Tesla apparently wants to make a small number of Superchargers accessible to all electric car brands from the third quarter of 2022, new documents reveal.
According to documents from the county of Vestland, a municipality in western Norway, Tesla is considering opening five Superchargers to the general public, possibly confirming comments made about Supercharger accessibility by Tesla CEO and co-founder Elon Musk back in December last year.
European Superchargers – as in Australia – have had CCS2 plugs fitted, which means that it is physically possible for other makes using the same plug type to use the network if the software allows it.
In December, Musk answered a question on Twitter about why other carmakers weren’t taking Tesla up on its offer to use the EV maker’s Superchargers, which is one of the most extensive electric car charging networks but is only available for use by Tesla cars.
“They are, although it’s kind (of) low-key. Tesla Superchargers are being made accessible to other electric cars,” said Musk.
They are, although it’s kind low-key. Tesla Superchargers are being made accessible to other electric cars.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 21, 2020
Now, documents reportedly uncovered by Otto Kristofferson (via Alex Avoigt, an EV journalist), confirm this may be slated to happen first in Norway, the world’s leading country when it comes to the adoption of EVs.
“Tesla applied to expand five fast-charging stations. Tesla’s charging stations today are just available for Tesla cars,” the documents reportedly state.
“The type of infrastructure is then only open for use by one group and not for the general public otherwise. In the application, Tesla describes the relevant charging stations will nevertheless be publicly available from the third quarter of 2022.”
Tesla will open at least 2 publicly funded Supercharger to other BEVs in 🇳🇴 Norway in Q3 2022
The information shared from 🇩🇪 German Transportation Minister Scheuer to be in talks with Tesla to open SC is validated by that step in Norway
Courtesy of @ottoKristoffers pic.twitter.com/HfPhEH1ewB
— Alex (@alex_avoigt) June 24, 2021
Teslamag, a German Tesla-focussed news outlet, reports that by doing so Tesla will receive a grant of 400,000 kroner (around $A62,000) for each Supercharger made accessible to all EV makes in the county of Vestland.
It is possible that Tesla is also making similar moves in Sweden.
According to Elbilen, the Swedish government wants to support the construction of fast electric car chargers off the main routes and has advertised a total of 62 locations for funding,
In this context, 39 more stations are now to be built, 16 before the end of the year. TM Sweden AB – that is, Tesla – appears six times on the official list according to Ebilen.
According to Teslamag, a representative of the Swedish Ministry of Transport confirmed that Tesla has applied for the funding and stated that the six new locations will be open to the public.
The ministry assumes that this will also be the case although according to the report Tesla has not commented specifically on this but has confirmed that charging cooperation with other companies is being explored.
The news is significant for Australia, which has a nascent EV market and a relatively undeveloped charging infrastructure, apart from Tesla.
If EV drivers were able to use the Supercharging network it could open up more driving options for drivers who choose to purchase EVs other than those made by Tesla, while waiting for other charging infrastructure to roll out across the country.
However, it would come at a cost, because Tesla Supercharger rates are some of the most expensive in Australia, at 47 cents per kilowatt-hour.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.