Why can't other cars use Tesla's charging network?
Discussion
off_again said:
I realize that most of the people commenting here are in the UK and Europe, but dont forget that here in the US, Tesla have their own BESPOKE charger that is NOT compatible with any other, unless you pay for the convertor.
Arguments about it not being a walled garden or forcing a particular standard dont necessarily stand up when you look here. There were a few electric charging stations before the advent of Tesla, but it was extremely uncommon. Nissan had a different system from what you could find and they tried, but when the popularity increased, a standard was defined. Tesla continued on their path with their own format.
Credit where credit is due, the way that the convertor works for non-Teslas at Supercharging locations is neat and clever. However, the same works the other way though. If you have a Tesla and want to use an EA charger, you need the converter. For all of the criticisms that you can level at the EU, there are a few things that they can get right.
Agreed 100%. I think the EU did a stellar job and I'm glad my Tesla has a Type 2 connector.Arguments about it not being a walled garden or forcing a particular standard dont necessarily stand up when you look here. There were a few electric charging stations before the advent of Tesla, but it was extremely uncommon. Nissan had a different system from what you could find and they tried, but when the popularity increased, a standard was defined. Tesla continued on their path with their own format.
Credit where credit is due, the way that the convertor works for non-Teslas at Supercharging locations is neat and clever. However, the same works the other way though. If you have a Tesla and want to use an EA charger, you need the converter. For all of the criticisms that you can level at the EU, there are a few things that they can get right.
But, you're right of course, there wasn't anything in place when they were rolling out the USA so they made their own standard I think with the best intentions (they even opened it up so others could use it...). I do believe it was purely a question of them trailblazing rather than being malicious/greedy.
Their connector solution in the US is indeed nifty, hopefully it proves reliable.
For those of you who haven't seen it:
If you pull up with a car, you can take the cable out but it has the Tesla plug, you can plug it in your Tesla and it'll start charging. If you open up the app and unlock a stall (which you need to do anyway wanting to charge with a non-T), you then pull the cable out and it has the adapter attached to it. So the adapter stays with the stall and is either locked to the stall or to the cable depending on the use of the app.
PS: Just looked it up, CCS was established in 2011/2012, so well after the Model S was developed.
Edited by ZesPak on Tuesday 7th March 11:35
I might have missed a point somewhere in the thread, but there is a number of Tesla SC open for non-Tesla vehicles:
https://www.tesla.com/en_eu/findus?v=2&bounds=...
More are set to be opened in the future according to Tesla
https://www.tesla.com/en_eu/findus?v=2&bounds=...
More are set to be opened in the future according to Tesla
Not sure I've seen an update on this, but in the last week or so, more Supercharger sites are now open to other EV users. I used the site on the A303 at Amesbury on Sunday, and that was quick and significantly cheaper (40p per KW) than the other charge providers. Only slight issue was that the charge cable is very short and only just reached the Cupra - did notice that a VW owner had already worked out that you need to find the charger where it's easy to reverse closer to the unit.
df76 said:
Not sure I've seen an update on this, but in the last week or so, more Supercharger sites are now open to other EV users. I used the site on the A303 at Amesbury on Sunday, and that was quick and significantly cheaper (40p per KW) than the other charge providers. Only slight issue was that the charge cable is very short and only just reached the Cupra - did notice that a VW owner had already worked out that you need to find the charger where it's easy to reverse closer to the unit.
iirc another 20 or so were opened up, so nearly 1/2 in the UK.Parking on the end, where possible, is probably best to avoid taking up 2 spaces.
They have become my new go-to on price and also availability, whereas I used to use Ionity before BMW doubled the per-unit cost on their charging scheme.
Some of the locations are convenient for my personally on journey profiles that I undertake reasonably often.
e.g. Reading services, Banbury, Luton nr Airport and Eurotunnel. Have also used them in Belgium. Never been let down.
In contrast recently I made the mistake of stopping at Beaconsfield services and it was manic. I drove on to Banbury.
Some of the locations are convenient for my personally on journey profiles that I undertake reasonably often.
e.g. Reading services, Banbury, Luton nr Airport and Eurotunnel. Have also used them in Belgium. Never been let down.
In contrast recently I made the mistake of stopping at Beaconsfield services and it was manic. I drove on to Banbury.
Murph7355 said:
Maracus said:
All have CCS2.
The app will tell you which are open to all and potential max charge speed.
Thanks.The app will tell you which are open to all and potential max charge speed.
Have just done a little reading and suspect I'll be limited in speed... Especially compared to the 350kW chargers I tend to use.
I doubt you'd notice a difference, certainly not as great a difference as the convenience factor if the Tesla chargers happen to be along your route.
TheDeuce said:
Murph7355 said:
Maracus said:
All have CCS2.
The app will tell you which are open to all and potential max charge speed.
Thanks.The app will tell you which are open to all and potential max charge speed.
Have just done a little reading and suspect I'll be limited in speed... Especially compared to the 350kW chargers I tend to use.
I doubt you'd notice a difference, certainly not as great a difference as the convenience factor if the Tesla chargers happen to be along your route.
blank said:
TheDeuce said:
Murph7355 said:
Maracus said:
All have CCS2.
The app will tell you which are open to all and potential max charge speed.
Thanks.The app will tell you which are open to all and potential max charge speed.
Have just done a little reading and suspect I'll be limited in speed... Especially compared to the 350kW chargers I tend to use.
I doubt you'd notice a difference, certainly not as great a difference as the convenience factor if the Tesla chargers happen to be along your route.
TheDeuce said:
blank said:
TheDeuce said:
Murph7355 said:
Maracus said:
All have CCS2.
The app will tell you which are open to all and potential max charge speed.
Thanks.The app will tell you which are open to all and potential max charge speed.
Have just done a little reading and suspect I'll be limited in speed... Especially compared to the 350kW chargers I tend to use.
I doubt you'd notice a difference, certainly not as great a difference as the convenience factor if the Tesla chargers happen to be along your route.
And mine doesn't have the 400v charger on board. So think I'd be limited to 50kW.
Meanwhile... I do get decent 200kW+ rates for good chunks of time when using public chargers. It rarely drops to 50kW or below.
df76 said:
Not sure I've seen an update on this, but in the last week or so, more Supercharger sites are now open to other EV users.
It is amusing to see the reviews on Google Maps of the chargers that they seem to be full of Tesla owners moaning that other cars are now using them, with some complaining that they should get some sort of priority.df76 said:
Only slight issue was that the charge cable is very short and only just reached the Cupra - did notice that a VW owner had already worked out that you need to find the charger where it's easy to reverse closer to the unit.
Yes, I have that problem with my Kia which has the charging point offset slightly at the front left. I found that although all the Teslas had reversed in and were charging to the charging port on the rear left of their car, I had to drive in and use the charger to the left of the car as the cable on the right which was the one for that charging space wasn't long enough - i.e. I had to use the 'wrong' charger for the space the car was parked in. It wasn't an issue as there were lots of empty charge stations but I could see arguments if it was busy.
However if you were wanting to charge a car with a central front charge point such as a Renault Zoe, then I can't see that it would reach unless you managed to get the car into the space diagonally.
SpidersWeb said:
df76 said:
Not sure I've seen an update on this, but in the last week or so, more Supercharger sites are now open to other EV users.
It is amusing to see the reviews on Google Maps of the chargers that they seem to be full of Tesla owners moaning that other cars are now using them, with some complaining that they should get some sort of priority.df76 said:
Only slight issue was that the charge cable is very short and only just reached the Cupra - did notice that a VW owner had already worked out that you need to find the charger where it's easy to reverse closer to the unit.
Yes, I have that problem with my Kia which has the charging point offset slightly at the front left. I found that although all the Teslas had reversed in and were charging to the charging port on the rear left of their car, I had to drive in and use the charger to the left of the car as the cable on the right which was the one for that charging space wasn't long enough - i.e. I had to use the 'wrong' charger for the space the car was parked in. It wasn't an issue as there were lots of empty charge stations but I could see arguments if it was busy.
However if you were wanting to charge a car with a central front charge point such as a Renault Zoe, then I can't see that it would reach unless you managed to get the car into the space diagonally.
Murph7355 said:
They are.
And mine doesn't have the 400v charger on board. So think I'd be limited to 50kW.
Meanwhile... I do get decent 200kW+ rates for good chunks of time when using public chargers. It rarely drops to 50kW or below.
Is that why the MacMaster in one of his latest videos was only getting a 50kW charge off the Tesla chargers?And mine doesn't have the 400v charger on board. So think I'd be limited to 50kW.
Meanwhile... I do get decent 200kW+ rates for good chunks of time when using public chargers. It rarely drops to 50kW or below.
Edited by TheRainMaker on Wednesday 15th May 09:30
Tesla have a new version of the supercharger (v4) which includes contactless payment and a longer cable and looks very different to the old style with the hole in the middle. They seem to mix and match where they use them for some reason, and some cars still end on the parked on technically the wrong side of them - as a general rule you want the charger on the far right of the bay as you look at it, and park your car accordingly. I saw a skoda reverse in to the "wrong" bay rather than park in the intended bay and use the extra cable length to reach the charge port because its charge port was on the opposite side to a Tesla.
As for price, the one at Frankly services is 74p kwh at peak time without the subscription, so pretty close to the Gridserve prices. I guess it pays to check wherever you charge
As for price, the one at Frankly services is 74p kwh at peak time without the subscription, so pretty close to the Gridserve prices. I guess it pays to check wherever you charge
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