Tesla has opened its Superchargers – for free charging – to all makes of electric cars in parts of Europe affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Starting from Monday, the EV maker announced it would allow both Tesla and non-Tesla cars to charge for free from its Supercharger network in parts of Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to assist EV owners with reaching a safe location.
Superchargers will first open in Trzebownisko, Poland and Košice, Slovakia, east of the Ukraine border, as well as Miskolc and Debrecen south-east of Ukraine in Hungary.
“We hope that this helps give you the peace of mind to get to a safe location,” the company said in a note to customers.
Thank you @elonmusk! 🇺🇦💙💛 CC @SawyerMerritt @alex_avoigt pic.twitter.com/N4ZxOvgZhf
— Łukasz Średnicki (@mrsredni) February 27, 2022
The announcement, which was highlighted on Twitter by Łukasz Średnicki, comes just weeks after Tesla opened up all its Superchargers to other EV makes in the Netherlands (with a charging fee), after trialling the open access at a number of sites in Netherlands, Poland, France, Belgium and Germany.
The trial has been underway since November when the EV maker first opened up 10 sites, before rolling out to a number of other countries.
“Access to an extensive, convenient and reliable fast-charging network is critical for large-scale EV adoption,” the company says on its website.
“It’s always been our ambition to open the Supercharger network to Non-Tesla EVs, and by doing so, encourage more drivers to go electric.”
The new development comes as Musk also agreed to activate internet services for Ukraine via Starlink satellites. Ukraine VP and minister for digital transformation Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted to the clean energy and transport billionaire asking for assistance as the country’s internet has been disrupted by the invasion.
Starlink, another company run by Musk, uses satellites to provide internet connectivity to remote places where fibre-optic cables cannot reach. Many parts of the Ukraine is currently without internet, especially in the south and east where Russian attacks have been concentrated.
“@elonmusk, while you try to colonize Mars – Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space – Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people!” Fedorov said on Twitter. “ We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand.”
“Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route,” Musk responded on Saturday.
Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 26, 2022
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.