Shape of Tesla's strategy to allow non-Tesla EVs access to Superchargers

According to the White House, the company plans to increase its EV charging network in the US by more than two times its current size.

According to recent reports, Tesla has been mandated to permit non-Tesla electric vehicles to use its chargers to secure access to federal funding for infrastructure upgrades worth billions of dollars.

The White House has disclosed new details about Tesla's plan to open up its Supercharger network to non-Tesla electric vehicles, which could be a game-changer. In a fact sheet published on Wednesday outlining its investments in EV charging, the White House stated that Tesla would grant access to 7,500 Supercharger stations to non-Tesla EVs by the end of 2024. The company is required to meet the latest White House standards, which demand that chargers be made available to the "widest number of people" to be eligible for federal funding.

The newly available chargers will be located throughout the United States, and they will comprise "at least 3,500 new and existing 250 kW Superchargers along highway corridors" as well as an unspecified number of "Level 2 Destination Charging at locations like hotels and restaurants in urban and rural locations."

In several European countries, Tesla has been allowing non-Tesla electric vehicles (EVs) to use their Supercharger plugs for several months, but there has been little information about when the same will be available for US charging stations. While the company's Supercharger network is widely regarded as fast, reliable, and plentiful, it has only been exclusive to Tesla owners in the US.

One potential complication for opening up the Superchargers to non-Tesla EVs is that the connectors at its Superchargers in the US are proprietary and exclusive to Tesla owners. However, rumors suggest that the company will include a CCS adapter at its charging stalls to bypass this issue.

In 2021, Tesla began opening up its Superchargers to other companies' EVs, starting in Norway and eventually expanding to other European countries. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which passed in 2021, has allocated $7.5 billion to grow the EV charging infrastructure in the US, with federal money being available to install charging ports that can be used by the broadest number of vehicle owners, according to standards laid out by the Biden administration.

There are currently around 6,756 Supercharger plugs in the US and approximately 59,000 public charging stations, including Superchargers, with over 130,000 outlets. Although Tesla has not yet confirmed its plans to allow non-Tesla EVs to use its Supercharger network in the US, the recent announcement suggests that this could become a reality in the near future.