Plugged-in Mini sparks talk Tesla may open up Superchargers in Australia

A photo of a Mini Cooper S electric hatch at a Sydney Tesla Supercharger has sparked discussion about whether the Californian EV maker is trialling access to other EV makes in Australia.

The photo, shared to The Driven on Twitter by Arthur Bodera, shows a green electric Mini parked at the Supercharger and plugged in.

Tesla announced it would trial opening its Superchargers to other EVs in November, but only in the Netherlands. While it may expand the trial to other European countries, there has not been any mention of expanding to Australia.

“This is news to me,” said Bodera. “I thought the Tesla Supercharger pilot for non-Teslas was limited to Netherlands, but here’s a brand new Mini EV on CCS2 charging yesterday in SC Macquarie, NSW. What did I miss?”

While some were to quick to ask if it was actually charging, Bodera pointed out a few things: one, that the car in question – parked at Macquarie Centre in Sydney’s north-east – was in an otherwise empty carpark, and after hours at that.

He also pointed out that the Mini in question had made an effort to back as close to the Supercharger as possible, with the rear wheel sitting right on the barrier.

And though there were no visible flashing lights indicating it was charging, there were some perhaps telltale sounds.

“I didn’t see any indicator light on the car next to charge port,” he told The Driven. But, he said: “I did hear the charging fan stall fans spinning, which is a (soft) indication that the circuitry is working.”

Another Tesla customer who spoke to a staff member said the staff member said they had no knowledge of an Australian trial.

So, who knows? It could be that the Mini driver was just being very hopeful, or even playing a prank. The Driven has reached out to Tesla to enquire further and we will of course update this article if more information comes to hand.