Tesla revealed its Supercharger network to the public back in September, 2012. After years of exclusively serving Tesla owners, the company revealed that it would expand Supercharger access to non-Tesla electric cars in July, 2021. Tesla quickly delivered on that promise, too—launching the pilot program in Europe only four months later in November, 2021.
For those that aren’t familiar with Tesla’s aptly-named Supercharger, the firm claims that the advanced charging station allows users to regain 200 miles of range in 15 minutes. With more than 30,000 Superchargers available, the technology has improved the feasibility of electric vehicle ownership for Tesla fans.
The new pilot program will install universal Superchargers in Norway, The Netherlands, and France. However, Non-Tesla Supercharger access is only available to EV owners from Norway, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, and Germany. In its current form, the program may seem limited in scope, but the controlled environment will allow the firm to monitor and analyze feedback from both Tesla and non-Tesla drivers.
While Supercharger accessibility will benefit non-Tesla customers, the car company still stans to gain from the expansion.
“Pricing for Non-Tesla drivers reflects additional costs incurred to support charging a broad range of vehicles and adjustments to our sites to accommodate these vehicles,” states Tesla. “Rates vary by site, and you can view charging prices in the Tesla app. The per kWh price to charge can be lowered with a charging membership.”
Public charging networks such as Ionity, EVgo and Electrify America also offer non-Tesla owners accessible charging points, the addition of Tesla’s universal Superchargers not only expands the overall network but also boosts the practicality of electric vehicles.
“More customers using the Supercharger network enables faster expansion,” added the brand. “Our goal is to learn and iterate quickly, while continuing to aggressively expand the network, so we can eventually welcome both Tesla and Non-Tesla drivers at every Supercharger worldwide.”
