Owners of non-Tesla electric vehicles may soon find themselves charging up at one of Tesla’s Supercharger stations.
Tesla has been talking about the possibility for years and CEO Elon Musk in a Tuesday Twitter post finally confirmed the company will start making the stations open to owners of vehicles from other brands later this year.
Tesla currently has about 25,000 stations globally and these will need to be fitted with new connectors since they currently only support Tesla’s unique connector. The first stations to be opened up to other brands are expected to be in the United States but Musk in his tweets said that over time, the stations will be opened up in all countries.
Tesla Supercharger for city centers
Musk didn’t mention what brands will be supported, and what financial dealings, if any, are involved. The Supercharger network is one of Tesla’s main advantages, and it seems odd to give this up, but who knows what kind of deals Tesla has made or is in the process of making.
Note, there is the potential for congestion and overcrowding at stations, which is already proving an issue at some locations. Tesla in the past has hinted that it plans to build more stations, and there’s now public support. The Biden administration’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure deal has earmarked $7.5 billion for EV infrastructure, including charging stations.
Established automakers have been slow to install charging stations, choosing to rely instead on alliances such as Europe’s Ionity to establish networks. One exception has been Volkswagen Group which established Electrify America as part of a settlement stemming from the diesel scandal mid last decade.