Elon mentioned this summer that Tesla would be opening up their Superchargers to other vehicles. Just a few months later and Tesla has now opened up their first Superchargers to non-Teslas vehicles.
Tesla is starting the program in The Netherlands where Tesla and non-Tesla EVs use the same CCS port. Initially Tesla is making ten Supercharging locations available to other EVs in The Netherlands, but the goal is eventually open up all Superchargers worldwide.
Other vehicles will be able to charge at Tesla Superchargers by utilizing the Tesla app. This is a big advantage for Tesla as it gets non-Tesla owners into the Tesla ecosystem.
Tesla opens up Superchargers
@olympusdev_/Twitter
In order to charge, owners will need to create a Tesla account and add payment information. From there they will be able to start a charging session by choosing their stall and tapping Start Charging. While in the app, they'll also be able to browse Tesla models and even place an order for a Tesla.
Price
The price that Tesla charges for Supercharging varies by region and sometimes time of day, because electrical rates vary by region and time of day as well.
It looks like non-Tesla owners in The Netherlands will be paying about €0.57/kWh. The price is significantly higher than what Tesla owners pay at the same chargers. In fact, it's almost 2.5 times more costly than charging a Tesla.
Membership
Tesla will also be offering a membership for non-Tesla vehicles. The membership will give owners lower pricing per kilowatt hour. In The Netherlands, the membership will cost €12.99/month and let you charge for the lower kWh pricing that is offering for Tesla vehicles.
It's likely that the pricing for the charging membership and Supercharger use will be similar in other markets.
Order a Tesla right from the Tesla App
@olympusdev_/Twitter
We don't yet know what the membership cost will be, or how much it will lower charging per kWh, but it looks like the membership will only be available to non-Tesla owners. We imagine the rate with a membership will drop considerably but will remain higher than what Tesla owners will pay.
Why This is Good for Tesla Owners
The topic of whether Tesla should expand Supercharging to non-Tesla vehicles can bring differing opinions. Most Tesla owners are worried about a degraded experience at a Supercharger if Tesla opens it up to other EVs.
Superchargers, especially in the Bay Area are already congested, Tesla owners have had to wait over an hour just to start charging, so I can definitely understand their reasoning for being cautious with Tesla expanding Superchargers to other vehicles.
Electric vehicles are the future, there's no doubting that. Along with more EVs there will come more charging solutions.
Back in 2012 Tesla created the first Supercharger because there weren't any options for fast DC charging. Superchargers aren't meant to be a revenue stream for Tesla, but something Tesla needed to offer in order to be able to sell their vehicles.
Tesla has a choice here, they can keep their charging network exclusive to Tesla owners and keep Supercharging as a profit neutral service, or they can turn it into a revenue stream and become the de-facto standard for EV charging.
By turning Tesla's Superchargers into a revenue stream Tesla will be able to more quickly expand their reach, resulting in more Supercharger locations for Tesla and non-Tesla owners.
There will be a large player in the EV charging infrastructure. If Tesla doesn't open up their Superchargers to other vehicles, they're likely to see someone do it and become the predominate player.
The result will be a worse experience for Tesla owners. If Tesla isn't the major charging network, Tesla owners will be left in a less than ideal situation. They'll need to buy an expensive adapter to go from Tesla's proprietary connection to the standard CCS port, or they'll need to find another charging station.
Tesla owners will also be the ones that will need to download another app, create an account, add payment information, etc. They'll need to do all of that, instead of what they do today. Just plug in.
Tesla Owners Have Advantage
Charging a Tesla at a Supercharger will always be the ideal solution and provide the best charging experience. Not only will Tesla owners benefit from faster charging times by having your car precondition the battery for optimized charging, but they'll also have a seamless charging experience that doesn't require them to open the Tesla app, choose their stall and press the start or stop charging buttons.
Idle fees are only charged when the Supercharger is more than 50% full. Non-Tesla cars will not be exempt from idle fees and will need to follow all the same rules as Tesla vehicles.
Idle Fees
In order to prevent cars from taking up precious Supercharging spots while other vehicles are waiting to charge, Tesla started charging idle fees several years ago. The idle fees are high and often much higher than what the cost of charging.
CSS port in the US?
So as Tesla expands their Supercharging network and offers non-Tesla vehicles fast DC charging, we face the question, why is Tesla still using their proprietary adapter? Sure, it was necessary in 2012, but in 2021 where so many things have changed, it doesn't add many benefits over a CCS connection. It prevents Tesla owners from charging at CCS stations, it prevents some non-Tesla owners from their at Tesla chargers and it requires Tesla to build and manage multiple parts for their cars.
We believe Tesla will switch to the CCS charge port globally in the future, instead of using their proprietary Tesla port. Tesla will slowly switch over Superchargers to use a CCS connection and offer an adapter at the station for non-CCS Teslas. This will also allow Tesla owners to charge at any charging locations without purchasing an expensive CCS adapter.
Two years ago Tesla launched their first V3 chargers, capable of charging at up to 1,000 miles per hour and Tesla said they'll be adding WiFi capability to Superchargers in the future.
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Tesla recently launched software update 2025.8.3, which included a bunch of “minor updates.” Nestled away in the release notes are a couple of interesting features - including some major changes to the Energy App.
We’re not quite sure we’d call these minor updates, so let’s take a bit of an exploration of the revitalized Energy App.
The Energy App has received some new categorization features in the Consumption tab. You can once again limit the graph by distance. As part of the 2024 Holiday Update, Tesla redesigned the consumption tab and brought it to the new Model S and Model X for the first time. However, with the redesign, Tesla removed the ability to choose the distance shown in the graph, instead providing a static display of the last 200 miles (300km).
The first part of the improved Energy App is bringing back this distance filter. You can now choose between showing the last 10, 100, or 200 miles (15, 150, or 300 km). This differs from the previous available distances of 5, 15 and 30 miles, but brings back the ability for the driver to choose a distance that may be more applicable to how they’re driving.
We’d love for Tesla to introduce custom distances by pinching and zooming the graph or simply add the ability to choose “This Drive Only” to the list of available distances.
Reset Energy App History
@EV3_Model3 on X
Sadly, the “Instant Range” button that was available in the Energy App before is still not available, but Tesla introduced a new feature that may be even better. You can now clear your driving history so that the graph only reflects your current driving style.
This is a little hidden, but if you tap the little info icon at the top near your average Wh/mi, you’ll now be presented with a dialog that lets you clear your history.
This could be useful if you’ve just come from some hard driving on a track or off-road, where energy consumption could be exaggerated. It could also be useful if you just started towing or a different type of driving that is drastically different from your current driving.
Other Changes
In addition, it looks like future predictions of the Energy app now take into account your driving history and apply that in addition to expected vehicle consumption, weather, altitude, and the multitude of other factors that your Tesla constantly takes into account while calculating your expected range.
While these are smaller improvements to the Energy app, they added some important functionality, as it helps users better understand their vehicle consumption and display data that is more applicable to the current driving style.
This is a great example of Tesla listening to its customers and bringing back features they had previously been removed. Check out the video below by akide on the updated Energy app in update 2025.8.3.
Sandy Munro once again had the opportunity to chat (video below) with Lars Moravy, Tesla’s Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, as well as Franz Von Holzhausen, Tesla’s Chief of Vehicle Design. This time, rather than focusing on the improvements to the refreshed Model Y and all the new engineering behind it, the focus was on Tesla’s autonomous ambitions.
In this case, the Cybercab and Robovan were the key highlights, with a distinct focus on the Cybercab. With that all said, let’s dig into all the fun new stuff. You can check out the entire video at the end of the article.
Cybercab Unboxed Process
The Cybercab will be the first of Tesla’s vehicles to use their new unboxed assembly process, which builds vehicles in parallel sections, and then brings them together all at once for final assembly. Traditionally, vehicles are assembled from the ground up, and sometimes even disassembled for parts of production to take place.
This innovative method involves using a big rear and front casting, brought together by a structural battery pack on the floor. The door rings are hot-stamped and laser-welded to form the side shell of the Cybercab, resulting in a very rigid structure that can also absorb crash impacts due to its unique manufacturing.
Paint-Free Panels
We’ve already talked about the Cybercab’s unique paint-free panels, but we’ve never heard until now exactly how Tesla intends to manufacture them. Tesla will inject colored PU plastic onto the backside of another plastic part (formed from various processes) and then ultrasonically weld that entire piece to an inner part.
That essentially combines multiple parts into one smooth piece that is easy to repair - because all you have to do is remove the entire panel - it just comes off as the interior fasteners are removed. There is no subframe holding it together - instead, the subframe is part of the panel.
The only area of the vehicle that will have any paint will be the hot-stamped door rings - which will be painted to improve corrosion resistance to protect the steel.
Aerodynamics
Aerodynamically, the Cybercab boasts the largest aero-cover-to-wheel ratio of any Tesla vehicle. This updated aero cover improves efficiency, even with the Cybercab’s relatively large tires—chosen to reduce rolling resistance. Interestingly, the impact of unsprung weight on efficiency is minimal compared to the benefits of improved rolling resistance and aerodynamics.
Another key to the aerodynamics is the teardrop shape of the Cybercab itself. With its low profile and smooth shape, it is extremely aerodynamically efficient. While neither Sandy nor Lars delved into drag coefficients, we expect it will likely be more efficient than the Model 3’s already fantastic Cd of 0.219.
Range and Battery Pack
Tesla currently has prototypes undergoing real-world testing at Giga Texas to evaluate range and efficiency. The goal is to ensure the vehicle can operate throughout an entire day in the city before returning to charge.
Tesla is targeting a battery pack under 50kWh, delivering close to 300 miles of real-world range—an impressive efficiency of around 166Wh/mi, even outperforming the Model 3’s lowest at 181Wh/mi.
When Does It Arrive?
So, with all that new knowledge - when does the Cybercab arrive? Well - the prototypes for the June Robotaxi network deployment in Austin are getting prepared now - but Tesla expects to begin production and sales sometime in the first half of 2026.