During Tesla’s Q2 2021 earnings call webcast, CEO Elon Musk clarified how the company’s Superchargers will be able to be used by other electric vehicles.
Musk said these other electric vehicles would need to download the Tesla app, head to a Supercharger and indicate which stall they’re parked in. The EV owner would then use the Tesla app to enable the particular stall then start charging their vehicle.
Tesla said the Supercharger network “should work with any manufacturer’s cars”, adding there will be time constraints given the extra load on the chargers. To combat this, Tesla says “we’ll be smarter with how we charge for electricity”, citing how rush hour charging “will be more expensive”, without going into details, other than confirming time-based discrimination will be used.
“We’ve been doing that and people have responded,” said Tesla on the Q2 webcast, referring to having cheaper charging times during off-peak periods.
Musk said while Europe and China have the same connector for everyone, he believes the proprietary Tesla connector “is the best as it is small and light”. A Tesla adapter would be needed for other EVs to charge in North America. These adapters would be available for purchase and would be available at Superchargers as well, said Musk.
“Our goal is to support the advent of sustainable energy,” added Musk, unlike some of their competitors, he further proclaimed.
Overall, sharing the Tesla Supercharger network with non-Tesla vehicles will allow the company to reduce costs, plus make the network more profitable and allow it to grow faster.
“No matter what we’ll improve trip suggestions and minimum wait times for all customers,” said Tesla on expanding who can use its charging network.
Tesla saw its Supercharger stations grow to nearly 3,000 locations in Q2, an increase of 46% year-over-year. The company now has 26,900 individual Supercharger connectors as of Q2, up 49% year-over-year.
