“Working for me:” BYD EVs charge successfully for first time at Tesla V3 Supercharger sites

Owners of BYD electric vehicles are finally reporting some success – after months of frustration – in being able to charge from the latest iteration of Tesla Superchargers in Australia.

Tesla runs the most extensive and reliable EV charging network in the world. With 90 sites now open in Australia, it’s been steadily growing along with EV uptake across the country, and in September last year the company opened up nearly half of its network to all other EVs, making it easier for many to road trip in an EV.

However, one group of EVs from BYD appeared to have trouble charging at Tesla’s newer V3 superchargers which are part of those sites opened to non-Tesla customers. This specifically was the issue with the very popular BYD Atto3 and then the BYD Seal sports sedan.

Owners of newly delivered BYD Seal are now starting to report that their vehicles can actually charge at Tesla’s V3 superchargers. 

Image: Rich H

Over the weekend, one of these new owners, Rich H, shared the successful charge on a BYD Seal Facebook group: “Picked up my 03/2024 seal today and can confirm charging at Tesla v3 charger is working for me. FWC version is 2312. Tried at the Mornington charger but will test one or two more for confirmation. Getting 67kw but already at 82% so kinda expected.”

Another new owner, Kate L, from Victoria shared a similar experience on another BYD group’s page, this time at a Tesla supercharger in Corio:

“Just me charging on a V3 supercharger. Car is a March 2024 build, I picked it up today. Supercharger is at Corio if you want to look it up. I will also try the other 2 SC on my way home at Colac and Warrnambool. Its looking like this is either a hardware fix on new builds, or a software update that is only on new cars. If you are nearby a V3 supercharger and have an atto/seal please test it and report in.”

On the back of this, many were surprised with one saying: “Omg it works on a v3, I didn’t think they did?”.

Image: Rich H

From all accounts, it appears to be newly delivered BYD Seal vehicles that can charge at Tesla’s V3 and V4 supercharger sites while some others delivered last year still appear to have this charging issue.

One of these owners said: “I tried the V3 Tesla chargers Campbelltown NSW 2 day ago and it didn’t work. I wonder what the difference is. Newer model Seal Premium or updated V3 charger.”

Another recent encounter was documented by EV enthusiast and Youtuber, Tom, who took his BYD Seal to a NSW government-co-funded Tesla V4 supercharger site at Raymond Terrace in NSW.

The charger was unable to recognise the plugged-in car at the time it was connected and initiated via the Tesla app.

With the new BYD Seal owners seeing a successful charge at Tesla’s opened V3 and V4 supercharger sites, it’s allowed access to hundreds of more reliable fast chargers across the country for these owners. 

It appears that BYD has been working on an update to allow these vehicles to be able to charge at these sites and has done so via a firmware update. At this stage, it’s unclear if there is a hardware update that’s also required and we are hoping to learn more in the coming weeks.

If you have a BYD Atto 3 or a Seal and have tried to charge at a Tesla supercharger, please leave a comment below with your experience.