Tesla to open ~20% of U.S. Superchargers to all EV by end of 2024

[Maquis]

By guess is that most, if not all CCS-compatible SCs will be at new installations, not retrofit of existing.

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[GDN]

to be even clearer, since there are on average at least 10 superchargers at a station, this means either:

• there will be only 350 station locations open to non-Teslas, with all chargers available, or

• there will be 3500 station locations open to non-Teslas, with only a single non-Tesla charger available, or

• somewhere between the above two

So, pick your poison: only 350 available stations nationwide, or only a single available charger at 3,500 stations nationwide - after two years

neither very impressive or life-changing

Even with those numbers they will still outnumber the number of EA chargers you'd find working today.

 

[FordLightningMan]

My truck would change from a local commuter to a mid-range commuter if Tesla opened up a few specific chargers. Where I genuinely think there are pros and cons to different manufacturer's EVs and I'd consider picking any of them up, Tesla is really the only reliable charing network.

 

[thecoloradokid]

Tesla Supercharging will always be a last resort, back up charging option for me. I did a Scottdale run from Denver in my Taycan Cross Turismo last month, and am in the middle of a road trip to Houston in my Ford F-150 Lightning right now and have not encountered a single issue or delay at any of the 17 different Electrify America chargers in six states I have used in the past month while on the road trips.

And for people that claim that Tesla is the only "reliable" long distance EV charging network, please let me know when you have done over 50,000 highway miles in over 14 states exclusively using Electrify America and never being stranded. Because I have.

Not trying be a jerk about this, but people who complain about Electrify America tend to the the ones have have taken one short road trip, or regurgitate 3rd hand stories.

Not saying that Electrify America is perfect, but it is not as bad as people claim.

 

[Joneii]

Hopefully they make the cords longer or design pull throughs or us Lightning folks will be hard pressed to fit in the spaces. Of course, I would take a Supercharger over an EA any day and if they open just a few, it’s better than zero!

 

[Capertrj]

Just curious. If we did have the same connector we wouldn’t be able to use them right now? would we need to carry an adapter when this does happen?

 

[RickLightning]

Just curious. If we did have the same connector we wouldn’t be able to use them right now? would we need to carry an adapter when this does happen?

There is no connector in existence that you can buy to charge at a Tesla SuperCharger.

Providing connectors would not meet the requirements to get US funding.

The Tesla chargers and network have to be changed to ALLOW a non-Telsa to charge, it's not just "have an adapter".

 

[cvalue13]

Even with those numbers they will still outnumber the number of EA chargers you'd find working today.

while that’s not my experience, I admit that different parts of the country have different experiences and also that I don’t fast charge often

regardless, the point seems obvious but trite to me that some is better than none. the more pertinent point to me is that Tesla has months ago teased what seemed at the time to be a general subscription raising hopes, and hopes that would seem to square with Tesla’s purported but apparently paperthin ideology that it will prioritize the electrification of the world over competition-moating.

accordingly, a mere 350 stations nationwide by the end of 2024 to me seems an inordinate let-down for what Tesla *could* do if desiring to live up to its purported ideologies.

note also that nothing yet has been said of the cost of charging for non-Tesla vehicles, so the ultimate benefit of these chargers remains TBD.

I’m not going to lose sleep over it, just throttling what is being pitched by Tesla and news as being something more than it is. It’s not 7,500 being opened to non-Teslas (3,500 is f those are L2s already capable of charging non-Teslas), and the other 3,500 are chargers not full stations.

 

[queuewho]

please let me know when you have done over 50,000 highway miles in over 14 states exclusively using Electrify America and never being stranded. Because I have.

It isn't just about being stranded. That's worst case. It's about a situation like...hey if there was just one more charger between the two I am looking at as possible next stops, I wouldn't sweat it one bit. The one that is closer, I would get to with too much charge making me waste my time, and the one further away is questionable on if I will make it there.

Regarding reliability...I've charged in 6 states, EA mostly, some chargepoint, some EVgo (the two times I tried EVgo they didn't work and support said sorry they are under maintenance), one was a circle K. EA is the most reliable and easiest to use, most polished app. BUT, I've had faulty sessions that remain in my app and won't clear, I've have payment processing fail, I've had dead stations, I've had super slow charging even at low SoC. It's honestly something like 50% of the time that it is completely and totally problem-free.

If Tesla can sneak a few supercharger locations in between some of the EA stops, then it makes things better. Even if they are off the same exits, if there is an issue with either one, the other becomes an option that wasn't there before.

 

[sotek2345]

It isn't just about being stranded. That's worst case. It's about a situation like...hey if there was just one more charger between the two I am looking at as possible next stops, I wouldn't sweat it one bit. The one that is closer, I would get to with too much charge making me waste my time, and the one further away is questionable on if I will make it there.

Regarding reliability...I've charged in 6 states, EA mostly, some chargepoint, some EVgo (the two times I tried EVgo they didn't work and support said sorry they are under maintenance), one was a circle K. EA is the most reliable and easiest to use, most polished app. BUT, I've had faulty sessions that remain in my app and won't clear, I've have payment processing fail, I've had dead stations, I've had super slow charging even at low SoC. It's honestly something like 50% of the time that it is completely and totally problem-free.

If Tesla can sneak a few supercharger locations in between some of the EA stops, then it makes things better. Even if they are off the same exits, if there is an issue with either one, the other becomes an option that wasn't there before.

Agreed - I have never been stranded, but I have noticed that I have been encountering more and more issues (slow speeds, need to call and talk to support to get it going, etc.) as time goes on.

 

[greenne]

while that’s not my experience, I admit that different parts of the country have different experiences and also that I don’t fast charge often

regardless, the point seems obvious but trite to me that some is better than none. the more pertinent point to me is that Tesla has months ago teased what seemed at the time to be a general subscription raising hopes, and hopes that would seem to square with Tesla’s purported but apparently paperthin ideology that it will prioritize the electrification of the world over competition-moating.

accordingly, a mere 350 stations nationwide by the end of 2024 to me seems an inordinate let-down for what Tesla *could* do if desiring to live up to its purported ideologies.

note also that nothing yet has been said of the cost of charging for non-Tesla vehicles, so the ultimate benefit of these chargers remains TBD.

I’m not going to lose sleep over it, just throttling what is being pitched by Tesla and news as being something more than it is. It’s not 7,500 being opened to non-Teslas (3,500 is f those are L2s already capable of charging non-Teslas), and the other 3,500 are chargers not full stations.

There's nothing that keeps Elon from opening up more superchargers if it starts to benefit Tesla from a money perspective. He probably agreed to the minimum set by the government. I can see that it may go like Europe with ab expanding network as the situation and demand allows.

 

[Maxx]

Tesla is great at taking my tax money from Feds and then complain about government regulations. I will be curious how this will play out in practice. Even if regulators didn’t leave a loophole that make it easy to give away the money without getting the value, there is still the question of how the locations are selected and how reliable the experience will be. One of the reasons for great Tesla charging experience is that it is a closed network (Tesla Vehicles with Tesla chargers) and therefore more predictable variables to design for.

Very curious what the deal is with level 2 charging. I am not quite sure about this but my understanding is that most of destination chargers belongs to the hotels and property owners and many of these have the switch flipped to Tesla only by default simply because property owner didn’t know it can be open to all EVs. So it is a crap shoot for non-Tesla EVs trying to use an adapter. Would Tesla get my tax money to have a property owner flip a switch on an existing Destination Charger they already paid for? Anyone knows how this is supposed to work?

It makes sense for Fed money to go to building new charging stations by Tesla since their chargers cost less. I just hope they don’t come up with a new scheme to keep the rest of us out of those chargers and fill them up with more Teslas.

 

[Maxx]

You could start at Min 5:

 

[RickLightning]

Tesla is great at taking my tax money from Feds and then complain about government regulations. I will be curious how this will play out in practice. Even if regulators didn’t leave a loophole that make it easy to give away the money without getting the value, there is still the question of how the locations are selected and how reliable the experience will be. One of the reasons for great Tesla charging experience is that it is a closed network (Tesla Vehicles with Tesla chargers) and therefore more predictable variables to design for.

Very curious what the deal is with level 2 charging. I am not quite sure about this but my understanding is that most of destination chargers belongs to the hotels and property owners and many of these have the switch flipped to Tesla only by default simply because property owner didn’t know it can be open to all EVs. So it is a crap shoot for non-Tesla EVs trying to use an adapter. Would Tesla get my tax money to have a property owner flip a switch on an existing Destination Charger they already paid for? Anyone knows how this is supposed to work?

It makes sense for Fed money to go to building new charging stations by Tesla since their chargers cost less. I just hope they don’t come up with a new scheme to keep the rest of us out of those chargers and fill them up with more Teslas.

If if a Tesla destination charger "flipped a switch", that would still have a Tesla plug and be non-compliant. It has to have a CCS plug, no adapter furnished by the consumer, or it gets no funds.

 

[Joneii]

Tesla Supercharging will always be a last resort, back up charging option for me. I did a Scottdale run from Denver in my Taycan Cross Turismo last month, and am in the middle of a road trip to Houston in my Ford F-150 Lightning right now and have not encountered a single issue or delay at any of the 17 different Electrify America chargers in six states I have used in the past month while on the road trips.

And for people that claim that Tesla is the only "reliable" long distance EV charging network, please let me know when you have done over 50,000 highway miles in over 14 states exclusively using Electrify America and never being stranded. Because I have.

Not trying be a jerk about this, but people who complain about Electrify America tend to the the ones have have taken one short road trip, or regurgitate 3rd hand stories.

Not saying that Electrify America is perfect, but it is not as bad as people claim.

I hear you—EA is what we have and I’ve done quite a few road-trips through 10 states (some with a trailer) and I was never stranded (although I did have to sleep in the RV one night at a level 2 after trying every Royal Farm DCFC on the DelMarVa peninsula to no avail). But I also don’t think “never stranded” should be the performance standard. I wasn’t stuck, but there was quite a bit of unnecessary frustration and delays. Many times arriving at a 4 unit facility with all showing green lights and all indicating available on the app. But plug in and fail to initiate, or start then shortly quit or only put out 60 kW even though it should be pushing me 150 or more. Sometimes having to move to a different unit to get a proper charge and several times not being able to charge at all. I always plan to have a divert station available for that reason. I still love my truck and am willing to put up with the frustration of charging on road trips because it is more comfortable than my Tesla, but if charging it was as carefree as charging my Model Y, that would be awesome!

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