Photo: Bjorn Nyland via Youtube
Tesla is poised to open its Supercharger network in the U.S. to other EV brands soon as it seeks to access federal funds to extend the network. According to a Twitter post, Tesla is considering two membership plans for non-Tesla EV owners.
One of the best advantages Tesla has over rivals in the EV war is its extensive network of charging stations, named the Supercharger network. Supercharger stations are not only ubiquitous but also easy to use, not needing any app or action to use them other than simply plug the car in. This advantage will disappear by the end of this year in the U.S. as Tesla prepares to open its Supercharge stations to non-Tesla EVs.
This happens after a successful trial in Europe over the past year. Europe was the first choice because the European Superchargers use the same CCS plug as other EVs in the market. In contrast, in the U.S., an adaptor is needed. Tesla is also rumored to install dual-plug charging poles in the U.S. to allow charging of non-Tesla vehicles. Adaptor or not, the move is required by the federal authorities to allow Tesla to access federal funds to build new charging stations in the U.S.
As you’d imagine, Tesla will offer a different authentication method for non-Tesla owners via the Tesla app. Tesla is already testing an updated version of the app, and a lucky guy caught the exact moment when Tesla displayed the membership options in the app. The option to sign up for a Tesla Supercharger membership was only available for a short time. Still, it was enough to give us a taste of what will come.
According to Sawyer Merritt, Tesla will offer two Supercharger tiers: a Pay Per Use plan and a membership option that promises a lower price per kilowatt-hour when paying a subscription. This is not much different from what other EV charging networks offer. Despite showing the $0,99 plan, we don’t think it’s time to pop the champagne yet. It is probably just a placeholder, and higher pricing is highly likely.
This happens after a successful trial in Europe over the past year. Europe was the first choice because the European Superchargers use the same CCS plug as other EVs in the market. In contrast, in the U.S., an adaptor is needed. Tesla is also rumored to install dual-plug charging poles in the U.S. to allow charging of non-Tesla vehicles. Adaptor or not, the move is required by the federal authorities to allow Tesla to access federal funds to build new charging stations in the U.S.
As you’d imagine, Tesla will offer a different authentication method for non-Tesla owners via the Tesla app. Tesla is already testing an updated version of the app, and a lucky guy caught the exact moment when Tesla displayed the membership options in the app. The option to sign up for a Tesla Supercharger membership was only available for a short time. Still, it was enough to give us a taste of what will come.
According to Sawyer Merritt, Tesla will offer two Supercharger tiers: a Pay Per Use plan and a membership option that promises a lower price per kilowatt-hour when paying a subscription. This is not much different from what other EV charging networks offer. Despite showing the $0,99 plan, we don’t think it’s time to pop the champagne yet. It is probably just a placeholder, and higher pricing is highly likely.
BREAKING: @Tesla has launched Supercharger membership packages for Non-Tesla EV owners.
— Sawyer Merritt ???????? (@SawyerMerritt) August 17, 2022
There are two plans:
• Pay Per Use: Pay as you go, access to Supercharger network
• Membership: $0.99/month (in the US), access to Supercharger network, lower price per kWh pic.twitter.com/muVBv3pZbd
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