Tesla’s ever-growing Supercharging network may soon be open to electric vehicles (EVs) from other companies in the U.S., judging by an upcoming change to Superchargers that was recently discovered within the company’s mobile app.
Image: @brandenflasch on Twitter
The Tesla app recently let slip an image detailing what the company’s “Magic Dock,” which will adapt Tesla’s now-open North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector to a CCS charger for non-Tesla EVs, will look like when it comes to Superchargers in the U.S. (via @brandenflasch).
It looks like Magic Dock is now shown in the @Tesla app – see second image for what has shown previously which reflects Euro CCS2 handle. I think Magic Dock / open Supercharger in NA launch is imminent. pic.twitter.com/HYbUj26db9
— Branden Flasch (@brandenflasch) January 21, 2023
For comparison, here’s what the Supercharger handle for the European CCS2 standard looks like:
Image: @brandenflasch on Twitter
Tesla’s Magic Dock is kind of like a polar opposite of the CCS Combo 1 Adapter it launched in North America last year. Where the CCS Combo 1 Adapter lets Tesla owners charge at third-party DC fast chargers, the Magic Dock for Superchargers will do the opposite, allowing third-party EVs to charge at Tesla’s locations.
In addition, Tesla also listed a Supercharger location at 2700 West 120th Avenue, Hawthorne, California, as CCS compatible. “CCS Compatibility” is a marker Tesla started using back in 2021, when it started opening up its charging network in Europe, to denote Superchargers that non-Tesla EVs could plug in to.
Teslascope (@teslascope) went down to the Hawthorne location to investigate, but there were no CCS Superchargers or Magic Docks to be found.
Nothing new here! Either a false-alarm or they haven’t begun installing the Magic Dock yet. pic.twitter.com/6gmuOjwlit
— Teslascope (@teslascope) January 21, 2023
Tesla has since removed the reference to CCS compatibility at the Hawthorne Supercharger from its ‘Find Us’ website. The Magic Dock image has also been pulled from the mobile app.
That said, these premature revelations from Tesla may indicate that the the launch of non-Tesla Supercharging in the U.S. is imminent. Per a statement from the White House, Tesla was supposed to open U.S. Superchargers to EVs from other automakers in late 2022.
Tesla has its Q4 and full-year 2022 earnings call coming up next week, as well as its annual Investor Day on March 1 — both of these events could be ripe for such an announcement.
