Tesla network-sharing boosts public EV charging satisfaction

Tesla is improving the electric vehicle charging experience for Tesla and non-Tesla owners alike.

Satisfaction with public fast chargers grew 10 points to 664 on a 1,000-point scale in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2023, according to J.D. Power's U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience Public Charging Study.

That improvement also marks the first time the overall public EV charging experience improved for two consecutive quarters since J.D. Power launched the study four years ago, said Brent Gruber, executive director of the EV practice at the research firm.

Several factors are enhancing the EV charging experience.

The federal government dedicated $5 billion to add fast chargers along highways, and EV charging companies and automakers invested in fixing and expanding public charging infrastructure over the past few years.

"We're starting to see those investment efforts pay off. I know a lot of people are working really hard on making this a better experience for consumers," Gruber said.

Expanded access to Tesla's network of Superchargers drove much of the improvement in the public charging experience, according to the 2024 study published Aug. 14. The study analyzed public charging sessions from January through June.

Most automakers have said they plan to partner with Tesla to enable their vehicles to use the EV-maker's network of fast chargers, known to be the most reliable. Ford and Rivian drivers can use the Superchargers with a Tesla adapter, and other brands will soon follow, J.D. Power said. Tesla's network of fast chargers was exclusive to the brand's customers until this year.

Non-Tesla owners had a much better experience at the Tesla chargers compared with other networks. They ranked their satisfaction with Tesla Superchargers 706 on a 1,000-point scale, 42 points higher than their satisfaction with public fast chargers overall.

Non-Tesla drivers pointed to attributes that have given the Supercharger network a glowing reputation for years, such as ease of use, speed of charging, availability of chargers, nearby amenities and cleanliness, Gruber said.

However, satisfaction for Tesla owners at the stations that were once exclusive to them declined slightly, J.D. Power said.

"Now they're contending with non-Tesla owners for use of those charging stations," Gruber said. "They no longer have that exclusive club."

Tesla has the largest network of more than 28,000 fast-charging plugs, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Keeping up with consumer demand was difficult even before Tesla opened the network to other brands, Gruber said. Sharing the network has "exacerbated the problem," he said.

Industrywide, charger reliability, a major pain point for EV owners, improved only slightly in the first half of the year. Nineteen percent of public charging attempts failed, a small decrease from 20 percent a year earlier, Gruber said. Most of the attempts failed because the charger was out of service or didn't work, said J.D. Power, which works with PlugShare to collect charging data. Lack of availability or long wait times led to 20 percent of the failed attempts, and damaged cables led to 10 percent of the failures.

J.D. Power also found that fast-charging stations became faster, and drivers have less patience for slower, Level 2 chargers.

"DC fast charger speed is an important area of progress for the industry this year," Gruber said in a statement. "All charge-point operators improve in this area, particularly some of the non-Tesla networks, which is good news for the developing charging landscape."

EV owners also preferred automatic payments that allow them to plug in and automatically charge, J.D. Power said. Charging sessions with automatic payment systems were eight minutes faster than those that required a credit or debit card, Gruber said.