Tesla opens first batch of Superchargers to non-Tesla EVs

Tesla Inc. has opened the first batch of its Superchargers to non-Tesla electric vehicles in a pledge to share its fast-charging network in exchange for subsidies as part of a $7.5 billion federal program to expand EV infrastructure.

Tesla said on its official Twitter account that "select Superchargers in the U.S. are now open to other EVs" in a post on Tuesday afternoon.

The announcement came a day before Tesla's Investor Day event, where CEO Elon Musk is scheduled to lay out the company's future products and programs.

Prior to Tuesday, the automaker only allowed Tesla vehicles to charge at its stations.

In a mid-February report, iSeeCars.com estimated that Tesla's network represented 60 percent of all fast-charging stalls nationwide, with 17,248 individual chargers. The Level 3 fast-charger units generally fill an EV battery in less than an hour. Tesla also has a network of Level 2 chargers — for overnight charging — at locations like hotels.

Rival networks serving non-Tesla EVs represented 40 percent of fast-charge stalls nationwide, with 11,479 chargers, iSeeCars said. One non-Tesla network, EVgo, also has some charging units with Tesla plugs.

If Tesla were to open its entire network to non-Tesla EVs, it would immediately solve a serious issue facing EV adoption — the lack of reliable fast chargers for non-Tesla brands, said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars.

"Elon Musk could flip a switch, in theory, and add 150 percent to the fast-charger network of the United States" for non-Tesla vehicles, Brauer told Automotive News.

Tesla, which had about 65 percent of the EV market last year, has only committed to opening 3,500 current and future charging stalls to non-Tesla EVs, a small fraction of its total network capacity. Tesla has not said where the select chargers would be located.

Through its @TeslaCharging Twitter account on Tuesday, the automaker posted a video showing how EV owners from rival brands can access the Tesla charging stalls.

Because Tesla uses a proprietary charging plug, the EV maker has modified its charging units to include an adapter for non-Tesla vehicles that employ a Combined Charging System plug, which is significantly larger than Tesla's plug. Most non-Tesla EVs use the CCS plug standard, with the exception of a few vehicles that use the CHAdeMO connector.

The Supercharger units that can accommodate non-Tesla EVs have a special dock that can either release a Tesla plug, or a Tesla plug with a CCS adapter on top of it. The type of plug is selected in the Tesla smartphone app.

The Tesla app shows a map of locations that have the CCS adapters. For example, it shows a "select" location in Scotts Valley, which is just south of San Jose, Calif., a major tech hub in the Silicon Valley.

EV owners can download the Tesla app, create an account and choose "Charge Your Non-Tesla" from the menu. The app includes a "wallet" for payment using a credit card or Apple Pay.

Tesla did not say on its Twitter account how many Supercharger stations were open to rival brands as of Tuesday.

In California, which has the largest concentration of Superchargers in the country, the Tesla app lists a second station near Sacramento as open to non-Tesla EVs.

The app also shows several shared locations near Tesla's factory in Buffalo, N.Y., where it makes the Supercharger units. There are no units open to non-Tesla EVs near the company's headquarters in Austin, Texas, where Musk is expected to lay out the company's future plans on Wednesday afternoon.

In addition to the special dock Tesla is using for non-Tesla charging, a CCS adapter could be sold that would allow any Tesla Supercharger to power a non-Tesla, Brauer said. Tesla already sells an adapter for its vehicles that allows them to charge at public charging stations using the CCS adapter.

Tesla's incentive for opening part of the network is to gain access to federal subsidies, Brauer said. But it may not have good reasons to go above and beyond that commitment, he added.

Opening up more of the Tesla network could provide charging revenue and serve as a marketing tool to convert owners of other EV brands to Tesla products, but it could also diminish the value of being a Tesla owner. Tesla vehicles would have to compete for charging spots with non-Tesla EVs during peak charging times, Brauer said.

Tesla's network is considered the gold standard not just for its size, but for its ease of use, reliability and placement of Supercharger stations across U.S. highways — even in states with limited EV penetration.

While many EV owners don't take road trips and charge at home overnight, Brauer said, fast-charging infrastructure is a game changer for EV adoption. Future EV shoppers will want at least the convenience of public fast charging.

"Fast charging is super important, whether for people who really need it or people who just stumble upon it," Brauer said. "Level 3 is critically important because it changes the experience of driving an EV."

Musk is expected to at least touch on the opening of the Supercharger network on Wednesday.

Tesla pledged in mid-February to open some of its U.S. charging network as part of a $7.5 billion federal program to electrify the nation's highways to cut carbon emissions.

By the end of next year, Tesla will open 3,500 new and existing superchargers along highway corridors, as well as 4,000 slower chargers at locations like hotels and restaurants, to non-Tesla customers, according to a press release from the White House last month.

Tesla will be eligible for government subsidies to build charging infrastructure as long as its chargers allow non-Tesla vehicles — which employ the CCS plug — to use Supercharger locations, the White House said.