Tesla’s Supercharger network continues to rank as the highest-rated option for public electric vehicle (EV) charging in the United States, according to the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Public Charging Study.
Despite ongoing challenges in the broader EV charging infrastructure, Tesla remains a leader in customer satisfaction for the fourth consecutive year.
The study, which measures EV owners’ satisfaction with public charging options, highlights a growing gap between Tesla’s offerings and those of other charging networks.
While satisfaction with Tesla’s Superchargers scored 731 on a 1,000-point scale, other DC fast chargers fell below the segment average. This continued dominance is partly attributed to Tesla’s extensive network and the ease of its plug-and-pay system, which simplifies the charging process for its users.
However, non-Tesla EV owners, who now have access to the Tesla Supercharger network following the automaker’s eligibility for federal infrastructure funding, also reported high satisfaction levels, albeit slightly lower than Tesla owners.
Non-Tesla users gave the Supercharger network a satisfaction score of 706, which is 42 points higher than the overall average for DC fast chargers.
While Tesla’s charging solutions show promise, the broader EV charging landscape remains problematic. Issues such as charger availability, damage, and the rising number of non-operational chargers continue to plague the industry. The study found that 19% of EV owners visited a charger but were unable to charge their vehicle, with 61% of these failures due to out-of-service or malfunctioning chargers.
“Overall, both Tesla and non-Tesla owners find charging their vehicles at Tesla Supercharger facilities is most satisfying,” said Brent Gruber, executive director of the EV practice at J.D. Power. “Non-Tesla owners—like those with EVs from Ford or Rivian who now have access to the Supercharger network—appreciate the ability to charge at the broad network of Tesla chargers that was previously unavailable to them.”
“Despite the recent influx of non-Tesla vehicles into the Supercharger facilities—which has caused some grumbling—Tesla owners still appreciate the ease of charging and ease of payment that the network offers. However, since the beginning of the year, J.D. Power has seen a decline in satisfaction with the availability of Superchargers among Tesla owners,” said Gruber.
The study also points to the slower-than-expected growth of the public charging infrastructure, which has not kept pace with the increasing number of EVs on the road.
Superchargers are just too easy and seamless. You pull into a spot, take the charging cable and plug it into your Tesla to charge. All payments are handled automatically without owners needing to lift a finger.