White House Leaks Tesla's Plans To Open Its Supercharger For All EVs, Elon Musk Keeps Silent

Tesla Supercharger will be unlocked for Non-Tesla cars. (photo: doc. pixabay)

JAKARTA - Tesla plans to open its Supercharger network of electric charging stations for non-Tesla electric vehicles in the US by the end of 2022. This was explained in a memo from the White House last week.

The company has allowed non-Tesla EVs to use its Supercharger plugs in several European cities as part of a limited pilot program. But they didn't say when the charging stations in the US would also be available to non-Tesla EV owners.

A "fact sheet" published by the White House on June 28 and noticed by InsideEVs suggests that EV owners may be able to use the Supercharger as soon as later this year.

"Later this year, Tesla will begin production of new Supercharger equipment that will allow non-Tesla EV drivers in North America to use the Tesla Supercharger," the White House said.

This is a move that is considered popular because Tesla is no longer a monopoly on its charging stations.

Tesla itself did not respond to emails asking for confirmation of these plans. It's unclear whether the White House deliberately took Tesla's own announcement of the project. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has been known to be very "hostile" to President Joe Biden. Meanwhile, the US President himself has gone to great lengths to avoid mentioning Tesla, while touting the auto industry's electrification plans.

Tesla's Supercharger network is often considered the best example of an EV charging network: fast, reliable, and plentiful. But for years, this Tesla network was exclusive to Tesla owners, meaning someone driving a Volkswagen, Ford, or Chevy plug-in vehicle wouldn't be able to use it.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, for years, has spoken about his desire to open up his Supercharger to other companies' electric vehicles. Last year, Tesla started doing just that, in Norway and eventually expanded to Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK.

If the US version of the pilot program works the same as in Europe, non-Tesla EV owners will need to download the latest version of the Tesla smartphone app to access their stations. They will also be asked to select “Charge Your Non-Tesla” to find the nearest participating Supercharger site.

Tesla owners can still use the station as usual. The company has said it will closely monitor each location for congestion and other problems.

Tesla uses a proprietary connector in North America, so non-Tesla vehicles here will need an adapter to access the company's Supercharger, of which there are more than 6,798 plugs in the US, according to the Department of Energy. While Tesla claims to have 35,000 Supercharger plugs globally.

There are approximately 41,000 public charging stations, including Superchargers, in the United States, with more than 100,000 outlets. The Biden administration has said it will spend $5 billion to increase that number to 500,000 chargers by 2030.

According to the new standards set by the White House, federal government funding will only be available to install charging ports that most vehicle owners can use.