Tesla has opened its Supercharger network to non-Tesla electric car owners in Europe. These drivers can now charge their cars at “selected” Supercharger stations in Austria, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, and the UK using Tesla’s app.
Elon Musk had originally planned to open his Supercharger network to non-Tesla drivers in July 2021, and this plan has already been implemented in the Netherlands, Norway, and France. With the addition of these 5 new countries, the total number of countries with Supercharger access in Europe is now 8.
In the UK, for example, the initially available 15 Supercharger stations for non-Tesla drivers are located in Aberystwyth, Adderstone, Aviemore, Banbury, Birmingham St Andrews, Cardiff, Dundee, Flint, Folkestone Eurotunnel, Grays, Manchester Trafford Centre, Thetford, Trumpington, Uxbridge, and Wokingham.
In Norway, Tesla has now opened a total of 58 Supercharger stations at 88 locations, according to news on May 8, 2022.
Non-Tesla drivers can access Tesla Supercharger stations using the Tesla app. They can choose to pay the highest one-time use price or subscribe for a membership for lower prices, which are still higher than those for Tesla drivers. In the Netherlands, for example, Tesla drivers are given priority during peak hours.
Since the release of the Model 3, Tesla has adapted its European Supercharger stations to the widely used CCS2 protocol, allowing most non-Tesla cars to charge. However, the problem lies in the fact that the charging ports of these cars are not located in the same place as Tesla’s, which can lead to some cars not being able to connect because the cable of the Tesla Supercharger is not long enough.
Of course, Tesla has its own methodology for selecting the locations of these Supercharger stations:> We start with selected number of sites so that we can review experiences, monitor congestion and assess feedback before expanding. Future sites will only be opened to non-Tesla vehicles when capacity is available.
Currently, Tesla’s proprietary charging stations are not widely open, so there hasn’t been any situation where Tesla owners are competing with non-Tesla owners for charging ports.
Starting from Musk’s first principles, it is true that opening up private charging stations can promote overall electric vehicle usage experience and sales. However, this raises several thoughts:
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The convenience and exclusivity of Tesla’s Supercharger stations are one of the reasons why many consumers choose Tesla over other brands. Will the development of general-purpose charging stations affect consumers’ enthusiasm for purchasing Tesla vehicles?
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Will other leading automakers with their own charging stations start to open up to non-brand users?
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If many leading automakers open up their proprietary charging stations to non-brand users, will new entrants who have their own charging network still be necessary?
🔗Information source: Autocar; insideevs
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.