Tesla, the operator of the world’s most reliable charging network, with over 70,000 fast charging bays, has shared a solution to one of the biggest problems around EV charging for owners – the use of multiple charging apps.
An avid reader of The Driven, Richard L, pointed us to the Tesla Charging X account post where the company shared that it has rolled out the MultiPass feature that allows Tesla owners to charge at non-Tesla chargers by using their Tesla key card or the Tesla mobile app.
In the post, Tesla shared: “Introducing MultiPass, using your Tesla account to charge at non-Tesla chargers.”
Owners will be able to find third party chargers using the Tesla app, arrive and start charging using the Tesla key card or the app. According to Tesla, the steps to activate this feature are straight forward:
- Activate your Tesla key card or use the Tesla App to start charging at non-Tesla chargers
- Find chargers, start charging, and view charging history all in the same convenient location
On the back of the MultiPass post, the problem and the feature is further clarified by Max de Zegher, Tesla’s charging director, who shared: “Nobody likes creating more accounts with payment details and passwords. For charging, this can even mean needing a third-party charging card mailed to your house.”
This is also a common problem in Australia with multiple operators requiring charging apps for individual charge point operator. Most popular of these include Tesla, Chargefox, Evie Networks, Ampol and others.
The MultiPass app will first be rolled out in The Netherlands before expanding. Zegher further added: “We’ll expand this to more countries quickly if customers love it. To make ownership effortless, the Tesla App should really be the only thing you need.”
This feature likely came off the back off a Tesla owner’s request on X from earlier this year who suggested that Tesla could allow non-Tesla chargers to be accessed via the Tesla app, removing multiple RFID tags and fobs from the process.
One Tesla owner had already made the switch from using a charging fob to using this feature: “Signed up this morning. Ditching my charging fob. Love it! I remember when we started these conversations a long time ago. I was always a strong proponent. Glad to see this finally come to fruition.”
Its also likely that thousands of Tesla owners across the country might also try the feature in the coming months.
This feature if adopted well in Europe could also help owners in Australia and New Zealand given over a dozen operators want owners to use an app to initiate charge in our market.
In return, Tesla will provide a better EV experience for owners and introducing more chargers to new owners who may not have all charge point operator apps on their phone.
Locally, latest data compiled by carloop shows that Tesla operates over 130 charging sites across Australia but with another 1,300 sites operated by over a dozen non-Tesla operators, Tesla’s MultiPass feature could help improve the experience for the almost 150,000 Tesla owners across the country if rolled out in our local market.
We are glad to see the feature being rolled out in a European market and could be a game changer for EV ownership as EV adoption reaches the next stage toward early mainstream drivers.
