Tesla Starts Retrofitting Superchargers With Magic Dock to Allow Other EVs to Charge

Tesla has started to install Magic Docks at several locations

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Tesla is installing the Magic Dock at several locations across the United States, just days after announcing it would expand its Supercharging network to support non-Tesla electric vehicles. The Magic Dock is an accessory that's retrofitted on Superchargers that contains a built-in CCS Combo 1 adapter to allow non-Tesla cars to charge at Supercharging stations.

After meeting with the Biden administration earlier this month, Elon Musk agreed to make at least 7,500 of its chargers available for use by any EV by the end of 2024. This agreement includes at least 3,500 of Tesla's 250-kilowatt Superchargers, and the slower Level 2 destination chargers.

Compatibility and the "Magic Dock"

Tesla's cars in North America use the company's proprietary standard (recently named NACS), so the Tesla-CCS1 adapter is crucial to make the Supercharging stations compatible with other EVs. The "Magic Dock" adapter attaches the CCS1 plug on top of Tesla's NACS plug, enabling non-Tesla EVs to charge at a maximum rate of 250 kW.

How the Magic Dock Works

While Tesla drivers can use the Supercharging stalls as usual, non-Tesla drivers must download the Tesla App, create an account, and sign in to use the "Charge Your Non-Tesla" feature. Once they select a stall, the "Magic Dock" will unlock the CCS1 adapter and attach and lock it to the NACS connector, and the charging process will begin. After charging is complete, the user simply returns the cable with the adapter to the stall. Once the cable is returned, the stall will automatically lock the CCS1 adapter back to the Magic Dock and unlock it from Tesla's NACS port. This creates a seamless and easy experience, regardless of which connector you're using. It also prevents the CCS1 adapter from being stolen.

The "Magic Dock" appears to be relatively simple to retrofit to all Tesla Supercharging stations in North America. However, there may be other issues related to the short charging cable's physical compatibility and the charging inlet's various locations in non-Tesla EVs.

Dock Blocking Concerns

Although Tesla's expansion of its Supercharging network to support non-Tesla EVs is a significant move, it has raised concerns over dock blocking, a phenomenon where non-Tesla EVs block Tesla charging stalls to use them.

Dock blocking could create problems for Tesla drivers, as the charging stalls they need will be occupied by non-Tesla EVs. While some non-Tesla EVs can connect if they park incorrectly, such as parking with the port on the front left, this will block the stalls needed for a Tesla to park on the side of them. Additionally, some non-Tesla EVs may park, taking two spaces to reach the short cable.

Finding Solutions

To prevent dock blocking, Tesla could consider solutions such as using longer cords, providing lockers for approved extension cords, or having parking spots on both sides of the Supercharger to let people park like Teslas on one side and forward cars on the other.

Alternatively, other companies could take advantage of Tesla generously opening up all of its charging technology.

Tesla's expansion of its Supercharging network to support non-Tesla EVs is a significant move that will enable more drivers to access its charging network. However, dock blocking is a concern that must be addressed to prevent frustration and backlash from Tesla drivers. With innovative solutions and further developments, Tesla can ensure the accessibility and convenience of its Supercharging network for all EV owners.

Musk Teases New Model for Early 2025 That Will Use a Mix of Next-Gen and Current Platforms

“We have updated our future vehicle line-up to accelerate the launch of new models ahead of our previously communicated start of production in the second half of 2025”. This was one of the key sentences that were part of Tesla’s deck shared on Tuesday directly before its financial results.

Since Reuters’ report a few weeks ago saying Tesla had “scrapped” the highly expected cheaper model— which Elon quickly denied on X —retail and institutional shareholders started asking for more details on Tesla’s product roadmap for 2024 and beyond.

In the earnings conference call, Elon Musk reiterated that Tesla expects to launch the next model in “early 2025, if not late this year”.

“We've updated our future vehicle lineup to accelerate the launch of new models ahead of previously mentioned start of production in the second half of 2025. So, we expect it to be more like the early 2025, if not late this year. “

Over concerns of temporary production halts to update the factories for these new models, Musk said that Tesla will produce new models with certain aspects from their next-generation platform and current models. This will reduce the number of changes needed on production lines and allow Tesla not only to ramp up production faster but also to get the vehicles to market quicker.

Model Y Redesign

Tesla appears to hit that their next-gen vehicle will be less “next-gen” than they were initially aiming for, but to get a new vehicle out the door by late 2024, the process would already have to be in motion. Tesla may likely be referring to the redesigned Model Y, which is expected to reuse many parts from the new Model 3. Earlier this year, Tesla said that the redesigned Model Y will not be released this year, so it makes sense that they’re looking to speed up that production.

Tesla CEO concluded by saying that these measures will allow Tesla to reach a capacity of over 3 million units. Tesla produced 1.84 million vehicles in 2023. However, this year they’re ramping up Cybertruck production and introduced the new Model 3 into new markets.

And we think this should allow us to get to over 3 million vehicles of capacity when realized to the full extent.

Tesla reported on Tuesday its earnings results followed by a conference call where it teased its upcoming Robotaxi and its next-generation platform saying its “purpose-built Robotaxi product will continue to pursue a revolutionary ‘unboxed’ manufacturing strategy”.

Earlier in the day, Tesla announced the new Performance variant of its sedan Model 3 with deliveries in the United States starting already next month. The new version starts at $45,490 (after applying the $7,500 Federal EV tax credit) and goes from 0 to 60mph in 2.9 seconds.

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Tesla on FSD: Close to License Deal With Major Automaker, Announces Miles Driven on FSD v12

On Tuesday Tesla reported its earnings results followed by a conference call that brought several updates on the company’s roadmap for future vehicles, autonomous driving, Optimus and much more.

While answering a question from Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney about updates on the licensing of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology, Elon Musk said they’re talking to one major auto manufacturer and there’s “a good chance” the company signs the first deal before year-end. However, he went on to say that it would probably be three years before the necessary changes are integrated into the car.

I think we have a good chance we do sign a deal this year

Brings Benefits to Tesla

The technology would require other automakers to start using the same cameras and hardware as Tesla, meaning that Tesla may not only generate money from licensing FSD but also from selling the hardware itself. However, there would be other benefits as well. When licensing FSD, Tesla would likely own the data gathered with the system well, further helping them with data and edge cases that need to be solved to reach full autonomy.

people don't understand all cars will need to be smart cars… Once that becomes obvious, I think licensing becomes not optional.

Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja commented pointing out that future partners “take a lot of time in their product life cycle” resulting in a gap between the deal signing and the arrival in the market of Tesla’s FSD software.

Miles Driven With FSD

On the conference call, Musk added that Tesla now has over 300 million miles that have been driven with FSD v12 since it was launched just last month. He added that it's becoming “very clear that the vision-based approach with end-to-end neural networks is the right solution for scalable autonomy”.

Tesla said it will continue to increase its “core AI infrastructure capacity in the coming months” adding that in the first quarter, it completed the transition to hardware 4.0 with China now receiving the upgraded FSD computer and cameras.

Over the weekend, Tesla reduced the price of FSD dropping it from $12,000 to $8,000 for customers in the United States and from CA$16,000 to CA$11,000 in Canada.

Earlier this month, Tesla implemented a 50% price reduction for FSD subscriptions in the U.S. and introduced the subscription model in Canada at a great value of CA$99 per month.

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