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The supercharger network is considered to be Tesla’s biggest advantage in the EV world. Currently, Tesla has over 38,000 stalls at more than 4000 locations. And unlike most other charging networks, the Tesla superchargers are located along major highways and designed from the get-go for long-distance travel.
On top of this, since Tesla controls both the vehicles and chargers, Tesla owners can plan their trip, including the necessary charging stops, in a seamless manner right from the center screen of their car.
Tesla also automatically reroutes owners to lesser-used supercharger locations if there is congestion. And to put the icing on top, Tesla automatically preconditions vehicles before a supercharging session to improve charging speed by as much as 25%.
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This has made Teslas really convenient for long-distance travel. Currently, Tesla is on the third generation of superchargers. with the latest iteration achieving speeds as much as 250KW or 200 miles in just 15 minutes.
The EV maker has also recently unveiled the V4 supercharger. Although we have yet to see these chargers in public use according to Tesla, the V4 supercharger can charge at 1000KW and has 3 times the current density. and even more impressively, Elon Musk has also shared that the V4 supercharger "is going to be used for Cybertruck."
Most analysts covering the EV space consider the supercharger network to be Tesla’s biggest moat. Some even go so far as to claim the expansive charging network is the number one reason for Tesla’s success.
However, Tesla CEO Elon Musk doesn’t see it that way. At a recent press conference, Musk said “our supercharger network is not intended to be a walled garden, It’s intended to be available to other manufacturers if they’d like to use it. The only requirements are that the cars must be able to take the power output of our Superchargers, and then just pay whatever their proportion of their usage is of the system. We’re actually in talks with some manufacturers about doing just that, and it will be exciting to share that news.”
“The general philosophy of Tesla is to do whatever we can to accelerate the advent of electric cars. Electric cars are really the key to a sustainable future. It’s incredibly important that we transition away from fossil fuels.”
And in accordance with Musk’s promise, Tesla has currently opened the supercharger network as a pilot program for none Tesla EVs in 16 European countries, with Italy being the latest country to be added to the supercharger pilot program.
However, as Tesla has begun opening up its supercharger stations to other EVs, the EV maker also looks to enable a smoother experience for Tesla owners at third-party charging stations.
And to advance this goal, Tesla has now started showing third-party charging stations directly from the in-car navigation. In the Twitter announcement about the program, Tesla wrote “your in-car navigation now includes more qualified third-party chargers across Europe and Israel.”
Your in-car navigation now includes more qualified third-party chargers across Europe and Israel. Read more → https://t.co/vQQu9M3NrD— Tesla Charging (@TeslaCharging) December 21, 2022
And given the fact that third-party charging stations are usually pledged with issues that affect their reliability and ease of access, Tesla has added performance and reliability standards that charging stations need to meet before being added to the in-car navigation.
Tesla writes “third-party fast chargers that meet our performance and reliability standards will be added to Tesla’s navigation automatically as Qualified Third-Party Chargers. The intent is to ensure a smooth charging experience for Tesla drivers. The following standards will first roll out across Europe and Israel.”
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And Tesla’s “Qualified Charging Station Requirements” are as follows…
For a charging station to be included in Tesla’s navigation system, it must meet these conditions over a 60-day period:
1) At least one compatible charging connector
2) Frequently used by Tesla drivers at least once every four days
3) Average charge success rate is 90% or higher
In addition to the requirements charging stations need to meet to be added to Tesla’s in-car navigation, the EV maker has also laid out what conditions will lead to charging stations’ removal.
Tesla writes “to detect inoperable chargers quickly and provide the best experience for our customers, stations will be removed from Tesla’s navigation system if any of the following conditions are met over a 14-day period:
1) No charge sessions detected
2) Average charge success rate falls below 70%
This is certainly exciting, and will undoubtedly improve the charging experience of Tesla owners. Having said that, Tesla has just announced this program and it’s hard to say how adding third-party chargers into the in-car navigation will affect Tesla owners on the ground.
However, we will be sure to keep you posted once Tesla begins implementing this program more widely. Until then, make sure to visit our site torquenews.com/Tesla regularly for the latest updates.
So what do you think? Excited that it is now possible to navigate to third-party charging stations directly from your Tesla? Also, how do you think this will affect congestion at third-party charging stations? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Image: Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.
For more information check out: Tesla Sends Urgent Texts To Customers - Incentive Upped to $7,500 for Delivery Before Year End 2022
Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and The evolution of the EV space on a daily basis for several years. He covers everything about Tesla from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.
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