Owners of non-Tesla electric vehicles will now be able to use the supercharger fast charge network in Sweden, Spain, Belgium, Austria and the United Kingdom.
Previously, the network of DC fast chargers was locked for owners of Tesla-competing electric vehicles. The move is part of a pilot program launched in the Netherlands, France and Norway.
Non-Tesla owners interested in accessing the network pay a slightly higher charge fee than Tesla owners, because of the “additional cost of charging a wide range of vehicles and adjusting to our sites to accommodate these vehicles”.
“Access to a wide, convenient, and reliable fast-charging network is critical to receiving large EVs. That’s why, since we opened our first supercharger in 2012, we’ve been committed to rapidly expanding the network,” Tesla said in a media release.
“We have always had the ambition to open a supercharger network in non-Tesla EVs, and by doing so encourage more drivers to use electricity. More customers using the supercharger network enable faster expansion, ”it says.
“Our goal is to aggressively expand the network as well as learn quickly and repeat, so that we can finally welcome both Tesla and non-Tesla drivers in every supercharger worldwide.”
Europe is being used as a pilot because Tesla uses a CCS2 charge port for most of its competitors, fitting it to the United States instead of a proprietary connector.
The CHAdeMO plug fitted to older Japanese electric cars is not supported by European pilots.
There are more than 25,000 superchargers in over 2500 locations worldwide
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