American electric vehicles (EV) and battery maker, Tesla is planning to open its global network of superchargers to other EVs later this year, chief executive officer Mr. Elon Musk said on Twitter.
The electric-car maker’s fast-charging network, with over 25,000 superchargers globally, has given it a competitive edge. Meanwhile, other carmakers have formed alliances or invested in startups for networks as they rush new EV entrants to the market.
“We’re making our Supercharger network open to other EVs later this year,” Mr. Musk said. Later in another tweet, he said that its network would eventually be open to other EVs in every country that it has chargers. Tesla Superchargers are located in North America, Asia, and Europe as well as Middle Eastern countries UAE and Israel.
Mr. Musk has talked about either sharing the technology behind his Tesla Superchargers or opening collaborations for use to other EVs for years now. In 2014, he said that he’d be willing to open up the designs in order to build a standard that can be used interchangeably across the industry.
The Tesla CEO has mentioned some version of this at various events and during earnings calls ever since. “We’ve always said that we’re, this is not intended to be a walled garden, and we’re happy to support other automakers and let them use our Supercharger stations,” Mr. Musk stated in 2018.
Last month, Germany’s transport minister, Mr. Andreas Scheuer said he was trying to convince Tesla to open its charging network to other carmakers to make it easier for drivers of electric vehicles to charge.
In the US, President Joe Biden’s administration late last month embraced a bipartisan Senate deal to spend $1.2 trillion on infrastructure projects including $7.5 billion on EV infrastructure, including charging stations.
Charging companies such as Blink Charging, EVgo, ChargePoint Holdings and Volkswagen’s Electrify America are also building out charging networks across the US. Improvement in charging infrastructure across the country could encourage more Americans to buy EVs, giving General Motors and Ford Motor much-needed fuel in the battle against Tesla.
