Tesla Inc will open part of its U.S. charging network to electric vehicles (EVs) made by rivals as part of a $7.5 billion federal program to expand the use of EVs and cut carbon emissions.
www.reuters.com
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O) will open part of its U.S. charging network to electric vehicles (EVs) made by rivals as part of a $7.5 billion federal program to electrify the nation's highways to cut carbon emissions, the Biden administration said on Wednesday.
Such a move could help turn Tesla into the universal filling station of the EV era - and risk eroding a competitive edge for vehicles made by the company, which has exclusive access to the biggest network of high-speed 'superchargers' in the United States.
By the end of next year, Tesla will open 3,500 new and existing superchargers along highway corridors, as well as 4,000 slower chargers at locations like hotels and restaurants, to non-Tesla customers, the administration said.
A White House official said at a briefing that Tesla would be eligible for a subsidy - including retrofitting its existing fleet - as long as its chargers would allow other vehicles with a federally backed charging standard called CCS to charge.
Tesla and Chief Executive Elon Musk did not respond to requests for confirmation and comment.
Tesla has 17,711 superchargers, accounting for about 60% of total U.S. fast chargers that can add hundreds of miles of driving range in an hour or less. There are also nearly 10,000 "destination" chargers with Tesla plugs that can recharge a vehicle overnight.
Opening up access to Tesla's network would be a quick win for an ambitious federal program to build 500,000 EV chargers by 2030, up from 130,000 currently.
We can already use Tesla destination chargers with a variety of adapters. I have been using a TeslaTap for that purpose as well to continue to use my Tesla High Power Wall Charger and to use my old Tesla mobile charger on the road.
This is a great development! More options are always better. Don't plan on taking advantage of this with 2 years of free Electrify America charging, but it'll serve as a nice reassurance if one of those stations are full or malfunctioning―which, to be fair, is basically every station.
It's unfortunate that non-Tesla manufacturers did not locate the charging ports on the left rear corner like all Tesla cars are set up. I don't see the Tesla Superchargers working very well for Mercedes-Benz EQ vehicles with the port on the right rear fender unless you park in an adjacent parking spot.
Some Tesla Supercharger locations have the right-most charger located so that a Tesla driver can pull in to the spot, rather than back in up against the charger. This charger may work for an EQS that is backed in, if you don't mind the front of the car protruding 10 feet into the driving aisle in front of the chargers.
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