Tesla officially opens up select Superchargers in the U.S. to all EVs
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Tesla has officially opened up select Superchargers in the U.S. to all compatible electric vehicles. This comes on the heels of news that Tesla has been retrofitting various Superchargers with its Magic Dock solution that allows Tesla to easily support the standard CCS connector in addition to Tesla's own NACS connector.
Europe
Tesla has previously opened up Superchargers in several countries around the world, although that was significantly easier for Tesla since Tesla uses the standard CCS connector in most countries outside the U.S. and Canada. In the U.S. Tesla needed to retrofit Superchargers with provide a solution that would support multiple connectors.
Magic Dock
Tesla needed to develop a solution to be able to continue to support their own NACS connector in addition to the CCS connector. The Magic Dock does that in an elegant and simple way. The Magic Dock houses a CCS adapter inside that locks onto the Tesla plug only when needed. Tesla owners will be able to continue charging at these stations without any changes.
Cost for Non-Teslas
Non-Tesla vehicles charging at Superchargers will pay a slight premium over their Tesla counterparts. An early look at Superchargers that Tesla has opened up reveals that Tesla is charging about $0.10 more per kWh to charge other EVs. This is about a 25% premium over Tesla's standard rate, although Supercharger prices vary by station and time of day.
Membership
Tesla is also offering a monthly membership option for non-Tesla owners who wish to reduce their price per kilowatt hour. For $12.99/month, non-Tesla owners can subscribe to lower their charging rate to be the same as Tesla vehicles.
There are currently no other benefits to the membership and non-Tesla owners are limited to the same Superchargers whether they have a membership or not.
The membership is only open to non-Teslas and will not lower the charging rates for Tesla owners, although that could be an interesting option if Tesla decides to consider it.
Idle fees
Tesla charges idle fees for vehicles that stay in a Supercharging spot after their vehicle has finished charging. The idle fees vary depending on how full the station is and they're waived if the station is at less than 50% capacity.
Tesla is charging the same idle fees for Teslas and non-Tesla vehicles.
Compatible EVs
If your EV uses CCS, or you have an adapter for your vehicle that can connect to a CCS1 connector then you'll likely be able to use Tesla's Superchargers. The only other physical requirement is that your vehicle's charge port has to reach Tesla's Supercharger cable without blocking access to others.
Congestion
While Tesla owners are right to be concerned about issues such as Supercharger congestion and dock blocking, Tesla is doing everything it can to minimize these issues.
Tesla has no plans to open up all of its Superchargers. Tesla told the U.S. government that it was going to open up 7,500 Supercharger stations to all compatible electric vehicles. This number includes current and future Superchargers.
The most popular Tesla Superchargers will likely remain exclusive to Tesla vehicles as Tesla doesn't want to make congestion worse at its most used locations.
In fact, without Tesla opening up Superchargers to other EVs, some Supercharger locations may not be possible. When Tesla decides to open a new charging location one of the things they're looking for is the number of vehicles that will take advantage of the Supercharger and how long it will take Tesla to recoup the cost of opening the location.
Dock Blocking
Dock blocking is going to be a new term that we're unfortunately going to hear and experience more often. The term refers to vehicles in Supercharger locations taking up more than one spot and blocking access to other vehicles. Tesla's Superchargers feature very short cables to reduce damage and risk. This works well for Teslas since their charging ports are all located in the same location.
However, not all EVs have a charge port that can easily reach the end of a Supercharger cable. Depending on the vehicle, this could lead to a vehicle taking up two spots, or going over the line to be able to reach the Supercharger's cable.
Stations Opened
Tesla appears to have opened up about eight stations across the U.S. yesterday. These stations are in various parts of New York and California but expect Tesla to open more stations soon.
In typical Tesla fashion, Tesla rolls out changes slowly as it gathers feedback. If Superchargers are working as expected Tesla will slowly open up more Superchargers as it retrofits old locations with its Magic Dock.
Although many Tesla owners may be worried about a worse experience at Superchargers, this is a big win for not only Tesla but for sustainable transportation. Tesla provides some of the faster and most reliable charging stations in the world and this change will help convince more vehicle buyers into choosing an EV.
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There has been extensive reporting on what the long-anticipated affordable EV option would become, and we’ve seen numerous news stories mentioning that it was delayed or even arriving on time. The executive team revealed the near-term and long-term plans for Tesla’s upcoming vehicles, and there’s definitely good news to share here.
Updated Timeline
The most important piece of news is that despite all the talk of delays from supposed inside sources, Tesla has confirmed that the plan for its more affordable model remains on schedule for production to begin in the first half of 2025. Tesla’s executive team narrowed that timeline down further - and said that they expect production to kick off as soon as June and that the new model will be in the market shortly thereafter.
While the production timeline itself is on track, Tesla did note that the subsequent ramping process will likely be slower than initially hoped, citing global tariff and financial impacts as challenges to overcome to prepare its production lines.
Hybrid Production Approach
Tesla has once again confirmed that this will not be their next-generation vehicle, built using new production methods. Instead, they outlined a relatively more pragmatic approach for this new model.
Tesla will utilize aspects of both the next-generation platform as well as some parts of its current platforms (namely the Model 3 and Model Y). This means that Tesla will produce this new vehicle on the same manufacturing lines as the Model 3 and Model Y.
This strategy allows Tesla to bring the vehicle to the market more quickly, while also managing capital expenditures more efficiently by using existing infrastructure. However, Tesla’s executive team also noted that this approach, while faster, will result in fewer cost reductions than what might have been achieved with an entirely new platform and dedicated manufacturing process.
Vehicle Design
Using these existing production lines means that Tesla’s new vehicle will likely share some considerable similarities with either the existing Model 3 or Model Y. Rather than being a radically different and smaller vehicle, this new model will resemble the overall form factor and shape of Tesla’s current core offerings, while being optimized for a lower cost.
This doesn’t mean that Tesla is forgetting the overall goal here. Their ultimate goal is to reduce the initial cost of ownership and lower monthly payments for customers while maintaining a standard of excellence and safety.
Not Unboxed
Both at this Earnings Call and previous ones, Tesla has indicated that this new vehicle will not be using the innovative unboxed assembly method, at least for the time being. That relatively unique method will be developed and implemented specifically for the purpose-built Cybercab and for future vehicles on the next-generation platform.
We’re just a few days away from May, so it won’t be long before we see more about this upcoming vehicle. Stay tuned.
In a follow-up move to the current US administration’s goals to introduce a federal framework for autonomous vehicles, the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) is loosening autonomy restrictions following an announcement from Secretary Sean Duffy on X. This new initiative helps streamline complex regulatory processes and foster home-grown innovation.
From the Wright Brothers to the first astronauts on the moon, our nation has always been at the forefront of transportation technology.
That’s why today we're unveiling a new Automated Vehicle Framework from @USDOT’s Innovation Agenda ⬇️ ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/W3kbMUwQSn
As part of the broader upcoming USDOT Innovation Agenda, the newly unveiled AV Framework is designed to promote American innovation and strengthen domestic engineering while maintaining existing safety standards. The framework centers around three key principles:
Prioritize Safety
Unleash Innovation
Enable Commercial Deployment
To kickstart this AV framework, USDOT announced two initial steps focused on streamlining processes and expanding opportunities.
Crash Reporting Requirements
Under the first principle to Prioritize Safety, the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) will maintain its Standing General Order requiring crash reporting on Advanced and Automated Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS and ADS).
However, the reporting process will be streamlined following feedback from AV innovators, likely including Tesla. The goal here is to focus on collecting critical safety information while removing unnecessary or duplicative items from the reporting process, thereby reducing the burden without compromising safety.
Cutting Red Tape
Directly tied to the second principle of Unleash Innovation, the framework also seeks to slash red tape. The first step here is the expansion of the Automated Vehicle Exemption Program, or AVEP. This program allows manufacturers to petition for temporary exemptions from certain federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) for testing or deployment purposes.
Previously, the standard excluded domestically produced vehicles. Now, domestically produced AVs will not need to meet FMVSS, which will broaden the scope for manufacturers to test more innovative and unique designs and technologies.
Single National Standard for AVs
Finally, tied to the third principle of Enable Commerical Development, USDOT intends to move the United States closer to a single national standard for autonomous vehicles. This aims to prevent a confusing and inefficient patchwork of state-level or city-level laws and regulations, which can create hurdles for companies attempting to innovate, deploy, and scale their technology.
A unified standard across the United States also means that Canada and Mexico will likely be able to follow, as they share homologization standards across North America, including for vehicle crash safety and some autonomy regulations.
What This Means for Tesla
These framework changes will likely have a substantial impact on Tesla. The move towards a national standard is potentially the most impactful change, as Tesla identified regulatory hurdles as one of the most significant challenges it will face with the deployment of both Unsupervised FSD and its Robotaxi network.
The reduction of FMVSS requirements and streamlined reporting will likely play a role in the future as well. The FMVSS requirements are probably already being worked on, if not already met, by the Cybercab and other vehicles in Tesla’s lineup.
Meanwhile, the streamlined reporting will be helpful once Tesla officially launches its Robotaxi network in June.
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