During the second-quarter earnings call, Tesla's CEO Elon Musk answered a question about the upcoming opening of the Supercharging network to other EVs.
The technical solution to implement the access will be fairly simple, based on an app. Once a user will register and assign a credit card, he/she will be able to indicate the stall (probably using a QR code), accept the price, and unlock the power for a non-Tesla electric vehicle.
Adapters in North America?
However, there are two catches that Elon Musk revealed. First concerns North America where most of the non-Tesla EVs use the CCS Combo 1 DC fast charging connector, which is incompatible with the Tesla-proprietary standard.
In Europe, new Tesla's like the Model 3 and Model Y uses CCS Combo 2-compatible connector and Superchargers were retrofitted with CCS2 plugs that can be used by most of the new EVs.
It means that to connect to the chargers, non-Tesla EVs will have to either buy an adapter or use an adapter available at the station. Both options were mentioned by Elon Musk.
"Non-Tesla EVs would have to use a Supercharger adapter, which Musk jokes would be available on Supercharger Stations. “Our goal is to support the advent of sustainable energy. Our intention is not to create a walled garden that we can use to bludgeon our competitors,” Musk jested."
It means that Tesla is not switching to the CCS1 standard in North America.
Not only that, Tesla will develop and produce a new adapter for CCS1-compatible EVs (CHAdeMO version is doubtful, as there will be no new models with CHAdeMO).
The third thing is a question - how about an official adapter for Tesla cars in North America, that would allow using third-party CCS1 chargers? So far only Setec Power tries to offer such a solution, but as far as we know, without Tesla's support. See George Bower's review here.
Dynamic pricing
The second most important thing hinted at by Elon Musk is the pricing for non-Tesla EVs. It will reflect the utilization of the station, as well as the power output.
In terms when the Superchargers are highly occupied, the prices are expected to be higher than in off-peak hours. Moreover, the higher the charging power (probably average), the lower the rate will be, as the value of a stall lies not only in energy dispensed (kWh) but also availability (time). At least, that is how we understand Musk's words.
"“The biggest constraint to Superchargers is time,” Musk said, adding that there are times when charging stations are packed and other times when they are empty. “Tesla will also be smarter in terms of how it charges for electricity,” Musk added, noting that Tesla will use time-based pricing for non-Tesla EVs."
We guess that the dynamic pricing will be adopted also for Tesla drivers, but not necessarily simultaneously.
More about Tesla Superchargers
Source: Teslarati