Tesla's (TSLA) Supercharging is often considered the absolute "gold standard" of EV charging, as its network of 50,000 charging ports worldwide provides the most seamless and frills-free EV charging experience on the market.
However, until recently, the convenient experience has been an exclusive privilege enjoyed by Tesla owners. Now, Ford, Rivian and General Motors are just some of the automakers whose cars can charge their EVs at Tesla's Superchargers, while many more manufacturers will gain the ability soon.
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But as owners of non-Teslas begin to use Tesla Superchargers, the quirks of EV design are exposing a huge built-in flaw with Tesla's EV charging ports and making some EV owners look like inconsiderate jerks to Tesla owners in the process.
A crucial design flaw with Tesla Superchargers
When it was introduced in 2012, Tesla initially designed the Supercharger network to serve its own vehicles. In a statement at the time, CEO Elon Musk called it a "game-changer" for EVs, noting the network has "a level of convenience equivalent to gasoline cars for all practical purposes."
However, Tesla overlooked the possibility that other EV brands would eventually want to use the network. As seen in the picture above, Tesla vehicles and Superchargers are, in essence, built for each other.
Most Tesla vehicles, including the Cybertruck, have a standard charging port location. It is usually located somewhere above and behind the left-side rear wheel well, often behind a reflector door by the driver's side rear tail light.
Since Tesla Superchargers were initially built to accommodate only Tesla vehicles, standardizing this location for these vehicles meant that they could save money by using shorter charging cables. But for drivers who own non-Tesla EVs, the fact that there is no standard charging port location can present a logistical problem that can trigger social anxiety when using a Supercharger, especially if the location is busy or if other EV owners need to charge up.
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The short cable length of Tesla Superchargers has led some EV owners to get creative. In a photo shared to the r/TeslaLounge subreddit labeled "F--king people" shows a Cadillac Lyriq owner parked diagonally in multiple spaces, as the charging location in this EV is in the left front fender.
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YouTuber Quinn Nelson or @snazzylabs on X (formerly known as Twitter), posted a photo on the site of a Rivian R1S partially parked on a grass median with the caption "Homies don’t block other homies stalls."
Homies don’t block other homies stalls. pic.twitter.com/NQSRzKzY4H
— Quinn Nelson (@SnazzyLabs) March 22, 2024
According to Tesla, there are "some cases" where EV owners "might have to park over the line in order to charge comfortably." The company acknowledges that the locations of charge ports vary from EV to EV and may often require "cable sharing between adjacent stalls at many sites."
As Quinn Nelson's post shows, non-Tesla owners do not need to use multiple charging bays to reach a plug, as any non-Tesla owners on the internet have demonstrated some sort of "charger etiquette." In one video shared by YouTuber CyberZEV, the Chevrolet Blazer EV owner is shown using the farthest charging stall on the end to avoid being in anyone's way.
Tesla is working to resolve this problem with its new version of Superchargers, which feature longer cables that will make it easier for non-Tesla EVs to plug in. However, they have yet to roll out. Tesla is also imploring other automakers to standardize the location of charging ports in future vehicles.
Tesla Inc., which trades on the NASDAQ as TSLA, is down 3.49% today, trading at $249.02 per share.
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