Tesla's Supercharging network has been exclusive to Tesla owners partly due to the proprietary plug that's used in the U.S. and Canada. However, the company may have to make changes to access billions of dollars the U.S. government will spend to build more charging stations across the country.
Opening Up to Competition
Tesla's Supercharging network in the United States will have to become available to competitors due to a new requirement from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Reuters reports that the final provision will be announced next week, which will pressure Tesla to expand beyond its proprietary charging plug and include the CCS1 charging standard used by many of its competitors. Otherwise, Tesla will lose the chance to receive $7.5 billion in subsidies, which is part of President Joe Biden's plan to construct 500,000 electric vehicle chargers in the coming years.
Tesla's U.S. Supercharger network, with more than 40,000 chargers worldwide, is often regarded as the benchmark because of its reliability, speed, and availability. However, the network's exclusivity has led to non-Tesla owners being unable to use it. For example, Tesla drivers can buy an adapter to connect to CCS1 chargers, but non-Tesla owners cannot do the same with Superchargers.
Competition Among Companies
Chargers seeking to become part of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program will need to use the CCS standard, the U.S. charging system standard used in nearly all charging stations except Tesla's Superchargers. Companies such as ChargePoint Holdings and EVgo Inc are expected to compete for funding under the NEVI program.
Unfortunately, this move ends the idea that Tesla's charging system, which offers the most reliable hardware, will be the choice for North America charging stations. Tesla opened up its connector design for any competitor to use, but it appears EVs will be stuck with the bulky CCS system.
Tesla's Response
Tesla has already opened up some of its Superchargers in Europe and Australia to non-Tesla EVs, however, Teslas and Superchargers in those regions already use the CCS charging standard (CCS2 is used in Europe and Australia), making it easier.
Tesla has previously stated that it plans to allow other EVs to access their Superchargers in the U.S. as well, but that is still in progress. Tesla is expected to reveal updated Superchargers that will offer the CCS1 plug alongside Tesla's NACS plug.
Elon Musk met with the Biden administration a few weeks ago to discuss several topics, including the charging network. Last year, Tesla wrote the Federal Highway Administration, offering the Biden administration suggestions on how to shape the charging program. The company has also responded to a recent request from Ohio officials that companies submit charging proposals. In addition, in Arizona, Tesla said it was open to upgrading its chargers or building new ones to meet federal requirements, although a final decision was not made.
