharger and called the press to gloat. It launched six high-power charging locations that served around 90% of Norway's population.
Today, Tesla's European Supercharger network comprises well over a thousand stations spread across 36 of the 44 countries found over the pond. Worldwide, the only continent left for the EV maker to conquer is South America. In Africa, the company built some high-power charging stations in Morocco.
Don't forget to check the Tesla app before taking advantage of a free battery refill. Keep in mind that not all Superchargers in Europe are open to all EVs.
Btw, Supercharging in Europe is free to all today! This includes locations open to all EVs (70% of our network!)
Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one. Full profile
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